By Debra Wallace, The Hollywoodtimes
GLos Angeles, CA. — (The Hollywood Times) — 4/22/2025 — Joey Travolta, a noted actor/producer/director, is eager to share Lights, Camera, Friendship on the Spectrum, his heartwarming new reality series that follows a group of young adults on the autism spectrum as they navigate the outside world and new friendships.
Through workshops led by Travolta, Susan Clausen, and Jennifer Cook (star of the Netflix reality series, Love on the Spectrum), these individuals discover the power of connection, self-expression, and creativity.
Of the 16 crew members on the shoot of Lights, Camera, Friendship on the Spectrum, 10 of them are neurodiverse and were trained by Travolta’s company, Inclusion Films. Two of the editors for the series are neurodiverse, and all 40 reality cast members are neurodiverse. The series premiered on April 18, which is perfect timing since National Autism Awareness Month is in April.
Travolta’s Inclusion Films has an 18-year history of providing filmmaking workshops and camps for students who are neurodiverse – and this series creates a fun environment for participants to learn and grow on both sides of the camera.
The ongoing goal of all the training programs and projects is to encourage and enable the employment of individuals with developmental differences. Currently, 81% of adults (18+) with developmental disabilities do not have jobs in their communities.
Upcoming events include: ANCOR Connect 2025 (San Diego, CA, April 7-9), Vero Beach Film Festival (Vero Beach, FL, April 10-13), Lights, Camera, Autism (San Diego, CA, April 26), 2025 CASP Conference (San Francisco, May 5).
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The following is an exclusive Q and A with Joey Travolta on the importance of his new reality series, Lights, Camera, Friendship on the Spectrum
You were a special education teacher for a while in New Jersey.
Yes, I was a teacher at William Patterson. I also started an orphanage for children. I just taught for a year, but I knew I’d always go back to teaching.
Well, this is kind of an extension, wouldn’t you say
Absolutely. Well, the other big note on the series is that 70% of the crew was made up of folks that we train who are on the spectrum. That’s very cool. Bakersfield, where we train adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. We have a training facility, film camps, and a production company that does PSAs. We did a documentary feature several years back called Carol Of The Bells, in which 70% of that crew was made up of people that we trained.
And the model is that whenever I do a job, more than half the crew has some kind of developmental difficulty, and these are not just PSAs or anything like that. They’re in positions as camera, sound, grip, and electric workers, plus other jobs, too. So, it’s pretty fun to watch. That’s an exciting thing when you see people succeed,
We all know that an estimated 80 percent of teens and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities are unemployed for most of their lives.
Yes, that’s why we’re making a lot of progress with that. Doors are opening. Every chance we get, like the company Unilever, which they have this mentee program and they’ve hired some of our folks to work on big commercials – so it’s about doors opening.
Tell me about Lights, Camera, Friendship on the Spectrum, where it came from, your goals, and how it worked out.
So, a few years back, we did this, this campaign called Delivering Jobs, and it was with Autism Speaks, Best Buddies, and Special Olympics. It was through the entertainment foundation that we did. It was a big campaign. We have a donor who has a son with autism who wants to be a filmmaker. His dad, Robert, asked me if I could talk with him. So, I set up a Zoom with the son, John Varnado. I told him to give me his best pitch. He gave me a three-minute pitch about this dog that was a detective, and it was just very clever and had great elements to it.
His father was amazed by hearing this beautiful story, and that’s when the relationship started. John came to one of our camps and said it was two of the best weeks of his life. After that, the dad approached me and mentioned that his son has difficulty making friends and maintaining relationships. So, we took 40 young adults to three different cities – Lodi, California, Valdosta, Georgia, and Amelia Island, Florida – and instead of the outcome being short films, the focus was on forging relationships with people and integrating into the community. Taking people on the spectrum outside of their comfort zone.
What did the experience entail?
They had roommates they had never met before. They were given situations they had not been in before, including dance classes, cooking lessons, and scavenger hunts. We just made it a fun way to learn how to communicate and collaborate.
How do you find the reality series participants?
We put out a casting call. People submitted, they submitted videos, and we had a couple of people who I knew would be a good fit. They have to be over age 21.
What has been the personal result of the series for the participants?
They have this WhatsApp group where they meet, and they’ve continued their relationships over the last year and a half. That’s extremely cool to see, and seeing now, parents watch it and say to me, “I didn’t know my son felt that way. I didn’t know my daughter felt this way. I didn’t know that was what was going on with them.” They felt that we created a comfortable place for them to be themselves, and that’s what I love about it: it’s giving people an opportunity for a social life that they might not have had otherwise.
How did animator Dani Bowman and author/autism coach Jennifer Cook get involved in your series?
I have known Dani Bowman, who’s on Love on the Spectrum, since I hired her when she was 14 years old to illustrate a book for me. Over the years, she has taught film camps for me. And now Dani is like a top animator who has her own animation business and is on the Netflix show. Jennifer, who is also on Love on the Spectrum, participated in several episodes of the new series, and her daughter is in our show as well.
What is the outcome of forging these relationships?
It’s what I call connecting the dots. That’s what we do. We try to facilitate that. That’s great for everyone involved. For years, I ran a camp in Tenafly where I grew up, and it was fun coming back to do the camps there. I want other people to see what I see. And that’s the other reason that we did this reality series.
What do you see in this population?
I see how incredible this population is. They’re such a gift to us. This was such a special project. The thing is with filmmaking, the other thing, when I was teaching, I used to teach through theatrics. That was the big thing about the Broadway musical, Hamilton: how history is taught through music. I love to do that kind of thing.
Once I became an actor and then a producer and a director, the one thing I know from being on a set and making a film is that the soft skills you take away are learning to collaborate and communicate – which is the outcome of the project, which everybody talks about. With this series the outcome is the friendships that they make. That’s why we’ve been successful with these young people.
Do you see a comparison with Love on the Spectrum?
I know that it’s very different. Because with Love on the Spectrum, you’re putting people into relationships where this is more about friendship and communication, and getting the skills it takes to start forming those relationships.
What advice do you have for parents so their loved ones with autism will have a fuller social life?
I would tell parents to listen to their grown children. One of the things with the interviews that we do, and I do this at all the camps, I interview all 50 campers. When we do it, they’re not used to being talked to and being a part of it. You’ve got to make them feel a part of everything that you do, and intently listening is the key to it. And wanting your opinion and how they feel about stuff like that. So that’s the big, big one.
How about advice for the young adults with autism, especially with the bullying and loneliness they often feel?
That’s the great thing about when we do the camps, and we get them seeing the crew that are they’re just like them. They have this, that same situation, working and being a part of it. It inspires them. You’ve got to get them involved with as much stuff as you can. And the arts are a great way to connect. I grew up in a show business family, and my dad was the most inclusive man that I’ve ever met.
My father is the reason that I call my company Inclusion Films because he taught me and my siblings that. We got to participate. We’ve got to try to get involved with as much as you can. But anything they could do in the arts is a great thing.
Lights, Camera, Friendship on the Spectrum is currently streaming free-of-charge on the OTT platform, Red Coral Universe, available worldwide on all phones, tablets, smart TVs, and connected devices or online at www.redcoraluniverse.com
Kate and Susan at a Georgia event for Lights, Camera, and Friendship on the Spectrum. Photo Credit: Inclusion Films.
Filmmaker Joey Travolta
Participants in the reality series, Lights, Camera, Friendship on the Spectrum, in Lodi, California.
Participants in the reality series, Lights, Camera, Friendship on the Spectrum, in Lodi, California.
