Emily Wilson (00:00) So it's almost reverse engineering that in that The Bachelor used to make these big stars in media and now they're looking for the stars to come back to bring relevance to that format. Madelyn (00:14) Hi, welcome to The Unscripted Files. My name is Madelyn Cunningham. I'm a development producer in the unscripted industry, bringing you candid conversations with the minds behind your favorite form of unscripted entertainment. This is our Monday mini-sode with Emily Wilson. She is bringing us all the latest headlines. in Unscripted News. Welcome, Emily. Emily Wilson (00:33) Thank you so much for having me back. Madelyn (00:36) Absolutely. A lot going on in the news right now. We've got some hot topics to cover. First, starting off the Emmys where last week, talk to me about some of our big winners. Emily Wilson (00:45) Yes. They were. Well, the Traitors was a massive winner as usual and as expected. We also had Stephen Colbert take one of the major trophies. Madelyn (00:58) Yeah, Trader's beat out Top Chef, Survivor, Drag Race, The Amazing Race, and swept, think, with five total Emmys. Host Alan Cummings accepted the award and I think, you know, said something along the lines of, it's dark times we live in. Thank God we can escape to the Traitors Castle, right? you know what? I was going to talk about this later on in the show, but if we're going to talk about late night talk shows, let's go ahead indefinitely over comments of Charlie Kirk. How you feeling? Emily Wilson (01:26) Yeah. It's a big story because it's not just about ABC or Jimmy Kimmel, but all of the people in those writers rooms, everyone working on that show. I think from a public viewing perspective, when you see that show, you think of the one person that is fronting it and the people they interviewed, but the amount of people who work on that show. And I guess the ripple effect that this will have on other talk shows, other networks, just in general for the medium is quite significant. Madelyn (01:59) Yeah, I mean, it's setting a really interesting precedent for what is free speech and media in the future. this was a shocking one for sure. And I agree, I think it's very sad for our media landscape in general and certainly sad to see this following Colbert, because I think late night is important. You were just talking about how it's a really great platform for new artists. I don't know, this one's really tough. Hopefully he will also get a nice offer from a streamer and be able to be resurrected somewhere else. Emily Wilson (02:34) Yeah, I mean, if Letterman did it, then yeah, it's interesting to see comedy talent, late night talent, how they revive themselves, but also the actors or actresses that would usually be interviewing on those shows, you know, with James Corden bowing out as well. what happens to them? Because we don't want to just be consuming their own press tour content from when the films come out. It's more interesting to have those interviews with different stars and with different celebrities and to get that perspective. And it just feels more relaxed rather than watching something fabricated that they may have created themselves. Madelyn (03:14) Yeah, it's wild times we're living in. So we'll see what the fallout is in the next couple of days, I'm sure. Another huge piece of news in the unscripted landscape, in the media landscape in general, allegedly the Ellison family of Skydance, who just completed their purchase of Paramount, is now preparing a bid for Warner Brothers' discovery. Emily Wilson (03:20) Yeah. Massive. Yeah, I mean, both of them have been in the news with Paramount Skydance, obviously with Warner Brothers splitting as well. I'm just going to wonder what's happening here. mean, to everything, I mean, we're going to get an HBO Paramount Plus combination streaming platform. Like the opportunities and possibilities here are endless. And also from a corporate perspective, a commissioning perspective, just it affects everything. Seeing like two of Hollywood's oldest studios potentially coming together as well. Madelyn (04:10) Yeah, 100%. And this comes after a lot of just industry consolidation lately, Fox to Disney, MGM to Amazon. But it makes you wonder, you you were just saying Warner Brothers Discoveries, but in the news a lot because now after coming together, they have now announced their separation, very similar to sort of NBCU and Versant, where they're going to keep their streamers streaming and they're going to, you know, take their linear cable back to cable. And Warner Brothers Discoveries hoping to do the same. So you wonder why they wouldn't wait on this bid until after the split and go for the Legacy Studio. Emily Wilson (04:41) Mm. Yeah, for sure. It will be interesting to see how it pans out. So also on the horizon at Paramount is a new sports entertainment division which houses Sky Dance Sports and they look to develop scripted and unscripted programming as well as interactive games and experiences. Madelyn (05:03) Yeah, this is interesting. Lots of changes happening over there. I have some friends at Skydance Sports who are really excited about this. Even though they have some incredible scripted and unscripted projects, they did Prime Video's air, which was the Michael Jordan story. They also did America's Team, The Gambler and His Cowboys, the docu-series on Netflix. They have a ton of success here, but I'm hearing that they're super excited about the interactive and digital opportunities that await them and that there