Chapter | thirteen

Avoiding the Reality Drive-Through

Reality television is often credited—or criticized—for introducing the universal phenomenon that today is logged in the American pop culture lexicon as instant celebrity.

In the bygone era of old-school Hollywood, there was not only an established celebrity standard, there was also an established process by which one could attain that elusive and still largely respected status. The stars of yesterday earned their celebrity in large part by patiently but diligently working their way to the top of the industry through incremental steps that nurtured talent and cultivated appreciation for their chosen craft. Today, however, that long and painful road to success is frequently becoming the road less traveled.

As the leading provider of expedient celebrity, reality television has quickly deteriorated into the contemporary drive-through equivalent of “making it” in the entertainment business. With shows like The Apprentice, America’s Next Top Model, The Hills, Rock of Love, and The Real World cranking out new “celebrities” on a relatively frequent basis, is it any wonder that scores of talented and professionally trained actors and musicians are growing increasingly frustrated by repeatedly losing work to flash-in-the pan instant celebrities?

To be fair, some of the performers who attain national glory are tremendously talented individuals worthy of considerable praise and industry respect. But for most, 15 minutes of fame is all that will, or can, be attained in a business that hastily decides who is useful or useless. As a result of most being rendered “useless,” the reality TV industry is always ready and willing to give someone else their 15 minutes.

By 2005 it was apparent that the reality television frenzy had spilled over into what is now referred to as “reality media.” YouTube, for example, allows anyone with a digital camera the opportunity to become an instant celebrity. Correspondingly, the explosion of cell phones with video-enabled technology has turned ordinary folks into prolific members of the news and entertainment media.

Incredibly, the desire for overnight fame and fortune is so strong among the masses that professional job coaches and career counselors have recorded an unprecedented spike in numerous professions now dubbed “reality TV reflecting pools.” For many, the increased popularity and prevalence of these career choices have resulted directly from an accelerated viewership of reality programming. Although the bulk of reality TV fans are called to these professions as a consequence of watching others excel in a similar field, many select these particular occupations for the sole purpose of increasing their chances of getting a big break on reality television.

Although phrases like “overnight celebrity,” “15 minutes of fame,” and “flash-in-the-pan artists” are most commonly attributed to those in front of the reality TV cameras, producers are just as vulnerable to the instant make-or-break nature of reality television.

“The business used to recycle producers,” says legendary TV host, producer, and media mogul Dick Clark. “Once you were in, you were in. It’s different now.”

Indeed, reality show producers are often relegated to the ash heap of television history just as quickly as the fleeting celebrities they helped to engender.

“The value of not putting all your eggs in one basket is particularly true for television producers today,” warns Clark. “Unless you want a career that spans six weeks, I urge the younger guys coming up to be as prolific as their sanity allows.”

THE JUGGLING ACT

Successful producers like Dick Clark and Mark Burnett have been widely recognized for juggling a multitude of projects at any given time. As Clark has noted, savvy producers focus on the big picture—namely, their careers—fully aware that it’s harder to be professionally dismissed after a failed project if other projects are in development.

Unfortunately, most reality series last only one short season. Yet the majority of first-time reality producers don’t realize that producing a ratings juggernaut like Survivor is considerably more difficult to do than the unscripted genre deceptively leads them to believe. As a result, many producers abandon their long-held aspirations after a single project fails to prove successful.

On the other hand, producers who bring to the table a vast array of projects and programming concepts stand a much better chance of emerging as premier reality show producers than those who invest all their time, money, and energy in one project that might or might not ever see the light of day.

“The most important thing for a new producer to do is get an active start,” advises Dick Clark. “When I was a kid, I ended up on camera for the first time by an odd mistake. Somebody just put me there. And I began to realize as the years went by that I wouldn’t be able to do this forever. So I started doing the production end. I still do some on-camera work, but 90 percent of what I do is behind the lens. And if you’re going to do that, you have to do a mess of things all at once. It’s the only way to keep up and make a steady living. There are so many uncertainties in television production that you really can’t afford to approach another way.”

Though there are numerous “gimmicks” routinely employed by former reality TV stars working to extend the viability and longevity of their careers, there are considerably fewer options for reality TV producers hoping to be known for more than one failed series.

Without a doubt, this is the reason that the principle of hitting the ground running at the start of your career is ultimately just as vital to the length and quality of your career as anything else you will ever do. When Mark Burnett started his own production company, Mark Burnett Productions, he unveiled a slew of projects, many of which never reached the mainstream. Yet his portfolio kept Burnett a leading and prolific producer whose name quickly became synonymous with the reality medium itself.

