CONVERTING YOUR UNIQUE EXPERTISE INTO GREAT TV
In these days of the YouTube generation and reality TV, we’ve got dating coaches helping us find love (Bravo’s Millionaire Matchmaker, Logo’s Bad Sex), stylists perfecting our grooming rituals (The Look For Less, Project Runway, Tabitha’s Hair Salon), and even health and fitness experts shaping our bodies (any given Dr. Oz show). And one of the many lessons reality TV has taught us – besides how to conduct a passive-aggressive catfight, Housewives-style – is that there’s always room for new talent.
Reality TV widens the definition of “talent”, offering big opportunities for those of us who didn’t go to Juilliard or Yale Drama School. It can be a great vehicle for people with specific areas of interesting non-entertainment expertise (like therapy, pet-training, and even the lately-very-hot paranormal investigation). Creating a show is a great way to raise your profile and share what you know. If you or a friend has an interesting job or business, it’s worth investigating the possibility of pitching a show about it.
Here are the top 3 things to consider when creating your own reality show:
- 1. Consider the audience—especially the niche. —What group isn’t being reflected or heard in the TV world? Who deserves a spotlight, a chance to share a compelling story and offer viewers something they never knew they needed? Can you speak to them?
- 2. It doesn’t hurt to try something radically different —Of course you should know what the buyers want now, but you never know how the market will evolve or what other trends may pop up a year (or months and weeks) from now.
- 3. Great characters still drive the story –If you’re not the world’s leading dog-groomer or a 5-star chef, you can still go very far on charisma. Do you or a friend have an energetic dynamic with family, co-workers, or associates? Do you handle conflict in an innovative way? Do you have a larger-than-life personality or a colorful past that has informed who you are today?
Something tells us that there isn’t a network exec out there who wouldn’t kill to discover the next Bethenny Frankel after seeing the sharp-tongued and outgoing businesswoman and mother explode across the pop culture landscape and make her mark in the genre.
You could be next!