Adam Wilkenfeld (00:00)
Everybody has an idea, right? Everybody has an idea. But if you don't have an agent and you don't have a manager and you don't have a cousin who used to work for Netflix, what are you going to do with it?

Madelyn (00:15)
Hey, welcome to The Unscripted Files. My name is Madelyn Cunningham. I am a development producer in the unscripted industry, bringing you candid, casual, compelling conversations with the minds behind your favorite form of entertainment. Today, we have a startup founder and seasoned producer on the podcast who's talking to me all about development. If you have a show idea, what should you do? Right? Everyone has ideas. ⁓ I reminded of that every single day on TikTok when I scroll and I'm like,

there are people smarter and funnier and more creative than me. So what happens when you have an idea, but you don't quite have the network connections or you don't know what to do next? Well, he's created a platform for that called Showrilly that connects ideas to producers, specifically in unscripted factual entertainment.

So interesting to talk to Adam to hear about how he got into the entertainment industry and ultimately how he built Showrilly what was really important for creators and what was important to producers.

So without further ado, here's my conversation with producer and founder,

Adam Wilkenfeld.

Madelyn (01:20)
Adam, welcome to The Unscripted Files. How's it going?

Adam Wilkenfeld (01:22)
Hey, Madelyn

Madelyn (01:23)
You doing good?

Adam Wilkenfeld (01:24)
Yeah, I'm excited. We had so much fun talking on the phone yesterday. You're super easy to talk to, so I'm excited for today.

Madelyn (01:29)
We-

good, I appreciate that so much. Yeah, the pre-warmup call is always nice. Sometimes I get on here with guests, it's the first time we're ever talking. We sort of figure it out, but it was, yeah, it was great to chat. In fact, we had to cut off the conversation yesterday because we were like, okay, okay, we could talk forever. Like, let's save it for tomorrow, right?

Adam Wilkenfeld (01:48)
Save some of this

for TV. Yeah, that's what we always say, right? Save it for the cameras. This is too good, save it for the cameras. have a lot in common. We've done a lot of the same things through our careers and I think that just makes it so easy.

Madelyn (01:52)
Right?

you and I were chatting like we could talk about a million different things, right? But you are an entrepreneur, you have a startup right now that is all about matching up creators with producers. And so I would love for this episode to focus on just that. but if someone really does have an idea.

What does that look like if they have access? They stumbled upon something. It's the family friend or whatever it may be. I'm always hearing people who are like, I have this access. I know about this thing, but how do I get with the right people? How do I match it up with producers? And you've created a platform for that.

So it's really cool to have you on.

Adam Wilkenfeld (02:34)
Everybody has an idea, right? Everybody has an idea. But if you don't have an agent and you don't have a manager and you don't have a cousin who used to work for Netflix, what are you going to do with it?

Madelyn (02:44)
Totally, yeah, absolutely. So I just love this. But I wanna know really quickly, you didn't just have this idea and you worked in finance. You're a seasoned producer. You understand the development process. You have been there before. I'd love to talk about how you got into the industry. Was it an early passion? Was it something different? And just kind of hear about your entry into entertainment.

Adam Wilkenfeld (03:06)
When I was growing up, literally the only station, the only television channel that my television could receive, I was in Asia for 11 years, Indonesia, Burma, and the Philippines, the only television station was CNN International. So when I wasn't at school, when I didn't feel like doing my homework, when I was sick, I was watching the space shuttles go up, I was watching the Berlin Wall come down, the first Persian Gulf War, live and live in color, and I wanted to work for CNN, I wanted to be in TV.

And that's how I wound up going to journalism school, getting into journalism, getting to be a producer and getting experience talking to people, meeting interesting people who are doing interesting things. And that's really what reality TV is, right? That's what Unscripted is all about. Interesting people doing interesting things.

Madelyn (03:53)
100%, it is journalism. It is study of human behavior. It's documentation of cultures, subcultures, maybe forced cultures But it is, it's the study of our little worlds. That's so interesting. I could talk to you. I'm like so curious even about your upbringing and how that shaped who you are. So you got, what was your first?

foray into entertainment. like, so, in reality specifically, was there a specific opportunity that was given to you? Like talk to me about that first, those first few steps.

Adam Wilkenfeld (04:24)
I like to start the story off with a sport called canyoneering because nobody's ever heard of it. I had never heard of it, but it's amazing for anybody who is a little bit daring and likes adventure. You jump off of waterfalls, rappel down waterfalls and swim through canyons, swim through caves. And my old landlord was super into that sport. And he invited me to go down to Monte Contes in Mexico. And I had an amazing time and an old army friend

that was on the trip of his that was on the trip with us when we came back. And mind you, this is Los Angeles. Like everybody knows somebody on TV, but he didn't. was a photocopy salesman, like one of those like old school, go door to door to your place of business and do you need a coffee machine? And he's like, Adam, I had this idea for a reality show and will you help me cut a sizzle? I didn't even know what a sizzle was, but he was a friend and I had had a great time.

