Richmond Griner of Wag Works chats with Alan Wieder about a career that spans cable news, reality television, and an unexpected turn toward art.

After studying comparative literature with plans of entering academia, Alan moved into mass media, working in a fast-paced cable news newsroom during major late-’90s events. He later relocated to Los Angeles and built a long career producing nonfiction and entertainment television, including reality series, dating shows, game shows, and documentaries. For years, the industry was booming.

Then the landscape shifted. Networks slowed. Streaming platforms changed the economics. Fewer shows were being bought. What had once been a steady, in-demand business became far less predictable, and the path forward in reality television was no longer as clear.

Throughout it all, Alan kept creating. Photography. Cartoons and doodles. Gallery shows. T-shirts that built an audience. Much of the work leaned cynical and satirical, shaped by his humor and his experience inside television.

As the industry cooled, a conversation with his dad pushed him to consider making something more positive. Combined with his connection to animals and his passion for drawing, that shift began steering his work in a new direction. Alan openly describes himself as a “bad drawer,” not a traditionally trained artist, yet his humor and strong attention to detail are exactly what people respond to.

Part One of this two-part series follows Alan’s path through media, the industry reset, and the creative pivot that would eventually lead to Crappily Drawn Pets.