From The Hamptons To Miami And Back Again,
Hotelier Nathan Lieberman And The Catalina Debut
On The CW This Week
by Nicole B. Brewer
The cast of "The Catalina", with Nathan Lieberman in the lead, is about as high-octane as you can get. (Photo: Ralph Notaro)
It takes a lot to make a name for yourself in Miami's very hot South Beach enclave. Hailing from the Hamptons,
Water Mill resident Nathan Lieberman did just that and is known as a successful young hotelier and the man in
the center of a very good time if previews of his new show on the CW, "The Catalina" airing on May 29 at 8
p.m., are any indication.
Nicole B. Brewer: How did you end up in Miami?
Nathan Lieberman: - I studied real estate and film finance at NYU. My dad was in the real estate business
and we started doing hotels together. I always wanted to get back into film and had ideas about doing a TV
show about my hotels. I met up with some producers, one of whom I went to high school with. I invested in his
company about two and a half years ago. We've been making TV shows ever since.
NBB: Which shows?
NL: None of those shows made it to TV. We were pretty close a few times but they fell apart. We worked VH1,
5/31/12 10:50 AM
Bravo, with literally every network on
different shows that we helped produce.
NBB: How is the fit with the CW for
you and "The Catalina"?
The CW is a good fit for us because their
demographic is very young. Even though
at The Catalina the rates aren't
inexpensive enough for the Spring Break
type crowd, eventually they will grow up
and have memories of the place they
would like to visit again. Hopefully they
will come visit us and stay at The
Calatlina.
NBB: The preview of the show look
like a great party.
NL: We have a good time.
NBB: The show has a high-energy
cast who seem like a lot of fun. How
did they come together?
NL: That's what I do. HR is one of my
strong suits. I'm always out running
around looking for people. I usually hire
people and bring people in and leave it
to my managers to take it from there. I
like to hire people based on personality. I
think the will to make someone enjoy
their vacation is really more important
than having a hospitality background.
NBB: What will we see on the show?
Hotelier Nathan Lieberman. (Photo: Ralph Notaro)
NL: I think you're going to actually see the hotel business from a perspective that's never been shown before.
We're not trying to say that anything we do is perfect but we are trying to say that we do it a lot better everyone
else. I'm the Executive Producer so I've seen the whole thing.
NBB: The editing too?
NL: I just got back from LA and I literally have been involved and hands-on in the whole process. I cast the
show from all of my employees and I've been involved in the editing. Everything.
NBB: The show and your hotels are in Miami, do you get back to the Hamptons often?
NL: I'll be in the Hamptons on Memorial Day Weekend and will stay at Mom and Dad's house. I'm looking
forward to playing some polo, which is one of the episodes on this show. Episode 5 is a Catalina grudge match
between the White Team and the Red Team. It's me against my dad. [Polo player] Nick Roldan was down.
Everyone was down.
"The Catalina" debuts on Tuesday, May 29, at 8 p.m. on the CW.
5/31/12 10:50 AM
Updated: May 29, 2012, 1:35 pm
www.hamptons.com/Hamptons-Style/Icons-Trendsetters/17240/From-The-Hamptons-To-Miami-And-BackAgain.html
Appeared In: hamptons style >> icons & trendsetters
5/31/12 10:50 AM