“A Mermaid for Christmas is almost ready to go,” he hinted. The cast features Kyle Lowder as Travis Hunter, Jessica Morris as Daphne, Kathleen Gati as Connie Hunter and Arianne Zucker as Tiffany Devereaux. Nadia Bjorlin also plays Vanessa Hunter, and Ian Buchanan serves as the narrator. “The cast and the crew that we put together were an absolute joy to work with,” he said. “I am always blown away to be lucky to be surrounded by such talented people.”
“Everybody came to work each day very motivated and excited about the project,” he said. “It is a fun, sweet, family film. It is nice to be able to do something to watch with a loved one or your kids. We had a really great time doing it.”
Caruso praised Kathleen Gati for her “level of commitment and professionalism,” which he described as “inspiring.” “Kathleen always brings her ‘A’ game. She is such a pleasure on set,” he said. “Jessica Morris is great and always up for anything and try new things. Arianne Zucker is also exciting to work with, who dives in every character that she plays.”
He revealed that Arianne Zucker’s character in A Mermaid for Christmas is “hilarious.” “You will be howling with laughter every time she is on screen. It’s amazing,” he said.
“In A Mermaid for Christmas, the audience is going to see a side of Kyle that they are not familiar with. He plays a guy next door and he really tapped into his goofy, playful side, which is great. While shifting from drama to comedy is not easy for everybody, Kyle really committed to it,” Caruso added.
On being a producer in this digital age, Caruso said, “It gives producers a lot more freedom to reach a wider audience. It makes storytelling more accessible to many different types of people. It limits the rules and regulations from a creative standpoint. There is nothing you can’t do.”
For aspiring producers, he said, “Keep your head down. Do your work. Never ask someone to do something that you wouldn’t do yourself. Be honest and treat your employees with fairness and dignity. It is important to assemble talented people and then, let them shine and be talented. Never eclipse other people’s talents.”
“Every time you take on a new project, you learn something about yourself and about others,” he said. “You never know what to expect and that’s what defines us: the willingness to know that nothing ever stays the same and that’s very exciting.”
On balancing family life with producing and writing, he said, “I am very fortunate since my wife, Barbara, is my partner in my company and we get to work on all these projects together. It’s really great and we love working together. Kyle Lowder is also our business partner and he is wonderful as well.”
“Kyle is like family to us. As a producer, he is great because he always wants to learn and he doesn’t rest on his laurels. Kyle’s zest for knowledge is one of his finest qualities as a friend and as a producer. We all have a great working relationship,” he added.
Caruso defined the word success as “looking around at the world you created and finding contentment within yourself that you are being the best person you could be in this moment and always aspiring to be better.”
Aside from A Mermaid for Christmas, he served as executive producer of DeVanity, Winterthorne, Ladies of the Lake, and Ladies of the Lake: Return to Avalon.
To learn more about Emmy-nominated producer Michael Caruso, follow him on Twitter.
