There are certainly reality shows where you can’t stop but think, “How did this show see the light of day?” “Sex Box,” anyone?
However, for as many shows you’re shocked got on the air, there are many more that devastated producers when they didn’t make it.
At the final day of this week’s RealScreen Summit, an annual reality TV conference in Washington, producers spilled stories about the one that got away – series that were pitched but simply failed to make it on TV. Some just had bad luck, but some are as absurd as you might expect.
[‘Sex Box,’ a reality show where people have sex in a box, is a real thing in development]
Show: “Big Weed”
Premise: An “Apprentice”-style show where 10 people compete to work with one of Colorado’s top marijuana dealers.
Why it failed: The first line of the sizzle reel may have made some network executives wince: “Every day I commit two felonies: I sell drugs and launder money,” boasts the star, who brags he has the best weed in the world. Another factor that hurt: A couple other marijuana shows were already on the air, said producer Jim Berger, and they hadn’t rated well. (As someone pointed out, “There’s only so much watching you can do with weed.”) Its real downfall, however, was how advertisers would feel – particularly on History channel, which expressed interest but has a more conservative audience. “Ultimately, ad sales was dead against it,” Berger said.
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Show: Untitled Waxing Salon Show
Premise: People in deep personal conversations with their waxers – while they’re getting hair removed.
Why it failed: It was disgusting. “I thought this was the greatest idea ever,” producer Eric Schotz said wistfully. He showed a cringe-inducing clip of a woman getting a Brazilian bikini wax while talking about an upcoming date. “Mother of God!” the woman yells. “How has technology not come up with something better than this?!” Schotz said that when he pitched it to Lifetime, the exec just stared at him before she politely declined. “It’s gonna go freaking viral!” Schotz recalls saying. But even he joked that “If your buyer throws up at the table, you probably should not continue pitching.”
Show: “Hot Date”
Premise: “The Bachelor”…with porn stars.
Why it failed: In the words of one producer: ”You have to ask?” Apparently it got an “angry pass” from a male-centric TV network.
Show: “Road Eats”
Premise: Truck drivers share tips about the best places to eat on the road, and cameras follow them as they uncover delicious food.
Why it failed: Office politics. It’s still tough for producer Michael Hoff to talk about this one – everyone had high hopes that it was going to be a hit. But there was a sudden management change at the top of the network, and the new bosses weren’t fans of the show. “You get great notes on the first cut…and then it’s ‘This is not what we want, this is not what we’re thinking,” Hoff said. The show imploded, which meant layoffs and legal issues, since there was a contract for 22 episodes. Hoff wouldn’t disclose the network: “There’s too much carnage.”
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Show: “The Misty Copeland Project”
Premise: Misty Copeland – the first black ballerina to be appointed principal dancer for the American Ballet Theater – would mentor aspiring young dancers.
Why it failed: “Dance is tough on cable,” said producer Rebecca Toth Diefenbach. For every “Dancing With the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” there’s a dance-themed docu-series that doesn’t make it. The show was in development at Oxygen, and with a famous name like Copeland, it seemed like a no-brainer – but the network couldn’t figure out a way to make it work. “There was a huge fight at the top” over whether the show could go forward, Diefenbach said. Ultimately, it was a no.
Read more:
How we went from ‘Survivor’ to more than 300 reality shows: A complete guide.
Is 30 too old to find love? ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ tackles reality TV age-shaming.
Josh Duggar wasn’t the first: How reality TV background checks have failed.
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