Madelyn (05:05)
of it.

Adam Wilkenfeld (05:18)
on this adventure with him. And so he brought over some found footage. That's footage that he had found on YouTube or I remember there were some old DVDs that we scraped and we put that together into what today would call a taster reel. Like it was a minute maybe, a minute and a half that just showed the world. And really that phrase, show the world, the world of that television concept is what it takes

just that, to hook a network, to hook a buyer. And that's what happened. And fast forward several months, and I'm filming my first reality show as the showrunner.

Madelyn (06:01)
Wow. It does, I will say that is such an incredible story. I feel like it doesn't happen so much anymore in that way. Like, you know what I mean? I feel like there's, it feels like there's so many obstacles, which is why I Showrilly is so great. But it's, I love that like, oh, I came across this world, we pitched it and all of a sudden I'm show running it and just it's trial by fire. You're like figuring it out.

Adam Wilkenfeld (06:26)
Well, that is why Shereeley is actually really cool, I think, is because it is so hard as a development person to come, you know this, to come up with, to find these worlds. Everything has been done, everything has been exposed. And if a producer hasn't found it themselves, then somebody else who actually lives in that world has had the idea, because they've seen so much else similar, to raise their hand, right? So it's really hard as a development person to find these worlds.

Madelyn (06:36)
Mm-hmm.

Adam Wilkenfeld (06:54)
And so for a place like Shorilly to exist where as a producer, it's such an easy sell. You mean I can go on and browse, search, set search alerts for keywords and have it come to me? They love it. It's so easy. They love it.

Madelyn (07:10)
Well, I was telling you that yesterday. I think it's brilliant. And also in this era of really needing to search, like sure, we can stumble upon something, right? But we're starting to have to get a little more specific, especially now that we are at the intersection of brands and entertainment. And we're having to get a little specific of like, maybe we have a mandate from an airline. Maybe we have a mandate from.

a manufacturer, whatever. And so the fact that you can get in there, explore, but also search is so interesting. Let's talk about so creators can can submit and put things on your platform. But let's talk about what it takes to get there. Let's talk about the materials. Right. You've got a deck. You've got a sizzle. You've got your copy. Walk me through.

especially as a first time creator or someone who's got a nugget of an idea or access, what materials do you need to develop?

Adam Wilkenfeld (08:03)
I like to say you can start so small. You can start with a title and a log line. And that's all you need to get started on Showrilly You could add more over time. Some people have a full blown out sizzle. Some might have a little taster and some might have a pitch deck or just a few links to the cast that they have in mind. Here's their social media. Here's a little interview that they did on the news. All you need is a little bit of a hook to introduce that world. The same that I did with Saw Dogs. That was that first show.

Right? it was that I had the point of that story isn't that here's this wonder kid who sold his first show and got to run it. This point of the story is that you don't actually, I had no experience in reality. The point of the story is that if you can find, and I didn't even find the world. I just helped my friend who had, who had found the world. But if you can find a world, it doesn't take a super polished sizzle reel and doesn't take super polished pitch deck. takes.

just a glimpse of it and then meeting the right producer. And that's what Showrilly is all about, is to introduce you to a producer who knows how to take that and turn it into a format, give it some structure and kind of some, whether it's a male skewing show, give it some stakes, give it a clock, know, things that we talk about, right? Which that show was. Or if it's more of female skewing show, we talk about maybe is it more aspirational? We talk about that.

Madelyn (09:06)
Mm.

Adam Wilkenfeld (09:27)
how to give it, not in a sexist way, but because you have to sell it to a buyer. And the buyer has identified themselves as we are a platform, a network that has this viewer, and this viewer comes to us for aspirational shows. So if you're a Bravo, you want something very different from Discovery or from Netflix. It's just a different, so you have to know who your buyer is and who you're gonna be pitching to and design that

pitch material for them. And that's what a producer can help you with. Your job on Showrilly is just to hook them. It's just to show them the world.

Madelyn (10:00)
No, it's a great point that when you're putting your projects up, you are not putting them up for a buyer. You are putting them up for a producer who's going to act as an intermediate to be able to shape your materials and shape what you have into something and create a pitch for a buyer.

a producer, we have the ability and like to, be able to see something and know the spark and want to work with it. You know what I mean? And so I think it's nice that you mentioned that there is sure, make sure you have the best materials and make sure you have something compelling, but you don't need a lot. You don't need to produce your own sizzle. You don't need to come out of pocket for these things. if you have something strong, put it out there and

A producer has that instinct to be able to latch on and then to shape it with you and prepare it, use all the knowledge they know about the market, about materials in order to get it ready for the right buyer.

