Madelyn Cunningham (00:00) Hi everyone, welcome to the Unscripted Files. Today is our first industry news mini-sode. I have brought unscripted industry expert, Emily Wilson, onto the podcast. She's gonna be coming on every other Monday to give us the top headlines in Unscripted. We're gonna chat about them, whether it's mergers and acquisitions, first look deals, overalls, green lights. she's going to give us all the info because she has made a name for herself on LinkedIn, amassed thousands of followers by giving weekly unscripted industry news recaps. So we're going to bring that to life here. Emily, welcome. Emily Wilson (00:32) Thank you so much for having me. It is a true pleasure to be here. Madelyn Cunningham (00:35) So happy to have you. since we are kicking this off for the fall, I think it would be a really good idea for us to just chat about the top headlines over the summer. We know the industry slows down a little bit, but there's still been some movement going. So go ahead and let's walk through some big industry news of summer 2025. Emily Wilson (00:54) Amazing. So I think that one thing to note is that Netflix and Archwell continued their development agreement and went into an extension and also off the back of the second season of With Love, Megan. So that is interesting how they want to keep dealing with them and seeing what material they have going forward that they could potentially use for Netflix and that they're not yet exploring other avenues, which is also fascinating. Madelyn Cunningham (01:21) Agreed, yeah. Archwell is responsible for, of course, with Love, Megan, the Polo documentary Heart of Invictus, Harry and Megan, Live to Lead, and then they also have partnered with her lifestyle brand as ever. I think Harry and Meghan did super well. had like almost 24 million views when it debuted in December of 2022. With love Meghan, ⁓ you know, top 10 global list and did really, really well for them. So it makes sense that they have extended this agreement. Archewell is really focused on wholesome, aspirational, of grounded content that aligns, think, with both Harry and Meghan's initiatives and their... the things that they want to focus on. So it'll be really interesting to see how they continue to extend their library, inscripted and unscripted, because it looks like they're doing a little bit of both. obviously, they're in culinary. But I have a feeling they might start getting into home lifestyle design as well. What do you think? Emily Wilson (02:19) I mean, it's interesting to see how Netflix seems to be broadening their scope for different talent based deals. They also are looking at it's unnamed so far, but Kevin Hart having a stand up comedy competition series, ⁓ Mark Rober doing a science series with them. They've obviously taken on Simon Cowell's next act. And it was up in the air where that was going to be distributed for a while. So a lot of talent led development projects. Madelyn Cunningham (02:45) Yes, and a lot of competition too. So that just continues to be something they're hungry for. The stand-up competition is interesting. I was trying to figure out if this has been done before. It seems like it's... It seems like it's a natural progression of all of the sort of talent led shows we've seen. I do feel like Kevin Hart is kind of the perfect person to take this on. Really curious to know how it's going to go. But yeah, it seems like that talent first competition format. Emily Wilson (03:05) Hmm. Madelyn Cunningham (03:14) Simon Cowell, same thing, still really hungry for. And I wonder, know, Netflix is also really hungry for interactive formats. You know how Love Island, you go on and you vote, you do polls. And so I wonder if they're going to start integrating that into any of these competitions, right? Where we have the audience voting on their favorite stand-up set So it'll be interesting to see how they start to evolve, you know, with these upcoming formats in 2026. Emily Wilson (03:37) Completely. I would love to see that. Madelyn Cunningham (03:39) I think there's a desire to play along and be part of the cultural conversation and you know it'll be yeah like I said really fascinating to see how they how they integrate these competitions. Okay what's next? Emily Wilson (03:51) Well, another series that has been picked up on NBC is a civilian edition of The Traitors which is really fascinating because there are now 35 different local versions of The Traitors. The UK format, which is one that does extremely well in the UK market, has always been civilian based, but the US has had celebrity versions or used reality stars. So I think it will be really exciting to see, I guess, a civilian version of the show come to the US. Madelyn Cunningham (04:19) I agree. Traitors, I'm such a huge fan. It's a brilliant format. It's done so well. I completely understand why the UK relies on its civilian version. I understand why they brought it over to Peacock with the celebrity version. Peacock is sort of the network that gives us those reality stars with their Bravo properties and everything else. But I'm really excited for the civilian version. I think it makes sense for the cable side of NBC. I think it's a big swing, but everyone is all everyone that I know is like really excited to apply like they're trying to get cast. think civilian or not, as long as there's good characters and as long as, frankly, Alan Cumming is still hosting, I think it's going to do really well. ⁓ Emily Wilson (05:03) Thank I mean, they've done the flip in the UK. They've commissioned a celebrity version which is airing here in a couple months time. Madelyn Cunningham (05:13) Interesting. Yeah, maybe just however you sauce it, like it's going to be good no matter what, which is indicative of such a smart, solid format and concept, So I'm really looking forward to it 100%. Emily Wilson (05:15) Yeah. Completely. I mean, it didn't do as well in Australia, but after a few years of absence, they've just recommissioned it there as well. So it's interesting that