Madelyn (00:00) Emily, Wilson welcome back. It is Monday, October 6th. You're bringing us all the latest unscripted news. So let's tie up some loose ends from the last time we saw each other. Jimmy Kimmel returned. He was not in fact suspended indefinitely. Emily Wilson (00:14) Yes, he did. It's good to see him back. He had quite a significant opening monologue from that first show back, which went very viral. yeah, it's exciting to see him back. Madelyn (00:25) It is, I believe he also had Colbert on happy for Jimmy, happy for the crew, everyone who works on that show and what this signals to the industry as a whole for sure. it seems like things have potentially cooled down with the alleged Netflix bid for Warner Brothers discovery. Heard any more about that? Emily Wilson (00:46) I have not. discussed last time I was here about Paramount's interest in Warner Brothers Discovery, but Netflix has been another name that has been in the mix and I haven't heard that much about it recently, so it will be interesting what happens Madelyn (01:02) We're all Tell me about our top news, what's going on? Emily Wilson (01:05) Okay, a lot of reality TV fans are very excited about the announced Laguna Beach reunion which is coming to Roku next year. Madelyn (01:16) Me included. You were just asking me if you should watch Laguna Beach and without hesitation I said absolutely. This is the best news for millennials everywhere. We know that Laguna Beach was really formative when it came to reality TV. It was inspired by the scripted series, The O.C. and gave us insights into coastal elite affluent teen drama and You know, also is pretty iconic for also spitting off series like The Hills, It's actually being led and EP'd again by Liz Gately, who's the original EP back when this was at MTV. Emily Wilson (01:52) a decision like that is so important and probably one of the reasons that so many of the original cast members are coming back for the reunion. I think sometimes you can bring in different execs or showrunners for a reunion special, but it's really exciting to see that the original cast will be coming back. Madelyn (02:10) Agreed, mean, the biggest names, Lauren Conrad. I'm honestly shocked ⁓ because we don't see much of Lauren lately. Steven Coletti and Kristin Cavallari, who is totally all over the unscripted world, you know, Lo Bosworth, Talon, Dieter. I mean, I just think this is gonna be so much fun. It's actually, I think what is more wild about this is that this is signifying that it was released 20 years ago, which is... which is what's hurting me and the shocking to me the most. I mean, what do you feel like this signals about our nostalgia for the early 2000s and how we're seeing that trend in reality and Unscripted? Emily Wilson (02:52) There is so much nostalgia. We are seeing formats coming back that were on back then. We are seeing a lot of revivals but also formats that have continued but changed and changed with the time. I think there's been a lot of nostalgia in the scripted world as well with so many scripted cast reunions. So it's nice to see that in the unscripted world as well. Madelyn (03:19) Yes, I want us to get back to the early 2000s MTV mess. Like that's what I want. That is what I desire. And I think we are definitely seeing a trend towards that. Okay, ⁓ we talked about bids earlier. There's kind of an intense bid happening over a really big piece of ⁓ IP. Give us the latest. Emily Wilson (03:41) Yes, so there seems to be a bit of a fight between a few different production companies for Monopoly to become a TV series. And this seems to be a growing trend with IP. We have Scrabble on the CW and their second series of Scrabble is coming out next year. We had Pictionary in the UK earlier this year, which was actually cancelled for low ratings. So it will be interesting to see how Monopoly does, but also Monopoly with a Netflix spin on it. Madelyn (04:12) And with a Netflix budget, mean, this deadline broke this article last week. Apparently there was just a huge bake off with around 50 companies that were in the running and putting in a bid to get to produce this unscripted show. And it looks like according to deadline that three companies that we know very, well, Studio Lambert of Traders, Wheelhouse, End of All Shine, North America are the last ones standing. I wanna be a fly on the wall for these pitches to see how each of these companies, what their unique take is on this IP, because I think they're saying it could either be sort of a larger than life game board or something super rooted in reality, like taking over a small town. This is really exciting. Emily Wilson (05:03) I think it would be fun if we could see every production company's version at some