Although upstart producers typically don’t have vast reserves of financing power or industry connections, a viable strategy for newcomers looking to pitch and produce a reality project involves taking your work directly to the troika of reality television’s most open markets: Comedy Central, Discovery, and MTV. As of early 2008, these three growing and undeniably successful major cable networks still accept unsolicited programming pitches from new and untested producers and writers.

THE $60 BATTLE PLAN

By now, of course, you probably have at least one reality TV brainchild that you are wholly optimistic about. If you have only one, quickly develop two more into similar, properly formatted pitches. Tailor one unique project to each network, trying in some way to home in on the niche viewing audiences held by the individual networks.

Next, for the purposes of protecting your work, register each individual show idea ($20 each) with the WGA. Fortunately, the registration process is remarkably straightforward and will only require you to enter the basic information that’s likely already included in your pitch. The registration is instant and should consume only a few minutes of your time. The site will require your Social Security or driver’s license number for identification purposes. Finally, you’ll be given a registration number to include in your written pitch.

Although few networks will review unsolicited proposals, none to my knowledge will review unregistered ones. Not only does a WGA registration moderately protect your work, it also protects the network from any accusations of intellectual property theft down the line.

Once you’re all set, review your respective presentations and mail them (by snail mail) to your first three prospective networks:

Most of the time, the typical unsolicited pitch will not garner a response (if any at all) for up to eight weeks.

Although this strategy obviously applies most suitably to producers trying to break into the business, the process of continually generating program concepts and pitching to new and former contacts is the best, and some would argue the only, way to overcome the perpetual threat of lasting only as long as the first project you manage to sell.

In 2001 I sat down with Jim Lehrer, longtime host of the News Hour on PBS. During the course of our interview, Jim shared one of the most interesting and lasting insights ever gleaned during a conversation on my program: “Some of the dumbest people I know,” said Lehrer, “are those who, on paper, have the most experience and education in their field. I say this because after they attained their master’s or reached their desirable level of success, they never cracked another book or entertained a fresh idea. They simply stagnated.”

In the television industry—particularly within the genre of unscripted programming—any producer who stagnates or similarly fails to continuously expand his or her knowledge of market trends, viewership patterns, and programming developments cannot possibly expect a lasting career that grows with the industry.

It is indeed a simple assertion, but cultivating a lasting, profitable, and gratifying career in reality television has more to do with basic communication skills than it does production skills. For many producers who’ve arranged their first pitch meeting or sold their first reality show, a palpable demeanor of cocksureness becomes apparent. Countless producers believe after even a minimal amount of success that they “get it.” But as discussed earlier, there is no wise old sage of reality television who truly knows all. The reality genre is a consistently evolving field that demands a consistently studious approach by producers at all levels, from those just out of college to Mark Burnett himself.

TALKING THE TALK

The basic communication skills I just alluded to are twofold. First and foremost, a good producer possesses the willingness and ability to listen—to criticism, feedback, industry moods, and more. Just as important, conversely, is the ability to speak or present what others need to hear, specifically during a project pitch. For those who grow conceited and believe that their apparent confidence is enough to sell a soft pitch, they will find themselves sorely mistaken almost all the time. Though presenting self-confidence and faith in one’s project is absolutely fundamental, failing to deliver a presentation just as thoughtful and charming as the one a first-time producer would deliver is a veritable death sentence for a project, even if it’s an outstanding idea with real potential.

AN EMERGENT TREND

In some circles within the television industry, although to a reduced extent after the 2007–2008 writers’ strike, many producers in the reality television genre have begun flirting with scripted programming largely to diversify their résumés and build production credibility for the future.

Ideally, successful producers will eventually incorporate and launch their own production companies, as discussed, for more leveraged creative and financial reasons. At the moment, however, the growing trend is to develop production companies that specialize in scripted and unscripted programming, thus doubling the base of potential production opportunities.

Although producers looking to break into the television industry as reality show producers should focus exclusively at first on only the reality genre, an emergent theory for extending one’s reach and longevity in the business is to diversify production experience and credits to the fullest extent possible.

Although reality television doesn’t appear to be going away, it’s virtually impossible to predict what audiences will demand 10 or 15 years down the road. If the reality craze subsides, even just temporarily, producers solely invested in the reality business could find themselves at a tremendous financial and creative disadvantage—or an outright loss.

Just as Dick Clark warned against putting all your eggs in one basket when trying to break into reality television, indeed, maintaining a rewarding career as a producer—of any format of programming—primarily still depends on talent, experience, tenacity, and foresight. Having the foresight early in your career to amass the sundry credentials necessary to be an indispensable part of any type of television production is precisely the most valuable advice any new producer can receive on the journey to becoming a Hollywood mogul.