What Effect Will Coronavirus Have on the TV Industry?
by EG
Hollywood isn't able to produce traditional TV content while the whole country is dealing with coronavirus, so proudcers are looking for other types of shows to make. They hope that people stuck at home are going to like watching other people stuck at home--or at least shows that can be made by people stuck at home. Read on for details.
Most unscripted producers and documentarians aren't brainstorming ways to translate America's current, distorted reality of isolation and social-distancing into reality TV. They're looking through their own libraries of unused footage and past pitches, wondering if the next Tiger King hides somewhere inside.
"The question every producer is asking themselves right now is, 'What can we make with the assets we have on hand?'" says Thalia Mavros, founder of production company The Front. "And that's the same question we're being asked in all of our meetings with buyers."
The fact that TV's hit during this time of quarantine, at least according to Netflix and social media, is a seven-part true-crime documentary series that relies almost exclusively on archival footage and one-on-one interviews bodes well for a lot of unscripted producers. Not only can these types of projects come together quicker once current restrictions are loosened, much (if not all) of the work can even be done in the interim. Access to archival footage, remote postproduction capabilities and even teleconference interviews mean audiences are likely to see several docuseries born out of COVID-19's binding circumstances.
"There is a hunger for programming that can be created in its majority, if not entirely, in postproduction," notes ITV America chief creative TV officer David Eilenberg, who says ITV true-crime shingle Good Caper has been fielding requests from platforms that don't typically traffic in the popular genre. "People are concentrating on what can be executed in the near- to medium-term, rather than how we can respond culturally to what we're all going through."
Other genres that multiple producers say they've been getting targeted development asks for focus on the already popular areas of food and home. Cooking competitions and tutorials, which often require far fewer people on set, are expected to be among the first to resume or start production when things calm down. And with so many people stuck inside, orders for home improvement and design series are expected to climb. Asks Eilenberg, "What does the home-renovation genre even look like after everybody's been trapped in their homes for a few months?"
That's not to say there aren't asks going out for homebound-specific content — "The only pitches I'm getting any traction on are self-filmed competition formats," bemoans one reality producer — but those are not the norm and none have gone to series yet. Many assert that social-distancing-safe content will be limited to talk shows, news, social media and specials, all arenas that have had to respond in real time. (America's Got Talent, for one, is moving forward with online auditions to include in the NBC series' upcoming season after its traditional production schedule came to a halt.)
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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