Adam Wilkenfeld (10:52)
I think that in the real estate market, there's probably two different types of people, right? The type of person who wants to live in the house that's done, that you move in and it's moving ready, the paint, the kitchen is done. Or there's a type of buyer who wants to live in the house that they can come in and do some reno, do some fixer-upper and make it look the way that they want it to look. Now in the TV space, the buyers are the fixer-upper type. More than likely, your producer or your network

Madelyn (11:01)
Mm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Adam Wilkenfeld (11:21)
They want you to come in with an idea and let them work with you to develop it into something that works well for their mandates, for their viewer, for their network executives, something that maybe can float on a show that has been successful for them. You don't want to go and be like, this is how it is, and I've already made the first episode, and come and buy it or don't buy it. It's my way. We filmed the pilot. No.

Madelyn (11:44)
We filmed a pilot!

Adam Wilkenfeld (11:47)
They want you to come

in, because you know what you're gonna get? You know what you're gonna get if you get, it's too bad, that would have been so good if only it had been a half hour instead of an hour. If only you'd used a narrator, if only you hadn't used a narrator. If only you'd had a female cast instead of, if only you'd had one more male character. If only you'd scoot a bit younger, a little bit older, or did more info and less entertain, like, they're always gonna find something that isn't exactly what they wanted. So bring them in on the process, let them be part of it.

And I think that there's a fallacy that you have to be exactly like completely ready and everything is bespoke, ready to write. It doesn't have to be that polished. Now I won't say one other thing though, because we're talking right now as if everybody on the platform is a complete newbie and has never, know, general public.

Madelyn (12:32)
Mm.

Adam Wilkenfeld (12:34)
But then there's also just as many award-winning producers, field producers, directors, editors, DPs, directors of photography that are on the platform. Not because they don't know how to, they know what good TV is.

They know how a good pitch looks. They know what a great character is. They even know how to do a great sizzle. Like some of these concepts, like has this already been on? It looks like you've already, it looks like the show has already made. It's amazing. And they just don't have those network relationships. So they need a producer to partner with to take them to the network and make the introductions and boom, they're ready to go. So I have just as many as those as well. so everybody's, whether it's your first pitch or your 10th pitch,

It's it's Showrilly is can be your home. Everything looks great on the platform is gorgeous Your your concept is gonna look great and you don't need to worry about whether I've done this before or not We've got you on that. It's gonna look good and producers are gonna be there to hunt for it. Your job is just to hook them

Madelyn (13:34)
I love that. And I'm glad you called that out too, because you're right. Sometimes the barrier to entry is not that they haven't done this before or they haven't picked up a camera or know how to shoot something incredible or find a story. It's just that that relationship or that access piece is missing. And again, that's where the producers come in. we are, as you know, you and I, as hungry as these guys are to get their idea out there, we are hungry for them. We are constantly trying to generate new things. We need access into new worlds. So it's a really

Adam Wilkenfeld (13:58)
Right. Right.

Madelyn (14:03)
wonderful symbiotic relationship. One more thing I'll say about buyers wanting to...

shape projects, right? It's because everyone has their own brand Like you can tell when something typically is like a Hulu project, Netflix project, right? Everything has its own style. So my point of view on that is like, have a really strong entry point and make sure you're not just like, here's the world, we could do anything. Like have a strong entry point. If it's a format, it's like have a strong thesis, what are we testing? But be flexible.

Adam Wilkenfeld (14:35)
be flexible.

Madelyn (14:35)
and be collaborative,

right? So be an expert on your world, be an expert on your format. That's what you should know backwards and forwards and then be flexible and collaborative when you start to get in the rooms with buyers and understand that they're going to want to shape it to their demographic, their tone, you know, and their multiverse of content.

Adam Wilkenfeld (14:58)
Yeah, 100 % true. And going back to something you said before about how the execs and the producers, really, you're helping them. they want, Because in this world where budgets are coming down and development departments are getting slashed and people are wearing more than one hat, and it's not easy to come up with 10 new concepts a week or 30 a month, right? It's not easy to do that looking at a blank screen or a blank piece of paper.

If you can have people bringing in polished ideas that are easy to browse and search, that's very welcome.

Madelyn (15:37)
Yeah, absolutely. You mentioned something earlier where you saying you keep an eye on the platform, you see what ideas are coming in. This is really interesting to me. mean, you have a really interesting sample set of what creators are bringing in, where people's heads are. I'm sure it's not unusual for you to see some of the same ideas or same themes. what are you seeing a lot of lately? And what does it seem like people are?

are creating. Are you seeing any trends or what's kind of sticking out to you?

Adam Wilkenfeld (16:05)
That's such an interesting question. I think that if we have the same conversation a year from now, and let's do, then I will, because I've got crazy analytics that I've just put on the back end. So I think that if I go to a real screen industry conference in a year or so, then I will be the person who knows where the industry is going more than anyone, because I know what producers are searching for.

