Pepperdine News and Events

Alumna Stefanie Kleine Producing Pilot for New TV Show Featuring Professor Judy Ho

Stefanie Kleine (nee Bernritter), GSEP alumna and Atlanta-based actress and Life/Business Coach, has partnered up with Sundance-Award-Winning Director, Chusy Haney-Jardine to shoot the pilot for a new psychologically-based TV show. The show's clever name, SHRINK RAP, derives from the cast that Kleine & Haney-Jardine have assembled. Stefanie Kleine will star in the show along with 3 PhD psychologists. These women are educated, gorgeous, and on a mission. What is their mission? To make the world a better place, to help humanity, and to do so in an entertaining way! SHRINK RAP will explore the psychological malaise that permeates the nation in a 30-minute talk show style show.

"This show is not going to be like any other talk show you have seen before. We have some pretty cool tricks up our sleeve," says Stefanie Kleine. The pilot is slated to shoot in Atlanta, Georgia the last week of August. Once the pilot has been shot, co-creators, Kleine & Haney-Jardine will take it to their network contacts. "We have contacts at HBO, Bravo, and OWN. We can easily see the show fitting in to any of those networks", says Kleine. When asked about the women they cast in the show, Kleine states, "It was important to us to have a multi-ethnic cast of women. We wanted to celebrate diversity and also to show powerful, educated women from various backgrounds, in a positive light."

Stefanie came up with the original vision of SHRINK RAP about 10 years ago, while working on her Master's degree at Pepperdine University. In an interesting twist, it turns out that 3 of the leading ladies have Pepperdine roots. Dr. Deborah Khoshaba, a licensed clinical psychologist and well-respected author (Psychology In Everyday Life) was one of Kleine's professors at Pepperdine. And Dr. Judy Ho, also a licensed clinical psychologist, is a professor at Pepperdine. The 4th cast member of SHRINK RAP is Atlanta-based clinical psychologist, Melvina Norwood. The show will also contain re-enactment portions. Haney-Jardine will be conducting casting workshops for these roles over the next several weeks.

Stefanie Kleine says, "I am so elated to see an idea that I came up with 10 years ago, coming to fruition. SHRINK RAP has a powerful and meaningful message that aspires to help people. Plus, with an incredible cast and and an award-winning crew behind me, I feel confident the show will be picked up! " Keep your eyes and ears open for SHRINK RAP in the near future. In the meantime, you can show your support for what is being dubbed the "Smartest & Sexiest Cast on TV" by following them on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/onpurposeproductionsllc .