In the proverbial melting pot of New York City, there are hundreds of different pathways on the "rags-to-riches" story; some ending in success and a large majority ending in failure and bitter disappointment. This conceptual journey to the top is chronicled in the popular HBO show "How to Make It in America," where two fashion designers/entrepreneurs make their slow climb to achieve the American dream through the underworld of New York's fashion scene.
For the show's creator and executive producer, Ian Edelman, the fact that "How to Make It" even made it on air is a blessing itself. Rising from humble beginnings in the Big Apple, Edelman reflects on the realities of his world around him by embracing the scenes and cultures through themes he places within the universe of the show.
Before HBO, Edelman worked in marketing firms across Los Angeles; the transition from that realm to television involved many lows before reaching his current pinnacle.
"I was doing on-air promos in the creative services department [at G4]," Edelman recalled, "and then I left, and I was the creative director at Viewpoint Creative, a marketing company in L.A."
In a strange series of events, "How to Make It" was picked up during a transitional period in Edelman's life. Newly married and in a job he hated, this relative nobody in the television world went from unemployed to executive producer in the course of a weekend.
"I had a few problems working at Viewpoint Creative," he said. "I'm a very hardworking person, but there was someone I didn't get along with. I was basically fired on a Friday and then [HBO] picked up the pilot for ‘How to Make It' to shoot it on Tuesday, and I had just been married two weeks prior to that," he said. "That was a rollercoaster situation in my life."
Though Edelman worked on the West Coast, his rags-to-riches story is rooted in New York. His youthful immersion in New York culture still resonates in the themes and imagery of "How to Make It."
"I grew up skateboarding in the early '80s and playing street basketball in the '90s ... I think those are the two things that shaped the vision on ‘How to Make It,'" Edelman said.
Edelman stylishly embraces the hardened sensibilities of being on the climb through the main characters, Ben and Cam.
"In season one, we began with a spool of denim and [Ben and Cam] couldn't even raise $1500," Edelman said. "To watch them go on this journey will be really rewarding because we are trying to tell a rags-to-riches story, so we had to begin with the rags which isn't really the sexiest thing on television, but I think there is a charm and an inner-beauty to that."
Though the first season of "How to Make It" garnered early comparisons to "Entourage," and some of the writers of "Entourage" are involved in this production, Edelman reemphasized the differences between already being a star and working relentlessly to become one.
"The comparisons are to be expected," he said, "but I think it was more of a first-season thing when we were launching it... and then people realized that the show was so different. Those comparisons probably didn't do us any favors in terms of growing an audience for ‘How to Make It,'" he said. "If you were tuning in to see what it's like to go to a party at Jessica Alba's house, you weren't going to get that... but you were going to get a raw Lower East Side house party with some tattooed freaks. We have our own thing."
Edelman has reflected on his own personal narrative of rags-to-riches through his show's creation and success. The show has maintained its popularity and has just wrapped up its second season. Still, Edelman remains conscious of managing the process of going through the highs and lows of life.
"Hopefully the highs are still ahead of me. It's all highs and lows, every day there's a high and a low," he said. "The height of it is coming from my very limited television background to getting a show not only shot by HBO but then on the air has been an amazing blessing beyond anything I could've expected. [As for] the lows... I'm just managing the process as I go."