Madelyn (16:28)
Mm.

Right.

Adam Wilkenfeld (16:33)
I can

see what they're setting their search alerts for. I can see what categories they're, right? And I can see which kinds of concepts are getting a lot of love and which ones aren't. And you can kind of extrapolate from that what it takes to get that attention. So I think that's a whole really interesting, the analytics of where this can go.

Madelyn (16:36)
That's so interesting.

Mm-hmm.

yeah, seeing what producers are searching for is so interesting. I'm like, I want to know how long after the quarterly mandates are released and what keywords are in the mandates. And then I want to see what's being searched for on Showrilly. then I want to, you know I mean? Like, it's just so interesting to think through that. no, it's, again, you've provided such an amazing thing, but those backend insights and the data that's there I think is really fascinating as well. So,

So on your platform, I would love to talk more just about, again, what you guys are about. So as a creator, you can get on, you can upload materials, but all you need to get started is a log line and a title, and then you can add more materials as you wish. And so those projects are up, browsable, searchable. On the producer side, you can get in, you can search by keyword, you can browse projects. What other...

parts and pieces are there to Showrilly.

Adam Wilkenfeld (17:46)
The piece that I love, well there's two things, one from the creator's standpoint and one from the producer's standpoint that I really think are defining and that I love. If you're a producer and you're on the phone with Netflix and Netflix says, hey, do you have a concept about Greenland right now? You can literally be on Showrilly and search that word, right?

Madelyn (18:08)
No, I mean, that's

what I'm saying is like the ability to sort, like it's pretty.

Adam Wilkenfeld (18:11)
to search for that

word and then to set the search alert and to have it come to your inbox the moment that somebody publishes that. So I think that that is landscape changing on the producer's side because often as you said, for anyone who knows the word mandate in TV, like the networks will tell you like, we're looking for it now, mind you, asterisks, they often don't buy what they say that they want, right? Isn't that the worst? we want our version of this.

Madelyn (18:17)
Yeah.

Yes, of course.

Adam Wilkenfeld (18:38)
And then you're like, but you went that whole different direction six months later. You're like, what? You didn't buy that at all. I spent all that time looking for that, and you didn't buy that at all. But when they tell you what they want, you want to try to come back to them really quickly. And so you can do that with this platform.

Madelyn (18:53)
You do, you're exactly right. You want to keep the conversation going because, know, so oftentimes a pitch, I mean, way more often than not, you get the rejection, right? You get the pass and they say, but if you, we were looking into this world, do you have anything here? And the goal is just say, yes, keep the conversation going, right? You can go, yeah, you can go, you know what? Yes. Let me look over here. So I love that. I mean, you, again, you are thinking with a producer's mind and you really understand the full funnel of this process.

Adam Wilkenfeld (19:09)
Keep it going. Yes, of course I do.

Madelyn (19:20)
And so it's so incredible that you've implemented that here. I know even though we want to release the pressure from creators to have something perfect up on Showrilly and really they need to focus on the hook, but I am curious.

Are there some common mistakes you see in a first timer or materials or people who maybe again are in the industry but aren't necessarily in development, right?

Adam Wilkenfeld (19:45)
Let me get really close to the microphone. Yes. Yes. Yes, yes. You know, as a producer, we as a development people always see, right? You're these ideas, like, what if we did the show about XYZ? And you know what? I have enough half-baked ideas of my own. I don't, like they didn't sell. I don't need your half-baked idea also, right?

Madelyn (19:47)
Let's hear them.

Adam Wilkenfeld (20:09)
I need something that's got some structure. I'm not saying you have to think about every detail, here's the shape of an episode, here's all the beats are gonna be. No, I just want you to be like, here are the characters, that's a good start. Don't just tell me, hey, wouldn't it be cool if we came up with a show idea about a hairdresser who blah, blah, blah, right? No, bring me the hairdresser who's got a personality, who's got an interesting team around.

who's got interesting clientele, who works for the rich and famous. Don't just say, let's do a show about a hairdresser who works for the rich and famous. You actually have to find that person. And not just that, don't just say, let's do a show about so-and-so. Please talk to so-and-so and see if they are interested in doing a show with you. And then get them locked up. And once you've got that, now you've got my attention as a producer. I don't need your half-baked idea.

I need you to do a little bit of the legwork yourself and you've got leverage at that point too, by the way, because this is the number one thing that creators are worried about. Is he gonna steal my idea? I'm not gonna, no, in Hollywood there's this idea that, well let's just say idea theft happens a lot less than people think that it does, but still more than it should, let's say that.

Madelyn (21:19)
Mm.

Mm-hmm.

