The Reality TV Producer - INSPIRED TV and FLAVA FLAV

So, you can imagine the scene… A TV executive hangs out with some people who are a bit different from him and he ponders… “what would it be like if I had to live with him/her”.  

Weeks later “Wife Swap” turns up on TV.  

A junior development producer travels to a far away island and ponders how living alone, stranded there with people you don’t even know might provoke a great fight… Voilà! ”Survivor” arrives in the middle of the schedules.

Don’t ask me what the exec who developed “Wipeout” was watching… but an average weekend round at my in-laws might have done it.

Anyway, the point is inspiration for a TV show can come from a lot of places.  But coming up with Reality TV shows is not quite as easy as sitting and waiting for inspiration to strike. No matter what you might think watching Tila Tequila.  

Sure - sometimes you’ll come up with a genius idea in the bath, or at spin class. Sometimes someone will pitch you a great idea… but not often. So you can’t rely on just coming up with ideas if you’re serious about being a reality tv company.  

One of the major mistakes that inexperienced producers make is to hold on to ONE idea way past it’s death-by date. You’ll meet producers who pitch to you and they have one show idea – but it’s lame, tired, (already on tv – yes, this really happens!) – in short, it’s just not working – but 6 months later they’re still pressing it – having made zero progress.  

Don’t get me wrong, tenacity is THE most important trait to have in reality tv, but if you’re not generating fresh sounding ideas for your company to make, then you may as well not be doing it at all. The chances that your ONE idea is going to be the one to make it through and get green-lit are very slim. So you’re going to need more ideas.

How?  

The most reliable way of coming up with ideas is BRAINSTORMING – not wild, off-the-wall brainstorming – but focused, smart regular meetings with your team, with a very short list of networks very much in mind.  

The next thing we do is draw up a list of ‘areas’, hot topics that are relevant, timely and ideally provocative. Say ‘Runaway Dads’, ‘DEBT & foreclosures’, ‘fathers at war’. We then take each one and talk through the issues at hand – what’s at stake, what are the core problems. We then think of similar shows in a similar vein. Finally, we talk over the way we’d handle that in an ENTERTAINING way on tv!  

But, the thing you’ll find is that once you create your ‘areas list’ you’ll also be focusing the way you even come across new RANDOM ideas. You’ll hear a radio story, talk with someone, or read a book - and then you’ll already be thinking how it could work WITHIN one of your ‘hot topic areas’.  

The important thing about this is that it will make every idea you come up with RELEVANT. People will always be so thrilled you’re always pitching ideas that ‘absolutely hits upon the zeitgeist’. So, you’ll also be making yourself hip and cool in the process.  

The most vital thing to remember in all of this is that every idea MUST have a home. This is important – you’re making shows for people to buy – and they are the networks on your list. If you can’t sell your show to these guys, you’re going to have a long, uphill battle to sell the show. And that’s not good. 

Any idea we run by each other MUST have a possible home at 4 or more networks otherwise we dump it.  

The way to work this out is to talk with the network, or, simplest of all – watch the network. Lots of it. Also, check out their advertizing, which shows are they turning into billboards? (This is A REALLY simple but valuable tip – because you’ll really see what shows they want to be known for. Study the graphics, the looks and feels of the press and the shows themselves. This will give you a great understanding of the ‘feel’ of the network – how edgy they are or want to be, or how ‘family oriented’).  

And if all this doesn’t work – then just stick a giant clock round the neck of a former Rapper – and have him try to choose a wife from a bunch of skanky lap-dancers.

Tags: Filmmaking, Movie Bloggers, Movie, Television, Hollywood