Biography
Jason Cilo is the founder and President of Meetinghouse Productions, a New York City based production company he launched in 2007. Since its inception, Meetinghouse has produced more than 1,000 hours of television and digital content for leading networks and distributors, including Travel Channel, A&E, Investigation Discovery, truTV, Court TV, MTV International, Food Network, DIY Network, Discovery, A+E Networks, CMT Canada, and Sky. Meetinghouse series have been distributed globally by Rocket Rights, AETN International, Banijay, and Electus.
Over nearly two decades, Jason has built Meetinghouse into a leading independent producer of clip based factual entertainment, with programming reaching audiences across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin America.
Meetinghouse's current hit franchises include Paranormal Caught on Camera, now in its 10th season on Discovery+ and distributed internationally by A+E International; and A&E's popular "Wars" franchise, including Road Wars, Customer Wars, and Neighborhood Wars, all entering their seventh seasons. Collectively, Meetinghouse productions have generated hundreds of episodes and more than 1,000 hours of programming for major cable, streaming, and international distribution partners.
Among Meetinghouse's notable series are World's Dumbest (198 episodes), Dessert First for Food Network, Almost Genius and Greatest Ever for truTV, and Clickbait for MTV. The company's digital productions have included Romantic Encounters, Two Different Guys on a Bench, Philly Court (featuring Shane Gillis), Stay at Home Dad, Friend Therapy, and Block Captain Dan.
A native of New Haven, Connecticut, Jason graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. As a teenager, he began his entertainment career selling theater tickets over the phone for the Yale Repertory Theatre and Long Wharf Theatre. Before entering television, he worked as a house painter, paralegal, and Sponsor Relations Manager for the Special Olympics World Games Organizing Committee, then moved to New York for his first television job at Day & Date, a nationally syndicated newsmagazine produced at the CBS Broadcast Center.
In 1997, Jason joined the launch team at MSNBC as an Associate Producer, working with broadcasters including Tom Brokaw, Katie Couric, Bryant Gumbel, Bob Costas, and Keith Olbermann. The following year, he coproduced and codirected the PBS documentary Bobby Darin: Beyond the Song with his friend Henry Astor.
From 1998 to 2004, Jason was a writer-producer at Viacom/VH1, where he created and produced numerous music and pop culture specials. He later worked as a writer for Scripps Networks and as a freelance producer before founding Meetinghouse Productions in 2007.
As an entrepreneur and executive producer, Jason has overseen every aspect of the business from development and sales to production, post-production, and distribution, guiding Meetinghouse from a startup operation to an independent production company that has created more than 1,000 hours of programming for many of the world's largest media brands.
Jason divides his time between New York City and Massachusetts with his wife, theater director Amanda Charlton, their daughter, and their cat, Lucky. His avocations include watching movies and documentaries, European crime series, detective and espionage fiction, skiing, and playing tennis with considerably more enthusiasm than skill. He also hosts and produces the labor-of-love podcast Full Cast and Crew, which he wishes he'd originally titled Indistinct Chatter, but now it's some 250 episodes in and far too late.