Adam Wilkenfeld (21:25)
But if you come with that hairdresser, to use my poor example, all locked up, this is a great larger than life person who's, well, let's use a better example from the platform. Someone has got this amazing chef who's opening this really cool restaurant, who's got a huge personality and is just made for TV with like the perfect staff, the perfect home life, the perfect menu.

The perfect back, like, it's not abstract. You've actually got this person and he's agreed to do something on camera with you. Now you come to a producer and one, like, why would they try to steal it from you? ⁓ you've spoon fed it, it's like, it's right there. You're like, let's get going. Like, the ticket is like, let's get going. And two, like, they couldn't. Like, how do you steal that?

Madelyn (22:06)
You've built that relationship. That's right.

Right,

exactly. No, it's a great point that we talk about worlds and entry point to worlds, but they're nothing without characters. And the next thing that you will get asked from a producer, from a buyer, when you're like, let's look at the, I'll use an example, let's look at rich kids on the lake in the Ozarks in the summer, right? And it's like, that's great in theory, but who are they? And that's what you.

Adam Wilkenfeld (22:37)
In theory, but who are they?

Yeah. What is their relationship?

Madelyn (22:39)
But you have to crack, and here's the

thing is the world could also sound and be amazing and the characters could just fall completely flat. They're not transparent, they're not dynamic. And so really world is one thing, but I find that those sort of, let's just do an overview of this interesting subculture is not enough. have to crack the, we got to get the Tiger King, right? We have to crack these characters. That's what it all comes down to because then those characters become,

the Bravo Leberties and the favorites and the figureheads at upfronts they become their own brand, right? And so that's, you can't make a brand out of a world. You can, but you can build a brand off of people. And that's why characters are so important. So, sorry, I digress, but,

Adam Wilkenfeld (23:20)
No, it's 100%. And if you've got

that person, you don't need to have a perfectly polished sizzle reel. You've got this person who just pops, or a team, like an ensemble. If they pop, they pop. You don't need to sell me on it.

Madelyn (23:26)
Exactly. Exactly.

Yes.

Yes, exactly. so, yes, a world is one thing, you know, but I'm sure as you know, this people, when people find out you make shows, they're like, you know, you should really do something about TSA agents at airports. I mean, can you imagine what they see? And you're like, yeah, I bet that's amazing. Who should I follow? You know, and it's like, but there's, there's gotta be that piece. So to the producers, creators, people who have ideas out there, access.

Adam Wilkenfeld (23:44)
Hahaha

Madelyn (23:57)
to a world is important, but getting those characters on board. If you have something in your Showrilly account that's like access secured, exclusivity secured, huge stars for everybody. And frankly, when a producer comes in, they're gonna try to secure that. They're gonna have to secure that anyway before you go to a buyer. So, and if you can lock that down, it's major. And it shows you're willing to do the legwork.

Adam Wilkenfeld (24:08)
Huge stars.

Yeah, you're ahead.

Yeah. And even on the platform, actually, there's a filter. Like the producer is going to use that filter. Like is talent attached? You know? Yeah. And to go back to your example, though, here's a number two of like things that creators like frequent mistakes, Your example of the TSA. Like, are you really going to get access to film at the airport? Is that going to actually happen? Are you going to be able to film inside of a school?

Madelyn (24:25)
Wow, love that. you've thought of everything.

Have we thought about logistics?

Adam Wilkenfeld (24:45)
Are you gonna be

able to get inside of a public school with reality TV cameras? How are you gonna film inside of a strip club? Like the music, are you gonna license all that music? And what are you gonna do with the nudity and the noise? And what are you gonna do about the customers who don't want their faces on camera? So there's a lot of things that at first you're like, I'm the first one to think about doing a show about the TSA.

Madelyn (25:07)
No,

no.

Adam Wilkenfeld (25:08)
But you know what, problem is, be the first one to crack how you're gonna actually do it.

Madelyn (25:12)
Exactly. That's a great, I'm glad you brought this up because that other legit, like logistics and access are huge. You know, people have talked all the time, why isn't there a below deck for private jets? Hmm. Let's think about getting, well, and also like the footprint of a jet and getting a crew up there and like doing it, you know, on top of the fact that there's like access issues with people, but you're right. There's like, think a couple of steps ahead when it comes to execution.

Adam Wilkenfeld (25:25)
Yeah, because Jeff Bezos doesn't want you on his chat.

what the?

Madelyn (25:42)
are we dealing with minors on camera? Cause you want to do something in a high school, like whatever it is, think about it. So that's a great point.

You touched a little bit about idea theft, protecting your ideas. It's one of the reasons we don't have a big forum where people can just post ideas and respond to them, or why that hasn't been created yet, because everyone wants to hold things close to the vest and they're afraid. So talk to me about protecting your IP, how you guys do it, what you promise to creators as producers are in here browsing.