they're giving it a second chance because it's just doing so well globally. Madelyn Cunningham (05:39) yeah, it's interesting to see how the appetite comes and goes. in certain cultures, but ultimately the fact that it's coming back so strongly is a testament to Studio Lambert's power, for sure. Emily Wilson (05:51) For sure. So another thing that we're seeing in development is a Sherlock Holmes themed reality series, which was based on a deal between Remarkable Entertainment and the Arthur Conan Doyle estate. And Remarkable's been in a lot of headlines recently because one of their recent reality formats, Building the Band, was quite big on Netflix. So it will definitely be interesting to see what they do with it. Madelyn Cunningham (06:15) Yeah, I mean, this is an IP play that, you know, I feel like makes a lot of sense. It's really interesting to have it, with an estate. I think we see this a lot with scripted and And it looks like the working title is Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock, the Detective Academy. So, you know, again, we love mystery. We love competition, think this makes a ton of sense. But sort of seeing how they're going to take this legacy brand, build this world, it'll be really incredible to see. you know, building the band, I really, really enjoyed. I think Remarkable did a phenomenal job with that particular format. So I expect nothing less out of this upcoming format and really looking forward again to seeing how they bring the world to life. Emily Wilson (07:00) So another trend that I've seen over the summer is I guess the trend of the sports docker series is not going anywhere. mean, Drive to Survive is one very notable one that was setting a trend and was created by Box2Box Films, but they are now doing an Aussie Rules football series. We're seeing North One and Keenah Reeves doing another F1 series, which may be off the back of Drive to Survive or the F1 movie. Madelyn Cunningham (07:15) Mm-hmm. Emily Wilson (07:26) ⁓ And even ex formerly known as Twitter commissioning a series on a UK football club. So there seems to be a lot within that remit, just looking at different sports and different team dynamics. And all the streamers on the network seem to be chasing it. Madelyn Cunningham (07:42) Absolutely, every mandate I see is sports, sports, sports, sports stories, access to teams. It is, I don't think, Emily, that it's going away anytime soon. Drive to Survive, set the bar when it comes to sports docu-series. That level of access, the... know, elevation of that particular format and Box2Box has since just been able to replicate that across, you know. full swing and all of their other, docs and they do it really, really well. And like you said, I just don't see it going anywhere. I think we're going to continue to see these docu follows with maybe a celebrity EP kissed in, you know, for years and years to come Emily Wilson (08:19) I completely agree. our final headline of the summer really has just been about the amount of movement that we've seen on the business side of TV. Paramount and Skydance have closed their merger and Warner Brothers and Discovery are separating. Even I think in the news today, like Discovery Global have the option to sell its 20 % in Warner Brothers as well. So a lot of movement, a lot of people unfortunately losing their jobs, a lot of movement at the top of the ladder at both organisations. Madelyn Cunningham (08:50) it's been a painful year for these, for these brands. You know, I was a part of the Scripps Discovery acquisition and then got to witness the Warner Brothers Discovery merger up close. And now we are separating those brands, you know, and we're seeing this, you know, NBC's doing the same thing where you're kind of spinning off those legacy cable brands back onto linear so you can double down with those audiences and then put more of your sort of frothy ⁓ brands, you know, back on streaming so that you can double down on those identities and those audiences. But it is a lot ⁓ of whiplash for development producers trying to keep up. It is a ton of movement with executives. And like you said, a lot of unfortunate news when it comes to these companies downsizing in the process and consolidating and a lot of good, talented people. looking for work. you know, unfortunately, I think this is only going to continue to happen. I think that we're going to see a lot more consolidation, a lot more mergers and acquisitions. The Skydance Paramount merger, it's really interesting. We've got like this Legacy Hollywood Studio and then we've got Skydance who is known for funding sort of premium projects. But, you know, they also have those unscripted brands like CBS, know, MTV is a major sort of OG unscripted reality brand. you know, with this new sort of... Infusion or revival, maybe you want to call it with this with Skydance. It'll be really interesting to see how they evolve as brands and try to continue to grow. Emily Wilson (10:17) Yeah, I mean a lot of change, but I think that only means that a lot more content is going to get out there and become available in different ways and hopefully attract different audiences as well. Madelyn Cunningham (10:29) Yes, we can only hope. And with all of these changes afoot, that's why if you're in the industry, it is incredibly important to ensure that you're kind of staying on top of it, right? So I highly encourage you to follow Emily. She's Emily Wilson on LinkedIn. Again, she posts weekly updates of all of unscripted news. And then Emily, you also have a sub stack, right? Go ahead and shout it out so that everyone can subscribe. Emily Wilson (10:52) Yes, I do. I have a sub stack Unscripted TV News I always link to it on my LinkedIn as well. But if you want those updates straight to your inbox, sub stack is the best way to find them. Madelyn Cunningham (11:03) Fantastic. Well, thank you, Emily, for all of your insights. And I'll see you in a couple of weeks for more Unscripted Industry News. Emily Wilson (11:10) Thank you so much for having me.