'Poker Face' to 'Terminal List': How an Indie Producer Beats the Big Guys
MRC TV president Jenna Santoianni on her strategy of 'very specific and targeted bets', selling pitches vs. scripts, and what makes an idea 'undeniable' now
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How do you survive as an indie player in a world of vertically integrated behemoths? It’s a question smaller studios and production companies face every day as they compete with conglomerates like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery that have built-in network and streaming buyers for their studios’ TV series.
In a sprawling conversation at MRC’s office in West Hollywood, the company’s TV president, Jenna Santoianni — who joined MRC two years ago after overseeing development at Paramount Television Studios, where she shepherded scripted series including Station Eleven and Made For Love — walked me through the studio’s development process and her approach to staying competitive amid a rocky period.
Poker Face is the indie studio’s big headliner this spring (expect it to get some love on stage at Radio City Music Hall during NBC’s upfront in a few weeks), as the Rian Johnson-directed Peacock sleuth series returns for a 12-episode second season on May 8 — more than two years after the finale of its first. Series star, EP and writer Natasha Lyonne plays a Columbo-style investigator who roves to different cities to solve crimes; she scored a comedy actress Emmy nomination for that acclaimed debut season, and Judith Light took home a 2023 statuette for her guest turn as a murderous nursing home resident.
MRC Television, known for Netflix’s Ozark (and the streamer’s first original, House of Cards), Hulu’s The Great and Amazon Prime Video’s The Terminal List, also produced the Ted films and the Peacock TV adaptation. A joint effort with Universal Studio Group’s UCP, the Ted series quickly became Peacock’s most-watched scripted original and was one of the first five shows to garner its scribes the coveted streaming bonus promised in the new Writers Guild of America contract. Santoianni wishes there were a way to further spread the wealth from a hit show.
“I’d be lying if I said we don’t think every day: How do we change the deal structures to be better for the studios and for the artists that are involved in their shows? How do we preserve the creative process so we continue to keep delivering those hits?” she muses. “Once you have a hit show, how do you maintain that audience? How do you get it back on the air faster? How do you build out that universe? Those are the things that keep us awake at night.”
Santoianni, 40, started her career at CAA assisting Beth Swofford and saw stints at companies including Whalerock Industries and Sonar Entertainment. She’s had her hands on projects from docuseries Lorena (produced by Jordan Peele) to the MTV fantasy The Shannara Chronicles.
Today, you’ll get highlights (lightly edited) of my conversation with Santoianni, including:
How MRC competes against vertically integrated studios in a market with fewer buyers
Her strong feelings about selling pitches vs. scripts
The five elements that MRC believes make a show “undeniable”
What indies must do to win over both talent and buyers
All the development and production factors that can slow a show’s journey to the screen
The effects of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes on shows like Poker Face
Her thoughts on increasing comp for production companies in success
Why there could be a four-year gap between seasons one and two of The Terminal List and the strategy to satisfy fans in the meantime