is a really clear roadmap there. with Paramount. Jesse Sisgold, is the former president and COO of Skydance Media of Skydance Sports will lead this new division. So I'm sure we'll be seeing much more from them. And like I said, I really think that interactive and experiential space is going to become more robust here. Emily Wilson (05:47) Completely. think that's almost quite responsive to what Netflix are doing as well. Netflix are building out Netflix houses, which will be opening to have those interactive in-person experiences alongside the Netflix formats and IP. So definitely an appetite for that. And we're seeing it internationally as well. Madelyn (06:07) Another huge headline Taylor Frankie Paul was named the new Bachelorette after the network put a pause on the spin-off. Emily Wilson (06:17) Yeah, I mean, it's quite significant. there seems to be an increase in people who are big on social media being used to leverage those legacy formats. But this is in a new way that we're not having an influencer host to show. to be, I mean, the Bachelorette, there's so much more to that story. It's almost like a Docker series in. Madelyn (06:41) That's true, honestly. It is. Emily Wilson (06:44) I mean, it's getting to know talent intimately in a way that they only do on social media. But to put that into the mainstream, to try and attract a new audience and the Hulu audience as well from Secret Lights of Mormon Wives. But also it feels almost like a reverse engineering of what we've seen, like someone like Nick Viall who was on The Bachelor. The Bachelorette and then became a big podcast star and a celebrity in his own right. So it's almost reverse engineering that in that The Bachelor used to make these big stars in media and now they're looking for the stars to come back to bring relevance to that format. Madelyn (07:25) That's a great way to put it. And it's so true. I think that Taylor is the first person that isn't from the Bachelor universe to be cast as the Bachelorette, because typically they use women from the Bachelor or from past Bachelorette seasons. And while she's in the Disney, ABC, Hulu universe with Secret Lives of Mormon wives and is certainly an incredibly compelling but polarizing figure on that show, I Emily Wilson (07:34) ⁓ Madelyn (07:54) Listen, I think this was a brilliant move. The Bachelor franchise has a ton of competition when it comes to dating with Love Island and other series that are a bit frothier. I think they're going to pull a lot of eyeballs. It was a really crazy crossover. And what was interesting to me was it was announced on Call Her Daddy with Alex Cooper. And that makes sense to me because she has a first look deal with Hulu, right? At least I know that her dating show is gonna be on Hulu. like I said, the ABC Hulu media universe is just all one big party. Emily Wilson (08:24) Yeah, and I guess we see a lot more reality clips going viral on social media. Like a lot of people over the summer were watching Temptation Island clips. And when you've got a bachelorette who has over five million social media followers on TikTok alone, you're going to get those clippable pieces that are going to go TikTok viral and probably be the sounds for many videos that people chew out with. Madelyn (08:49) 100%. I am curious, know, Bachelor in Paradise this season brought in a new showrunner and really changed up their style of shooting. I'm wondering if with this new edition of talent that comes from another show that is pretty kind of digital forward, it's shot in a different way. I'm curious to see if the style of that traditional, will you accept this rose, Bachelor will remain or if they'll update it a bit for her. Emily Wilson (09:14) I'm definitely interested to find out. Madelyn (09:15) Yeah. All right. And let's see, what's our last little headline here? Emily Wilson (09:20) So our last one is the partnership between Spotify and Vice Studios. also in partnership with Zoo55, which is part of ITV Studios, we're going to see some ITV Studios content appearing on Spotify as well. Madelyn (09:37) Yeah, like that we were, well, we were actually just talking about talk shows, the Graham Norton show, which you were just talking about clips on social. I see clips from the Graham Norton show all the time. This is typically a couch full of celebrities chit chatting with each other. It looks like so much fun. you know, this is Spotify continues to expand their video lineup. Obviously they are a legacy podcast platform. We know that the podcasters have been getting into video. Emily Wilson (09:51) you Madelyn (10:02) I think there's a couple more on Vice Studio Slate. ⁓ I was a teenage felon and dead set on life. So this is they're hoping to, again, continue to expand Spotify's video library so that more and more people see it as an entertainment destination. Emily Wilson (10:19) Yeah, think their relevance in the market is definitely growing and partnerships like this are very interestingly placed. They're not branded, but they're back into legacy media and streaming. So it's definitely interesting. Madelyn (10:33) wonderful, Emily. Thank you so much as always for keeping us updated on everything unscripted. Emily has amassed thousands of followers by giving weekly unscripted TV industry news updates. So be sure to follow her on LinkedIn and on Substack at Unscripted TV news, right, Emily? Fantastic. Okay. Thanks so much for joining me. We'll see you every other Monday with Emily. Emily Wilson (10:51) Unscripted TV news. Yes, that's it.