Although everyone knows Ryan Seacrest as the host of that still wildly popular Idol show, many may not know that Seacrest is one of the busiest and rising power players in entertainment media. Aside from his hosting gig on morning radio in L.A., his New Year's Eve special, his editorial position with E! News, and his guest fill-in role for Larry King, Ryan Seacrest is also behind the scenes as a producer within his own Ryan Seacrest Productions, creating a variety of shows across the networks. In case you didn't know, he also has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Together with his production partner Andrew Glassman, Ryan Seacrest is brining his latest project, Momma's Boys, to NBC on Tuesday, December 16 at 10pm. Offering something we haven't seen yet in the reality romance genre, Momma's Boys centers on three possessive but loving mothers who try to help their complacent sons choose the perfect woman in a new series filled with maternal conflict and the pressures of dating with mom watching.

With Momma's Boys about to make its debut on Tuesday, we recently had a chat with co-producers Andrew Glassman and Ryan Seacrest about what reality fans can expect from Mommas Boys, how they'll connect to the emotions and the contestants within the show, Ryan's secret to juggling so many projects at once, and what type of girl his mother would want him to be with.

THE DEADBOLT: Ryan, from your view, what’s the universal emotion that people will connect with on this show?

RYAN SEACREST: It’s a good question. You know, I think that for any show you want to start from that place. What is the universal emotion? And that is love here. I mean, the real reason to do this show, and the reason that these guys and these moms came on, was because they wanted to find a connection with somebody else. And it is out of and for love and there are plenty of funny moments along the way. There are plenty of intense moments along the way. It truly is, and it sounds corny to say it, but it truly is a loud love story.

ANDREW GLASSMAN: You know, I was just thinking about that last night. I got home, I was flipping around my TV, and there isn’t really a good love story this fall on the dial anywhere. And I hope that people will find that in this show. There is a ton of heart in it as the guys fall in love with the girls [and] the girls fall in love with the guys. And then there is a whole other layer of heart in the way that, you know, only your mom can talk to a son. And I think that’s new territory that no one has jumped into quite yet.

THE DEADBOLT: Ryan, if your mother had her way, what type of girl would you be with?

SEACREST: One that was under her spell. One that was under her control. I tend to like girls who are a bit more, probably, provocative than my mother would approve of. So she would definitely want the one that continues to go to church every Sunday. I might want the one that skips every Sunday.

THE DEADBOLT: Since you’re so busy these days with all of the projects that you have on the go, how do you approach dating when you only get about two hours of sleep a night?

SEACREST: I just watched the casting tapes for this show and it kind of makes me feel like I’ve dated around. I don’t have that much time to do it. I try and schedule it, and if I have time it’s usually on the weekend.

THE DEADBOLT: With regard to the mother that’s really outspoken and narrow-minded, what did you guys have in place to avoid physical confrontations? Or does that actually happen?

GLASSMAN: You know, I think everyone goes into this knowing that you can say what’s on your mind. You can be as loud as you want to be. But I think everyone knows that once you cross that line, you’re going home. So I don’t think there was any danger of anything physically happening. And to be quite honest with you, we even put some restrictions on things that we did not want to hear said out loud, because of the special nature of this one person’s bigotry.

THE DEADBOLT: I understand that the show was originally supposed to air right after the Olympics. What happened?

GLASSMAN: The airing right after the Olympics was...

SEACREST: It was Jay Leno’s fault. He’s been holding this whole thing up.

GLASSMAN: You know, that’s more of an NBC question. The Olympics timeframe was not really feasible from the get-go. It was very quickly in the planning stages. We all realized that this show was not going to be shot and done in time for that. And then afterwards there was some jockeying for position in the Fall. But I think we actually have a really good lead-in now in The Biggest Loser finale on Tuesday. And, like I said, I don’t think there is a great love story on television at the moment. I think that this one is juicy and loud, and very funny along the way. It doesn’t take itself all too seriously. So I hope people will find that it’s a guilty pleasure.

THE DEADBOLT: I know you were joking that your New Year’s resolution was not being lazy in 2009. But how do you ensure that you’re not overextending yourself so that the quality of each show doesn’t suffer?

SEACREST: I guess it’s a blessing and a curse. You know, I am fear-driven. I do a lot because I was always afraid that I wouldn’t have something to fall back into. And now, fortunately, I have a lot of things and a lot of [bowls] in the air, and a lot of things going on at once. But I try my best not to overextend. However, it’s not like I’m doing the most difficult work in the world. It’s all pretty fun and meant to be entertaining. So I’m not the lead in a serious crime drama, it is a little different than that.

THE DEADBOLT: Do you see yourself going beyond producing in the future, maybe stepping behind the camera and directing?

SEACREST: Sure. You know, I certainly see myself more in the broadcast end, unscripted world than the scripted world. I just don’t quite understand - I’m a fan of movies but I don’t really know how to make movies. So I think to continue to do this type of programming and these mediums that I’m in now, I would love to continue to do that, and hopefully keep these jobs.