Greenlit: Developing Factual/Reality TV Ideas from Concept to Pitch

“Blows the lid on so many TV secrets” Tom Archer, Controller Factual, BBC
“If every first-time producer read this before pitching a program, I guarantee a greater success rate” Gary Lico, President/CEO, CABLEready, USA

In recent years there has been an explosion of broadcast and cable channels with a desperate need for original factual/reality programming to fill their schedules: documentaries, observational series, makeover formats, reality competitions. Yet television executives receive a daily avalanche of inappropriate pitches from pushy, badly prepared producers. Only 1 in 100 proposals are considered worth a second look, and most commissioners never read past the first paragraph.

Greenlit explains how to develop, research, pitch and sell your idea for any type of factual or reality television show. It gives the inside track on:

- What channel executives are really looking for in a pitch
- The life stories of hit factual shows such as The Apprentice, Deadliest Catch and Strictly Come Dancing
- Advice from channel commissioners, development producers and on-screen talent on both sides of the Atlantic
- Eleven steps that will increase your chance of winning a commission

In a rapidly expanding TV market, Greenlit is packed with resource lists, sample proposals, case studies and exercises designed to boost your skills and develop commission-winning proposals.

Author Biography

Nicola Lees has developed documentaries, docudramas, multiplatform and reality programmes for network and cable channels, including the BBC and Discovery, Travel Channel, National Geographic and TLC in the USA. Nicola consults for international clients and is editor of www.tvmole.com dedicated to factual development.