Fairhaven Father-Son Duo Behind ‘Caught in Providence’ Nominated for Emmy

A father-son duo from Fairhaven has a shot at winning a national Daytime Emmy award this Friday night for their work on the hugely popular TV show Caught in Providence.

John and Jared Methia both attended Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech. Little did John Methia know back when that his Steam Engineering studies would evaporate before his eyes in order to launch a 42-year career in award-winning television and digital production.

The Methias joined me on-air this morning to discuss the success of their show and the journey to an Emmy-nominated production.

“The best part of my career started in 1978. I was your cameraman at a March of Dimes Telethon at Whaling City Cable TV, where I met my wife," Methia told me. "That was the best part of my journey.”

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Methia went on from cable access in New Bedford to getting a job at WLNE-6 in Providence, a job that lasted over 42 years.

Joe Caprio, brother of Judge Frank Caprio, wanted to get Caught in Providence on WLNE-6 TV and Methia made it happen.

“The show had a great audience. It was on Friday and Saturday nights at midnight, and had a loyal, cult-like following," he said.

Methia serves as senior producer on the program; his son Jared started as an associate producer but was bumped up to producer at the young age of just 22.

According to the elder Methia, in the early years of Facebook allowing for the posting of videos, they decided to put some of the cases on the show's Facebook page, attracting 10,000 viewers the first time out. Today that number has skyrocketed to over 11 million worldwide fans.

What’s noteworthy is some of the individuals that go in front of the judge are against hard times and can’t afford to pay the fine that is levied against them. It’s equally amazing to see how many kindhearted viewers, from as far away as India, send in money to help them pay those fines. The money is deposited in a special fund, named in honor of the judge’s mother, The Philomena Fund.

From there, national syndication came calling, allowing Judge Caprio and his courtroom to reach a much larger television audience. Production company Debmar-Mercury wanted to move the show's setting to New York or Los Angeles, but Methia persuaded them to keep the show in its familiar environment of Providence.

It seems that move paid off. Two weeks ago, the Methias found out that their show had been nominated for a national Daytime Emmy award.

“We’re up against some fierce competition, like Judge Judy, People’s Court, Divorce Court and Paternity Court," Methia said.

The members of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences will choose the winner. The Methias recorded their acceptance speeches ahead of time. If they win, John and Jared will each receive an Emmy.

“We’re all gathering for a big party at the judge’s son’s house Friday night to watch the awards on CBS prime time, from 8 to 10 p.m.," Methia said. "All those years at ABC, and I'll be watching CBS!"

What does Methia think of his chances of winning an Emmy?

“They say it’s an honor just to be nominated, but it’s darn nicer to win!" he said.