Even Reality Producers Say They're Out of Ideas
The Hollywood Radio and Television Society hosted a forum of top reality-TV producers on Wednesday, and beyond talk about product integration, a key point emerged: A decade into the genre's relatively short life span on U.S. television, it feels like it's hit a creatively bankrupt patch.
"Creatively, where do we go from here?" asked Michael Davies, who -- in a sign of how challenged for fresh ideas the business is -- will bring "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?," which helped launch the trend along with "Survivor," back to ABC's primetime lineup this summer.
Mike Fleiss, the overseer of "The Bachelor" franchise, agreed. "I haven't seen anything original in a long time," he said, having personally contributed to the sameness quotient by essentially cloning his own formula with another dating show, "The Cougar" (pictured), for TV Land.
Producers also discussed the danger of excessive manipulation of unscripted storylines ("If stuff feels overly manipulated, [viewers] run away," said "Hell's Kitchen" producer Arthur Smith), even though the level of manipulation also seems to be growing by leaps and bounds.
As for product integration, I tend to agree with the general consensus that such deals have to be incorporated organically to prevent the "ick" factor from overcoming more sophisticated viewers. That said, unscripted TV does appear to be "better positioned to take advantage of the changes in this business," as Davies put it, citing the ability to weave sponsors into the actual program more seamlessly than scripted fare can. The question, he said, is how to get from promoting a product to "directly selling specific services," which sounds a bit creepy in theory but is probably where we're heading.
Then again, "Survivor's" Mark Burnett gave a pretty good idea of what an "organic" integration looks like, even if it might not have meshed particularly well with a lunchtime forum. "Who wouldn't like to wip their ass with Charmin after six weeks on an island?" he said regarding a tie-in on his longrunning CBS hit.
True enough. But the real squeeze right now is on producers to come up with another reality concept that's fresh, not merely reheated.
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Out of ideas? Time for the buyers to take pitch meetings with other reality producers, instead of the usual suspects. I know there are some really fresh, innovative ideas out there, but networks and cable channels won't be getting them unless they open their doors, minds and wallets. RG
Posted by: Reality Guy | April 23, 2009 at 09:48 AM
There are plenty of new, never-done-before ideas for reality shows
begging to be shown to producers, most of whom act as though they
have no interest at all in seeing them.
Posted by: Allan Krieff | April 23, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Absoloutely. That's like saying "We're out of ideas for feature films. Or dramatic series. Or how about, "we've run out of stories... period." True enough, there's not an original plotline left under the sun, it's the telling, and the creative choices and style, and unique personal flavor and point of view that breathes fresh life into anything. Until networks stop glad-handing their friends whose track records make them feel "comfortable" in a pitch, we're going to have audiences so "confortable" they don't bother to tune in.
Innovate, create, and stop protecting what you've got so desperately, you might actually "discover" the next authentic hit. Who knows, it might even have an actual heart beat instead of another soulless retread. But not by playing it safe, and by the book, a volume that's clearly run out of pages...
Posted by: G. Donne | April 24, 2009 at 10:22 AM
A little thing happened on the way to the future of Reality TV called the Internet. The playing field has been leveled. Every TV Producer for themselves. Now my Vodcast/program can reach a world wide audience 365 days a week, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I used to be a "Begger" now I am a Chooser." I Choose to be industrious and inovative without having to ask someone's permission. We have the technology to qualify the target consumer, quantify the audience, show ROI to advertisers and determine our own destiny. The rules have changed, there are no rules.
10 years ago I took my TV based business out of the confines of the studio system and learned to offer my vision to the media buyer, marketing firm, ad agency, pr company and directly to the product/service company. I am an evergreen student of the digital world. Oh yeah and by the way, we live in a world that is out there waiting for us to be brilliant. So I study each country and their consumer's behaviour to maximize the conversion potential. Thank goodness for shopping cart technology. They don't even have to leave their house to buy my sponsors products/services. Feel the speed, feel that you too can be a "Contender!"
Posted by: Angelica Holiday | April 24, 2009 at 11:57 AM