{"id":27007,"date":"2024-05-24T13:30:24","date_gmt":"2024-05-24T20:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/presskitchen.com\/?p=27007"},"modified":"2026-01-28T09:50:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T09:50:12","slug":"joshua-seftels-mom-became-a-tv-hit-via-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.techsystintel.com\/press_kitchen_dev\/joshua-seftels-mom-became-a-tv-hit-via-the-new-york-times\/","title":{"rendered":"How Facetime Calls With Smartypants Director Joshua Seftel’s Mom Became a TV Hit via The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

What started as a way for the filmmaker Josh Seftel and his mother, Pat, to stay in touch has become a popular feature on \u201cCBS Sunday Morning.\u201d<\/h1>\n
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Pat Seftel at her home in Sarasota, Fla last month. For more than a decade, she has shared her seasoned perspective on the modern world with viewers of \u201cCBS Sunday Morning.\u201dCredit…Zack Wittman for The New York Times<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At 87, Pat Seftel has a thought to share about almost everything.<\/p>\n

On Tinder: \u201cIf you want to meet somebody for a real relationship, that\u2019s not the way to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On artificial intelligence: \u201cIt could get out of control.\u201d<\/p>\n

On climate change: \u201cThis is destroying our planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more than 10 years, Ms. Seftel has shared those opinions, and others, on \u201cCBS Sunday Morning,\u201d appearing in semiregular segments that have become popular with viewers, who look forward to her life advice and seasoned perspective on the modern world.<\/p>\n

In the segments, Ms. Seftel usually appears from her home in Sarasota, Fla., in conversation via FaceTime with her son, Josh Seftel, a documentary film director who lives in Brooklyn. The two catch up briefly, and then he poses a question, such as how she felt about quarantine, which he asked during the height of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I talk to my family, I hang up, and I\u2019m all alone,\u201d she said in the segment from May 31, 2020. \u201cIt\u2019s very hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

The prompts, Mr. Seftel said in a recent interview, are usually about current events or their own lives, but he never tells his mother what he will ask ahead of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t prepare,\u201d she said in an interview over FaceTime. \u201cBefore, I was pretty nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CBS segments originated with FaceTime conversations that the two started having shortly after Ms. Seftel\u2019s husband of 50 years, Dr. Lee Seftel, an OB-GYN, died in 2009. Mr. Seftel and his two sisters decided to buy their mother an iPad in order to stay better connected with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was enjoying the conversations,\u201d Mr. Seftel said. \u201cI think she was, too. Then one day, I was just experimenting, and I recorded it and edited something together.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ms. Seftel\u2019s \u201cCBS Sunday Morning\u201d segments originated with FaceTime calls with her son, Josh Seftel, a documentary filmmaker, on an iPad her children bought her after her husband died in 2009.Credit…Zack Wittman for The New York Times<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Mr. Seftel said he had shown some of the videos to his friends, and they liked them. Unlike other\u00a0older people who have amassed<\/a>\u00a0large followings on TikTok<\/a>, Ms. Seftel started on YouTube. After Mr. Seftel shared some of his videos there, they began to draw interest, eventually catching the attention of the producers of \u201cCBS Sunday Morning,\u201d which is seen by\u00a0more than 5 million people each week<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Rand Morrison, the executive producer of \u201cCBS Sunday Morning,\u201d said in an interview that the Seftels\u2019 segments have been an audience favorite over the past few years.<\/p>\n

\u201cJosh and his mom have become something of a franchise for the show,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s very satisfying putting these on television.\u201d<\/p>\n

These days, Ms. Seftel, a former nurse who became a social worker before retiring, said she has been experiencing an unlikely version of fame because of the videos. She is often recognized around town, in grocery stores and parking lots, she said, and some viewers have sent letters and gifts to her home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt kind of makes my day when somebody recognizes me,\u201d she said. \u201dI\u2019m just a regular person. I\u2019m not a movie star.\u201d<\/p>\n

Viewers may be drawn to Ms. Seftel\u2019s videos for any of a number of reasons: her candor, her calm demeanor or her sage advice. For Jane Pauley, the host of \u201cCBS Sunday Morning,\u201d it\u2019s Ms. Seftel\u2019s awareness and perspective that is \u201cunique and fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s no stridency,\u201d Ms. Pauley said in an interview. \u201cShe has a gentle take on her opinions without holding back.\u201d<\/p>\n

For others, it could be a connection to Ms. Seftel as a motherly figure. A viewer named Connie was likely speaking for many when she sent Ms. Seftel a letter that said, \u201cI think you are \u2018The Mom\u2019 for many people in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cPeople have always been drawn to her,\u201d Josh Seftel said of his mother. \u201cTo her strength, to her wisdom, even when she was much younger, and that\u2019s just been a part of our lives.\u201dCredit…Zack Wittman for The New York Times<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Viewers may also be moved by her unwavering positivity even amid life\u2019s challenges. After quadruple bypass surgery in 2022,\u00a0Ms. Seftel detailed her recovery in a video<\/a>\u00a0and shared her gratitude that she was able to do everyday things, such as walking again, putting on makeup for the first time since the operation, and using motorized carts at grocery stores.<\/p>\n

The experience, Ms. Seftel said, taught her to \u201cappreciate everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStop taking everything for granted,\u201d she said. \u201cThink positive in whatever it is that you\u2019re going through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Seftel said she thinks she learned to be positive in the face of hardship at a young age, after her father died when she was 11.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n