point and I wish that could happen for so many formats. Madelyn (05:13) Yes, see what's on the cutting room floor. Because I mean, Wheelhouse did Million Dollar Secret, which was really incredible, big scale. End of All Shine does Extreme Home Makeover, The Summit, MasterChef, Lego Masters, Deal or No Deal Island. I just, again, I would love to see the pitch decks for what they're bringing from Monopoly. And it'll be really interesting to see how this goes. I know one reason it was really appealing to Netflix. is the interactivity of it. And we've talked about that a lot together is how Netflix is really trying to gamify and create more interactive worlds for their content. Emily Wilson (05:50) Completely Netflix is integrating a lot of different live elements. with live shows as well as audience interaction. But I'd be excited to see Monopoly by any of these three companies because I think no matter what, we are going to get something really big. Madelyn (06:07) Agreed. And this is just such a beloved piece of IP. I I grew up playing this game with my family. We would actually have to pause it. It'd be like a three night, you know, situation. And it, you know, it's, I am really excited to see how this works. Another really quick note on this project is, you know, the way that Netflix went about it, I think was really cool and interesting. They, you know, wanted to open doors for companies that may not have previously worked with them. And it looks like two companies that didn't even make the final three still scored separate development deals. So that's, you know, I love that kind of hopeful note in a world where it feels like it's tough to break in. So I think it was cool the way that they approached that. Speaking of large scale game shows, it looks like Mr. Beast has someone new leading their studio division. Emily Wilson (06:52) Yes, so we have Corie Henson who has come in. She's held a lot of significant roles at Warner Brothers, even worked at Fox. So it's very interesting to see how MrBeast, whose content was once primarily YouTube based, is now definitely going into streamer content and linear programming. Madelyn (07:14) Yeah, mean, Cory was, you know, most recently unscripted chief at NBC. I think she exited due to some of the restructuring over there. she has a proven ability to scale big franchises. And it looks like Beast Industries Studios is, has a lot of really ambitious goals. They're going scripted, unscripted, animation, digital, theatrical features. And ⁓ it'll be really interesting to see. you know, how Henson is able to shape and elevate, what is a well-funded venture by Mr. Beast Emily Wilson (07:46) Absolutely, I think that the big companies need the knowledge and so much production knowledge that creators don't necessarily have when they're initially building their YouTube content. to see a hire like this is incredible for the creator economy as well. Madelyn (08:06) And then our last headline here, ITV America and ITV Studios has had a little bit of restructure. Talk to me about what that looks like Emily Wilson (08:16) ITV Studios is rejigging its production operation. We are seeing one company called the ITV America Group, which will be housing scripted and unscripted production under the leadership of David George. And ITV Studio America's president will be departing. Madelyn (08:34) Interesting know that David George was responsible for, you know, a peacock's love Island, a lot of other huge hits. Emily Wilson (08:41) Definitely, I mean we've spoken about unscripted shows being developed based on scripted content before. Maybe there are more opportunities for that within this restructure as well. Madelyn (08:52) Yeah, 100 % and restructuring mergers, acquisitions. I think that's all you and I are gonna be talking about. Well, tell me anything before we go, what are you watching right now? Emily Wilson (09:02) Big Brother UK has just relaunched here, so I've been catching up on that. But we are also getting our first version of the Celebrity Traitors in a couple of weeks, so I'm looking forward to that one as well. Madelyn (09:13) That's right. I love, yeah, that'll be really fun. I honestly, like I was saying, I had not watched Dancing with the Stars up to this point and I am locked in this season. I kind of have my winners picked. So we'll see who ends up with the golden dance shoe. I don't even remember what the globe. I don't even know what the trophy is, but thank you so much, Emily, for joining us and giving us all the Emily on LinkedIn where she's amassed thousands of followers giving. weekly Unscripted Industry News updates. And you can also subscribe to her sub stack Unscripted TV News. thank you, Emily. Emily Wilson (09:51) Thank you.