TV Land Expands Unscripted Slate

TV Land Expands Unscripted Slate

The U.S. network has been churning out an increasing number of non-scripted original programs as it looks to build long-running franchises.

This August, two new originals are set to launch on TV Land, How’d You Get So Rich? and Make My Day. They will premiere back-to-back in TV Land PRIME,  the network’s prime-time programming block that is stocked with shows that appeal to people in their 40s.

Executive produced by reality-show hitmaker Mark Burnett, the six-episode How’d You Get So Rich? puts the spotlight on those who have gained wealth in interesting ways. The half-hour series is hosted by the notoriously outrageous Joan Rivers. "She really embodies the show," says Keith Cox, the executive VP of original programming at TV Land. "I’ve been a huge fan of Joan for many years. She loves interviewing people and she’s very curious about peoples’ backgrounds." Rivers takes viewers on a journey to meet ordinary people who have "struck gold" by rolling up their sleeves to make money through unexpected means.

Also slated for six episodes, Make My Day is a "great companion to How’d You Get So Rich? because it’s comedic too," says Cox. "It’s a hidden-camera show, kind of like Punk’d but in a more positive way. We take a person, who is nominated by someone in their family, and we give them the most incredible day of their life…. All day, all these incredible, weird coincidences keep happening, all tailored specifically to them. In the end there’s this reveal, with family and friends and everyone who was in on it. It’s a really funny show, and it’s a real feel-good show too."

These are two of the latest non-scripted series to join TV Land’s original programming roster, sitting alongside the classic sitcoms, such as The Brady Bunch and All in the Family, that have been the centerpiece of the cable network. "TV Land had been doing original programming for a while, mostly doing original TV shows about TV, fitting in the vein of the concept of the channel," explains Cox.

"When I came on, we wanted to go after more of the audience that’s watching our channel and develop bigger, larger franchises. That was my goal, getting big network producers to do big network-quality shows that aren’t really just about TV, but are more about people in their 40s. I always liken it to MTV. They do a really great job of speaking to their audience, which is teens. We want to speak really loudly to our audience, which is 25 to 54, but specifically people in their 40s."

Paving the way for this push was the success of High School Reunion, produced by Mike Fleiss of The Bachelor fame. The show, which reunites classmates 20 years post-graduation, has been ordered for a third season to premiere in the third quarter of this year, after its second season averaged nearly 900,000 total viewers. "The show appeals to women and men. It speaks to our audience and their age range. People go back to their high-school reunion to resolve issues. That was the first show out, and it did very well." Fleiss also went on to do The Cougar for TV Land, a show that follows in the vein of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, but this time watches as an older woman looks for love from a pool of younger men.

The reality series She’s Got the Look just returned in its second season on TV Land on June 11. Also airing in the TV Land PRIME lineup, the show follows a modeling competition between women over the age of 35, with one lucky winner taking the top prize of a contract with Wilhelmina Models, a photo spread for SELF magazine and a check for $100,000.

"Each year we’d like to do more," says Cox of the channel’s strategy to continue developing original programs. "The plan next year is hopefully to do eight originals. The second plan is, we really want franchises. I want High School Reunion to be a cornerstone. I want She’s Got the Look to be a cornerstone. If we continue with The Cougar, we want that to be one too. We want shows to return. We’re not in the business of doing one season only, we want to start building franchises and then building shows off those. That’s the larger game plan."