Adam Wilkenfeld (26:19)
It's a tricky question because if you spent weeks on something and you've got a lot invested in it, whether financially or just emotionally, yeah, you don't want to see somebody else grab the benefit of your labor. So it's a very real friction. But on the other hand, you also are never going to get a point on the board if you don't talk about it. That's the friction.

Madelyn (26:40)
So true.

Adam Wilkenfeld (26:43)
So what Showrilly does is, well, first of all, people, you you can't, you can't copyright an idea. That's just, you can't copyright an idea, but what you can do is you can create a track. You can create breadcrumbs. can create proof that you had this idea for this, for this world, for this concept, for this format on this day. And you can register it with the WGA for, think it's $35.

But I do it for free on the Showrilly platform. You join on the platform and immediately upon clicking the publish button that you know, not publish the world but publish to by the way, not just anybody is on there as a producer, know, I claim to be a producer. I'm gonna go hunt and steal. No, every single person on there is personally vetted by me. They have somebody who has sold a show, sold many shows. have, you know, they've got a company behind them. So every producer is vetted.

Madelyn (27:12)
Mmm.

Adam Wilkenfeld (27:36)
And that's who you're publishing to. And the moment that you hit publish, you receive a PDF in your email box that says, is your proof of ownership. And you came up with this idea. Here's what it's about. Here's the time and date that you came up with it and put it on the platform. And then, and we talked earlier about the two killer things, one being on the producer side, I talked about the search alerts, on the platform for the creators, the killer thing is the

the way that you can see every click, every read, every save, every share. So if a producer later on, you know, we said the idea theft happens a lot less than people think, but more than it should, then if there's ever any dispute, you didn't, you didn't look at my concept, you know.

Madelyn (28:19)
trackable.

It's trackable.

Adam Wilkenfeld (28:23)
It's trackable. You can print the PDF of everybody who's looked at and downloaded to your computer at any time. You can even see what times of day heat mapping or times of day from what part of the world are producers looking at my concepts. It's very, very trackable. And so to the degree that you want just to have that safety, that feeling of like, at least want to know who is looking at it and have a record of it. So we provide that.

Madelyn (28:27)
Mm.

Wow, yeah, yeah.

That's really reassuring. I was just talking to someone about this the other day. I'm actually a big believer in talking about your projects when you're at RealScreen or you're with other producers for a couple of reasons. I think I have had the most success in projects moving because I've said something out loud in a group and someone said, wait, wait, wait, wait, I know someone looking for that or wait, I know an agency or an organization that's looking for more stories like this. And I used to hold things close to the vest because I

I didn't want to share. I was like, no, I need to keep these things private. I get that there's, you a lot of taboo with a lot of the sharing, but I believe that it is necessary. Obviously do it, you know, in a way that's smart, but.

I agree. If you want to win the lottery, you got to buy the ticket and that means putting your work out into the universe. That is essentially what this is, which I really, really love. What's the cost here? Is there a cost for creators? Is there a cost for producers? Is it membership-based? Is it subscription-based? What does that look like? What is the investment?

Adam Wilkenfeld (29:50)
So right now, the platform is totally free. I've got a lot of producers up there who are searching, browsing, setting search alerts right now, and hundreds of creators who are putting, hundreds that are putting their concepts up. And I'm growing fast, and I'm loving it, and I'm going to start charging pretty soon. But at the moment, it's all free. Come and join now is the time. In a month or two, I'm going to start the memberships.

Madelyn (29:54)
Amazing.

Adam Wilkenfeld (30:15)
It'll be a monthly subscription on the creator side. There will be tiers. It's going to be very affordable. I haven't finalized exactly what that's going to look like yet, but it's going to be something that everybody, that makes total sense because here's the thing. It's like, if you're a person who has this idea, this burning idea, and you want to buy, to use your example, the lottery ticket, how are you going to get an agent? How are you going to get this in front of Netflix? How are you going to get it in front of Discovery?

How are you going to get in front of Hulu? How are you going to get in front of, you know, go down the list. There's all these different buyers. You don't just have to get in front of one. You might want to get, how are you going to do that on your own? I think that's great value.

Madelyn (30:52)
getting that much exposure is major. And again, having it be searchable, being able to add keywords into your concept, make it searchable so that the people that come in contact with your project, the people that are looking for it, like I said, really symbiotic, it really works, it's awesome. What is, you know, I can't wait to see the success stories for this platform. And, you know, I can't wait for.

Adam Wilkenfeld (31:11)
I can't wait also, I've got this little button there.

I've got this button that says the win button and I'm waiting for the first person to hit the win button and tell me about their success.

Madelyn (31:19)
I love that. I

love that. What does a successful A to Z story look like on show,

Adam Wilkenfeld (31:26)
Yeah, so as excited as I am for that win button for somebody to actually sell their first show, I don't want to define that as the only measure of success because even as experienced producers, right, we were talking about this yesterday, how many concepts do you need to pitch in order to get a sale? Like what's your ratio? Producers talk about, we're development people, what's your ratio? And it's not one, right.

