Josh Skinner is an American television producer, director, host, and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. He is a Streamy Award winner (producer) and has worked across broadcast, streaming, and digital platforms for companies including Sony Pictures Television, NBCUniversal, Crackle, Lifetime Television, and The Walt Disney Company. As a songwriter, his work spans pop, R&B, and dance music, with collaborators including Grammy-winning producer Jason Evigan, Jeff Timmons of 98 Degrees, and recording artists Sir Ivan, Kimberley Locke, Sara Lumholdt of A*Teens, and Alessandra Rosaldo.
Early life and education Skinner was born in Los Angeles and moved to Hawaii when he was 7 years old. He studied Radio, Television & Film with a minor in Biblical Studies at Biola University in La Mirada, California, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 2003.
Career The Walt Disney Company (1999–2014)
Skinner began his entertainment career at The Walt Disney Company as a member of the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA), performing and storytelling across multiple productions at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. He originated a role at Disney California Adventure’s Animation Building, playing a Disney animator whose in-progress presentation is comically disrupted by Mushu, the dragon from Mulan. He later became an evening storytelling traveler at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, weaving original narratives for guests in the hotel’s signature rustic lobby.
Over the course of more than a decade, Skinner performed in more than 15 distinct Disney productions and was considered a “swing” — a versatile performer called upon to fill a variety of roles across different shows as needed. His work also extended to high-profile special events, including Miley Cyrus’ 16th birthday celebration at Disneyland, Disneyland Resort’s 50th anniversary, and international print campaigns for the resort.
Warner Bros. Studios (2014–2016)
From 2014 to 2016, Skinner worked at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, in a role that combined on-camera expertise, social media, and creative writing. He spearheaded and co-created the Friends Interactive Guest Experience at Stage 48 — a live, immersive storytelling experience set on the original Central Perk set from the iconic television series Friends — collaborating closely with former Warner Bros. Friends expert Jessica Hurtado to bring the concept to life for Warner Bros. Studio Tour guests.
Among his other responsibilities, Skinner led a team that managed the logistics of moving more than 200 audience members across the Warner Bros. lot to the stage for Conan (TBS) and safely back again. He has spoken warmly of Conan O’Brien as one of the most genuinely kind figures he encountered during his time there, noting that O’Brien regularly invited tour staff to enjoy his famously top-tier Wednesday pre-show catering.
Skinner has described the Conan role as a turning point. Determined to build a career on the production side, he made the decision to leave Warner Bros. and start over. He accepted a three-day position as a Production Assistant on NBC’s Hollywood Game Night — a choice that surprised friends and family who questioned the wisdom of walking away from a stable job for a temporary one. Skinner was undeterred, believing that if he worked hard enough, another opportunity would come before those three days were up. It did: by the end of the assignment, he had three job offers. He accepted a position on the Lionsgate/CBS game show Candy Crush, hosted by Mario Lopez.
Skinner credits executive producers Matt Kunitz and Josh Silberman with giving him a comprehensive education in how a television production operates from development through post. He was among the first crew members hired and stayed with the show through completion. During production, his primary on-set responsibilities placed him alongside Lopez and his team. Skinner has described Lopez as a consummate professional — a family man who was consistently accommodating, punctual, and respectful to everyone on set, from crew to talent. Lopez also went out of his way to arrange a meeting between Skinner and Warner Bros. Television so executives could hear a pitch Skinner had been developing alongside a producer from Super Soul Sunday.
Broadcast Production (2017–2019) Skinner transitioned into network television production beginning in 2017. At NBCUniversal, he coordinated cast logistics for Better Late Than Never Season 2, an international travel series featuring William Shatner, Terry Bradshaw, Henry Winkler, George Foreman, and Jeff Dye, filmed across Europe. During production in Germany — shortly after the May 2017 bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, which had heightened security awareness across Europe — a concern involving fans arose at a location where Skinner and Foreman were present. Security moved both men quickly into a vehicle. It was Foreman who broke the tension, steering the conversation toward pancakes. The exchange ultimately led to Foreman asking Skinner to contact his wife with Skinner’s recommendation: macadamia nut pancakes with fluffy syrup from Boot’s & Kimo’s Homestyle Kitchen. Skinner has told the story many times since.
He subsequently joined Lifetime Television Network as a talent coordinator on Glam Masters, a makeup competition series created by Kim Kardashian and hosted by Laverne Cox. He produced the Kim Kardashian Disney Princess Jasmine Transformation segment featuring acclaimed makeup artist Kandee Johnson — a segment that went on to win a Streamy Award.
