Outpitch, Outplay, Outlast: The New Rules for Selling Reality TV
In a tighter, cheaper, louder market, agents say only the boldest ideas — and noisiest pitches — are breaking through
I write about TV from L.A. and host The Ankler podcast. I interviewed a top agent about the unscripted market now and wrote about what industry insiders expect from new Amazon TV head Peter Friedlander and the agency using an AI assistant. I’m elaine@theankler.com
If you had to guess the top-rated reality series of the 2024–2025 TV season, you’d probably say Love Is Blind, Beast Games or The Traitors.
Close — but the crown still belongs to the old guard.
Per Nielsen’s year-end tally, CBS’s Survivor and NBC’s The Voice tied for the No. 52 slot among all broadcast and streaming shows. That’s Survivor’s 48th season and The Voice’s 27th — a little like seeing someone’s grandpa win a “hottest bachelor” contest. The old guys have still got it.
In a market overflowing with new reality swings, it’s the legacy franchises that continue to outlast, outplay and outdraw the competition. They speak to something primal — a clean premise, emotional stakes, and a price tag networks can live with. Like I said last week in the first chapter of our unscripted TV sellers’ guide, which featured a ruthlessly candid chat with a top non-scripted agent, if you’ve managed to build a series or franchise that speaks to viewers’ primal desires — and isn’t too pricey to produce — you’ve struck gold.
But the real challenge for producers and agents now is figuring out what new ideas can break through when audiences already have too much to choose from.
So I talked to half a dozen top agents who rep talent, showrunners and production companies across reality, competition and docu-follow TV to get a read on what’s actually working in 2025 — and where the business is headed next.
And over the next two weeks, I’ll take a closer look at both brand-funded and sports-related unscripted programming, so make sure you’re a paid subscriber for all the latest. But first!
In today’s Series Business, I look at:
Why Netflix is the “gold standard” — and the opportunity as some of its hottest shows are “starting to show age”
The precise strategy required to make a sale now, and how reps work with producers to hone pitches that “make noise and clear the clutter”
Who calls the unscripted shots now at NBCU, FOX, Netflix, Amazon, Disney-owned ABC and Hulu and more
How social media stars like Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ MomTokers have opened new lanes in follow-docs
Which broadcaster has its eye on developing more buzzy U.K. formats
The pricey star-centered format now a no-go at every platform
What reps are hoping to see from David Ellison at Paramount, especially with the cable nets, after hitting “a brick wall” with the previous regime
Which shows are working at which platforms
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