Madelyn (31:48)
Woof.

God, I haven't counted mine.

but like you said, it's not, what did I get out of so many of those pitches, right? I took a pitch, it didn't happen. You learned, I took the next pitch to them, it sold, or they ended up being like, you know, this is, I don't know, I got a mentor relationship out of it. I made another connection. They introduced me to this production company. Now I can partner with them. Like it's all cumulative. So please continue. as soon as you said the definition of success is not a sale, I was like, you know ball.

Adam Wilkenfeld (31:56)
You learn.

That's right, because you,

Madelyn (32:17)
Because it's so

Adam Wilkenfeld (32:18)
and going back also to what you were saying about when you share your ideas with people, right, the other piece of that is that everybody is so generous in this industry because we've all been there, we've all been helped by so many other people. And so if you share, then you get feedback. Hey, did you think about this? Have you talked to so and so, you know, I once met somebody, have you been so,

Madelyn (32:34)
Mm. Mm-hmm.

Adam Wilkenfeld (32:40)
this format worked for this other, like there are so many ways that your friends and even just acquaintances might help level you up once you get your idea out into the marketplace. And that's something else that I really encourage producers to do is not just to pass on a concept, but to leave feedback on that concept, to help the creators, to help the community, right? And producers wanna help people.

Madelyn (33:02)
Hmm. Huge.

Yes, 100%. This, I love that. I was going to ask you, is there an opportunity to leave feedback, to just be like, hey, great sizzle can tell you have great instincts, do this. Like that's huge.

Adam Wilkenfeld (33:18)
Yeah, you

can leave it in a sentence format or if you're a producer on the go, you can just fill in a few bubbles like, not my world or I didn't think the world was big enough or it's too male skewing or whatever it is, the reason that you might pass. Producers can give you that kind of feedback. But going back to your original question about what does the success look like, I think that success looks like having your idea be seen.

Give it a shot in the marketplace. Have somebody look at it, think about it, try it on for size. And if it's not exactly what they're looking for, learn from that process, keep pitching, keep getting better, and then you'll maybe make the sale in the next one or get one step closer on the next one, having learned a little bit. And I think that that's the journey.

Madelyn (34:10)
Absolutely. No, I agree with you completely. And this is a really great time to talk about timing and patience. Let's actually out of talk about...

how long this stuff takes and how to have patience and resilience in this industry specifically.

Adam Wilkenfeld (34:27)
Can you give your example? You just sold a show to Hallmark, right? And how long did that take you? What was that journey?

Madelyn (34:31)
I did.

A great question.

So it's early 2024. I'm in middle of planning my mom's wedding I'm in a...

taxi at real screen, I offhandedly mentioned to another producer friend of mine after my mom texted me about flowers, she was like, I was like, Oh, if you ever want to do a show about daughters planning their mom's weddings, like, let me know. There's a lot here. And I think women are getting married. It's the golden bachelor, know, millennial Gen Z daughters are coming in. It's generational, what have you, right? Just put it out there. And again, we just talked about the power of talking out loud, like, right.

So a couple of months later, this producer calls me and she's like, Hallmark's launching and they're on scripted slate. They're looking for wedding content and no one was looking for wedding content. No one still is looking for wedding content. And she was like, do you want to do this?

and we ended up going for pitched to Hallmark fall, late fall of 2024. It got a green light July of 2025.

production started September of 2025, and it is premiering on screens May, 2026. So, well, thank you, that's so nice.

Adam Wilkenfeld (35:30)
Congratulations.

Madelyn (35:33)
it's not fast and you gotta hold on and you gotta be patient.

Adam Wilkenfeld (35:34)
Yeah, so you gotta hold on.

So anyone who's like, posted my concept a week ago and no one has read it yet, or I posted my concept three weeks ago and I've only had three reads but no messages yet. I'm like, why don't you give it a few months? Give it a few months because producers are looking for different things in different parts of the cycle. ⁓ Networks are looking for different things at different times. Network executives change. One producer who might be looking for,

Madelyn (35:49)
Totally.

Absolutely.

Adam Wilkenfeld (36:01)
might be looking for wedding content, might just be very quiet this month because they're in production this month, or they're shooting three sizzles this month, and maybe next month or the month after they'll be hunting again. So you've got to give it six months, I think, to give it a fair shot. And now, let's also be honest, like not every concept is worthy of being on TV, right? Some are better than others.

Madelyn (36:20)
But knowing that,

but yes, but like we're talking about what a success look like. Sometimes success is putting your project out there and.

getting the answer you need about whether you should continue to pursue it or not. I've had this idea for forever, I can't stop thinking about it, I wanna put it out there and see what happens. And if it doesn't get a response or it doesn't, you everyone thinks that their idea is the best one, me included, and I've been humbled many times on that. But sometimes the best learning and the best success is, I need to put this down and I need to move to the next one, right?

