How To Succeed In The Non-Scripted Space

Dual appeal across all platforms. Finding the right idea. Staying true to the original concept. Capitalizing on a proven hit. And encouraging interaction. For Warner Horizon and Telepictures development executives Dan Sacks and Bridgette Theriault, these are five necessary steps, among others, to generate audience interest at a time when the challenge is, perhaps, more difficult than ever before.

Once upon a time, there were three broadcast networks. The definition of a “hit” series in primetime was attracting at least a 30 percent share of the audience. Fox became the fourth network. Cable surged. There were suddenly six broadcasters (following the arrivals of the now defunct UPN and WB). The rise of streaming platforms and social media applications offered the flexibility and on-demand nature of consuming content. And there was a new industry term, “Peak TV,” which at its height defined the over 600 scripted series across the fragment content landscape.

Flash to the present and the universal challenge for any original content producer or provider, either in the linear or digital space, is to get noticed. Specifically, how do you stand out in a landscape gutted with an endless menu of programming a la the traditional broadcasters, the streaming services, the short-form specialists (You Tube, iTunes, Google Play and Dailymotion, etc.), and the social media platforms?

Then, of course, is the age-old dilemma: How do you find the type of programs the audience wants to consume?

Dual Appeal Across All Platforms

“It’s about putting your finger on the pulse and focusing on the scalability of an idea,” said Dan Sacks, the five-time Emmy-nominated producer who serves as Senior Vice President, Development at Warner Horizon and Telepictures. “You want to make something that’s great, something that’s loud, and something that is creative and feels new. But there is also the prospect of selling it with multiple platforms in mind. It needs to work in as many places as possible for the best chance of a sale.”

“The content we are creating must have flexibility in some of the devices or the structure, obviously in the spin, and the grandness of it. But, at its core, the idea should work in multiple locations,” explained Bridgette Theriault, the Emmy Award winning Senior Vice President, Development at Warner Horizon and Telepictures. “We’re out with a project now that we are pitching to broadcast first. One version is more of a six-act true kind of breakdown, and there is a version that is a little bit bigger, potentially more in the field, and slightly more expensive that we will take to the streamers. But the nucleus of the idea is the same.”

Sacks and Theriault oversee a library of non-scripted programs that includes The Bachelor franchise for ABC, The Voice for NBC, Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking for Food Network, Fast Friends for Max, and the true-crime documentary miniseries The Kings of Tupelo for Netflix.

Finding the Right Idea

“The first thing we look for is the idea. Is it new? Is it fresh? Is it loud? Is it something that we think will resonate with audiences? And then what think about the different platforms and what they are putting on television,” noted Sacks, who joined Warner Bros. in 2014 and has produced and overseen an array of non-scripted series and specials (including 100 Years of Warner Bros., Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts and Superpowered: The DC Story for Max; Ellen’s Game of Games, Family Game Fight and Little Big Shots for NBC).

“People are presenting us ideas, often our own team, outside producers, international formats. There’s a lot of great ideas,” he said. “But do we think there will be buyers interested in this? Do we feel like there’s value in our time and our effort in getting this out there?”

Staying True to the Original Concept

“This year is going to be our 30^th edition of The Bachelor, which is huge. And obviously we’ve expanded that franchise with The Golden Bachelor and The Golden Bachelorette and we have Bachelor in Paradise coming back. After a year off, we’ve added some twists to it that we’re really excited about announcing soon,” noted Theriault, who joined Warner Bros. in 2014.

Before moving into her current role, Theriault was employed at Telepictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Entertainment, in a producing capacity for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, TMZ, and DC All Access. Earlier she helped produce The Oprah Winfrey Show. She also helped develop and launch syndicated talker The Jennifer Hudson Show, which is currently in its third season, and has produced Love Connection (Fox), How Music Got Free (Paramount+), Paris in Love (Peacock), and Ellen’s Next Great Designer (Max).

“For The Bachelor franchise I think it’s really been about staying on course with the original focus. It’s a fantasy. It’s a fairy tale. And it is about finding love,” she said. “The core of what the show is hasn’t changed, which I believe is true for The Voice too, or any long-running series in our library.”

Capitalizing on a Proven Hit

With a library with endless inventory to choose from, one option at Warner Bros., or any content producer that houses former hit series, is putting a new spin on a proven concept.

“From DC to Harry Potter to Game of Thrones, The Lord of Rings to, you know, Scooby Doo and Looney Tunes. We just have so much at our fingertips,” noted Theriault. “Friends, The Big Bang Theory, etc. So, we’re looking at ways where we can serve some of these because we know the audience wants it and buyers know the familiarity brings value.”

“Friends is such a popular series; everyone still loves it. Thirty years later and it has an entirely new generation of fans. When the 30^th anniversary came around, we wanted to celebrate the fans too,” she said. “We wanted to create something where the fans felt like they could engage with the celebration of the show too, on all different levels, from people who originally watched it to people who found it on streaming. And that led to Fast Friends.”

Fast Friends on Max is a four-part game show set in the iconic sets on Friends in a fast-paced competition event.

Encouraging Interaction

“One thing that’s important to us, especially with The Bachelor, is to expand beyond just television. We’ll have an online store. And we’re looking into a variety of different live experiences because we want that brand, and others, to live beyond the screen,” said Theriault. “How to bring that value to fans outside of just watching on the screen is a real motivating factor for us.”

“We recognize that developing any content at present reaches beyond just watching on television,” she said.”

Looking Ahead

“From what buyers are saying, and what it looks like audiences keep gravitating towards, are relationship shows,” said Dan Sacks. “And social experiment themed series that can travel well internationally. We’re trying to keep our ear on the street but also stay within our lanes in terms of what we want to be working on and what we think the audience and buyers want.”

“Naturally, it is about satisfying our fans with shows we think can resonate. And we have that vast library at our fingertips where we can find new ways to also celebrate past hits,” noted Theriault. “The biggest change from years past is being flexible in concepts, storytelling, and in how to pull something off at different sorts of levels of budgetary constraints. With change, comes opportunity, and we are always pitching.”

“For us, it’s always about planning ahead,” she said.