In 2018, Skinner produced segments for Angel Brinks: The Real Bling at Monami Entertainment in Beverly Hills. Originally conceived as a television pilot before being repackaged as a special, the project gave Skinner an early window into the more manipulative undercurrents of reality television — an experience he found at odds with his instincts. It was also, he has said, where he first began to recognize the difference between people with a genuine story to tell and those simply chasing a camera. Of Angel Brinks herself, Skinner has been unequivocal: she is, in his words, a real-life angel.
Skinner joined Sony Pictures Television as a development producer in 2018, where he developed Murder House Flip, a docuseries acquired by Quibi (later Roku). The series earned two American Reality Television Award nominations.
The GloZell Show and One Good Man Productions (2020–2021)
From 2020 to 2021, Skinner served as Executive Producer and Director on The GloZell Show, a project created by Lisa Freberg of One Good Man Productions — a fun yet educational series built around financial literacy. The connection between Skinner and GloZell ran deeper than a professional arrangement: Skinner had conducted GloZell’s very first interview, and their years of mutual trust — rooted in part in a shared faith — meant that when it came time to produce the show, GloZell personally chose him as her director and producer. She has been candid that she would not have done the show with anyone else.
One of the creative choices Skinner made was to build a storyline around what had previously been GloZell’s Vanity Fair secret — that despite her public profile, she had faced serious financial hardship. Even the house used for filming was not her own. The show was intended to run a full season, but production was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was ultimately released as a special.
Crackle and Independent Production (2021–2022)
In 2021, Skinner reunited with Lisa Freberg of One Good Man Productions for a new venture. Freberg, whose producing instincts and creative vision had already shaped the GloZell project, brought Skinner in to develop an ambitious original docuseries in collaboration with Crackle. Together, they secured celebrity talent, pitched to network executives, and oversaw all phases of development through pre-production. Over the course of approximately a year, the team held weekly collaborative meetings with the network and built partnerships with major companies around the series. The project came to an abrupt halt when Crackle shifted the strategic direction of the network, catching Freberg, Skinner, and the entire team off guard after more than a year of sustained work.
Songwriting Skinner has described songwriting and interviewing as his two primary creative passions, both of which have been shaped by personal experiences and loss throughout his life. His writing explores themes of extreme personal growth, resilience through heartbreak, and the pursuit of inspiration — with the aim of giving listeners hope and encouraging accountability in one’s choices and actions. He has also written dance songs that allow him to move fluidly across genres.
Early collaborations
Through much of 2008, Skinner collaborated with Swedish pop star Sara Lumholdt of A*Teens on an album recorded in Los Angeles. Twelve songs were completed, with the lead single “First” officially released. A second song, “Kiss Me Goodbye,” has been reported playing on radio in Norway and surrounding countries despite never receiving an official release — a circumstance Skinner has acknowledged as puzzling. The full album was ultimately not released due to timing. Skinner and Lumholdt maintained a close personal friendship; he traveled to Sweden to attend her wedding.
One of the most personally and artistically significant collaborations of Skinner’s career began when he was brought in to write for Mexican actress, singer, and television personality Alessandra Rosaldo — best known internationally for her role in the film Instructions Not Included and as a founding member of the beloved Mexican electro-pop group Sentidos Opuestos, which sold over four million records worldwide across a two-decade career. The project brought together Skinner, Sara Lumholdt, Jeff Timmons of 98 Degrees, and veteran producer Ted Perlman — the session that first connected Skinner and Timmons as songwriting partners.
The collaboration with Rosaldo deepened well beyond the studio. Over months of working together, Skinner and Rosaldo developed a close friendship, confiding in one another about their personal lives and relationships. The bilingual English and Spanish songs they created together drew directly from those conversations, making the work unusually personal for both of them. Skinner has cited Rosaldo as a defining figure in his life and career — crediting her love, cultural passion, and authenticity with inspiring him to think more expansively about the reach of music. Her belief that the right group of people, united by genuine feeling, could move the world through music, love, heartbreak, and growth — themes that transcend language — became a guiding principle in his songwriting.
Rosaldo was also a source of support for Skinner during an unexpected personal loss. In response, he co-wrote a song dedicated to her alongside actor and songwriter Joseph Morales, who portrayed Alexander Hamilton in the long-running Broadway production of Hamilton. The song was never commercially released and was understood to be a private expression of gratitude.
Two songs from the Rosaldo collaboration — “Por Tu Amor” and “Eres” — were featured in her international telenovela Ni contigo ni sin ti (130 episodes) and were performed as the theme of her televised wedding to Spanish actor and filmmaker Eugenio Derbez in Mexico City in July 2012.
Podcasting and digital media (2018–2023)