Adam Wilkenfeld (36:53)
that is, because you might have six ideas. to know when is it time to move on to number two, three, and four, having learned, by the way, I'll tell you my version of your story, how long it takes. And also kind of like segueing from this idea of like, it doesn't happen instantly, even a concept needs a little bit of time. And so,

I had this idea and you know what, come to think of it, this would have been a perfect concept for me to have found on Showrilly because the cast found me and convinced me to shoot a sizzle and that eventually became my biggest show, Timber Kings, which was the biggest show in the history of HGTV in Canada, four seasons in a spin-off, highest rated show in the history and a massive success.

Madelyn (37:20)
Mm.

Adam Wilkenfeld (37:40)
that concept, I pitched to every single potential buyer and learned from every one of those pitches and added, but they all passed, but they asked interesting questions and I was able to improve the pitch just a little bit, whether it was my banter, whether it was my materials, whether it was just a little bit sharper on the tape. I was able to improve it a little bit, a little bit, a little bit every time I could.

Madelyn (37:52)
Mm hmm. Yes.

Adam Wilkenfeld (38:08)
And sometimes I ignored the criticisms because it just wasn't what I thought the show should be. And I went down to every single potential buyer until the very last potential buyer was HGTV in Canada. And it was a male skewing show. It's about guys who build log home mansions for the rich and famous, like with chainsaws. It's logs. It's a male skewing show. It should not, it should not work.

Madelyn (38:32)
It shouldn't conceivably work for them.

Adam Wilkenfeld (38:36)
for a female skewing network like HGTV, but they were interested in something a little bit different. They wanted to bring in a different kind of audience. They wanted to take a big swing on something expensive, and it worked really well. And so not giving up, that's the other lesson here, right? You didn't give up on your idea. You put the time into it, and I did on that, and it paid off.

Madelyn (38:51)
Hmm.

Absolutely. And just because you put a project away for an amount of time doesn't mean you shouldn't revisit. There's, like you said, execs shift, culture shifts, interest in culture, like so many things turn over. So if you feel strongly about it, revisit it at another point in time. You never know.

Adam Wilkenfeld (39:14)
absolutely right we say don't pitch the same thing, you know until a year has passed But but but but the taste will come back again buyers will change. Yeah,

Madelyn (39:15)
Yeah.

Yes.

Totally. No, I was just, I agree with you. Like I said, I think like do it in a way where when you revisit it and you take it back out, use the learnings to revamp the creative, add some layers, make it right for the marketplace that time. no, I have so many people in myself, I've revisited projects and taken them back out that previously had been completely passed on and now suddenly there's interest. And that's just how it happens. And that's why, again, building up that resilience is so important. I want to ask you before we go,

you're building this platform, you're really trying to think about the future of this industry. We look at, hear about the creator economy so much, And you're part of that conversation of removing those barriers and trying to democratize this process. I want to know what the future of Unscripted looks like for you. And if you're optimistic about this industry,

Adam Wilkenfeld (40:09)
I am optimistic because there are still so many ideas. And if there's one thing, YouTube has proved, right? There are so many interesting people doing interesting things. And so,

I think that a platform like ShowReelie that allows those ideas to surface super easy, super organically, anybody can put their toe in the water. Right now it's free. But to be able to surface those kinds of, from anybody, anywhere, even around the world, I have creators with ideas that could be based in the US, format ideas, that could be based in the US, but from all over the world are posting them.

And it's, how else if you don't have an agent or you don't have a cousin who works at Netflix, you gonna, so I think that this changing world, I'm really optimistic that there's still so many rocks to be turned over. There's still so much great content out there. And I love for producers to come in and say, let me spend a few minutes and browse. So I think it's gonna work.

Madelyn (41:08)
No, I love that. you're right, there's, listen, it feels like we can say like, everything has been done, but it hasn't. there's so much more left to explore and who knows what we'll be able to explore and uncover So I love what you're doing. I'm so appreciative. I think it's really necessary.

And I can't wait to hear of all the forms of success stories that are very soon to come. I'll add all the Showrilly information in the show notes as well. So if you're curious, if you're a producer or if you're a creator, please go check it out.

Adam Wilkenfeld (41:36)
You're so much fun to talk to. Thank you.

Madelyn (41:38)
Thanks Adam, it was great having you.

Madelyn (41:45)
Thanks so much for listening to my chat with Adam. If you have an idea, go make an account, get it out there, get it out there into the universe. Typically, I find that the universe will reward you. Thanks so much for listening. Don't forget, like, subscribe, follow, rate, review, all the things, and we'll see you next week on Unscripted Files. Thanks so much.