On the Job

May 23, 2011 World Screen

 

This article originally appeared in the MIPTV 2011 issue of TV Real.
 
Reality series set within the workplace are securing slots on a range of networks, across a variety of time periods.
 
Whether facing the icy open road in an 18-wheel truck or navigating treacherous waters in a small fishing vessel, everyday heroes in extraordinary situations make for captivating reality television. This subgenre of factual programming presents the stories of the unheralded everyman in high-risk, high-reward professions and tells them through authentic narratives. Many of these shows have translated into ratings gold for broadcasters and are top moneymakers for distributors.
 
Thom Beers and his Original Productions have homed in on this segment’s popularity, becoming a powerhouse in unscripted television focused on dangerous jobs. The company is the driving force behind such hits as Discovery’s Deadliest Catch, truTV’s Black Gold and HISTORY’s Ice Road Truckers and Ax Men. Fremantle­Media took note of Original’s ability to tell these stories and in 2009 bought a majority stake in the company. The two already had an established distribution relationship, with Fremantle­Media Enterprises (FME) having sold a number of series from the Original portfolio, including LA HardHats, Verminators and America’s Toughest Jobs, worldwide.
 
Original’s storytelling skills within this genre are “second to none,” says Jeff Tahler, the senior VP of acquisitions and development at FME. “There are others out there that now try to replicate that type of storytelling, but it’s pretty widely acknowledged in the industry that Thom and the team over at Original Productions are the pioneers, and still really do the best job out there.”
 
DANGEROUS LIAISONS
The popularity of shows focused on blue-collar heroism can be attributed to a number of factors, Tahler says. “The biggest reason is that they’re very visual. You don’t really need to speak the language to understand what these people are going through. Also, it takes you into these worlds that very few people know a lot about….You never really think about the dangerous roles that these people get into. Those of us who work what I would call ‘normal jobs’ look at what these people do and are fairly amazed at all that it takes to get these jobs done. It’s action-packed.”
 
David McKillop, the senior VP of development and programming at HISTORY, also notes the allure that shows on exploring the unknown have. “Each of these shows brings viewers into a world that they’ve never experienced before, one that is immersive, surprising and engaging,” he says. “The people in those worlds are guys who embody the pioneering spirit—men who are living life on their own terms and by their own rules, facing the danger of their jobs fearlessly. It plays to the frontier ‘do-it-yourself’ spirit of history, which is missing in many people’s daily lives.”
 
McKillop points out that jobs don’t necessarily have to be dangerous to make for good television. “The secret to the success of these shows is that the appeal is actually built very carefully on much more than just danger,” he notes. “If danger were the only essential [element], then any ‘dangerous job’ show would succeed, and that hasn’t been the case. These series are aspirational; there is nothing many males would rather be doing than facing down the challenges of the wild—ice, forests and alligators—with a large truck, saw, boat or gun.”
 
Passion Distribution has found success with shows that feature a range of occupations that aren’t dangerous, from custom-­cake makers to industrial clean-up crews. Sally Miles, Passion’s CEO, explains, “Whether it’s Ace of Cakes or The Real Filth Fighters,these shows are dealing with real life and real people going about a real situation—be it fluffy or be it grimy.”
 
Miles attributes much of the success of series such as Grimefighters to the “dirtiest jobs” phenomenon, which is also quite popular in the workplace genre. “Combined with the window the viewer gets into how other people live, something like Grimefighters is alluring because it certainly makes us feel better about ourselves,” she says.
 
Beyond Distribution, too, has seen a strong appetite for workplace shows, though ones that aren’t necessarily dangerous or dirty. “None of the jobs [featured in our] properties are dangerous, unless you chop off a finger in the kitchen!” quips Munia Kanna-Konsek, Beyond’s head of sales, referring to the slew of cookery series in the catalogue. Shows such as Chuck’s Day Off, Fink and Chef School cover everything from learning to be a chef or running your own restaurant to increasing young people’s self esteem through the art of cooking, Kanna-Konsek explains. There are also real-estate titles like Big City Broker and Property Shop on Beyond’s slate, along with the entrepreneur-focused Masters’ Apprentice, You’ve Got the Job and Best Job in the World.
 
THE RIGHT RÉSUMÉ
While Kanna-Konsek says the success of these shows is due in part to the popularity of the home renovation, property and food categories, she also admits that strong characters are what’s key. “Most successful programs are character driven. Audiences love to love or hate them, identify with and aspire to be like them. It is the characters that give the program depth and soul.”
 
HISTORY’s McKillop agrees: “The strength and authenticity of the characters, along with telling compelling stories, play a huge role in determining the success of a series.” He adds, “These series are a perfect blend of the two…. The characters are revealed through their jobs—there isn’t an ice-road trucker without a truck and some ice!”
 
FME’s Tahler says it’s the jobs that bring viewers to the series, but it’s the characters who keep them coming back. “It’s a tried-and-true formula for any television show,” Tahler explains. “You come for the concept—in this case it’s the job. Whether it’s the crab fisherman or the ice-road trucker or the coal miners or the guys on the oil rigs, you look at those jobs and you say, Wow, I’d really like to learn more about that. What keeps you [hooked] are the characters and their dramatic stories.”
 
Whether it’s the jobs that have the allure or the larger-than-life personalities working in them, there’s no doubt these shows have struck a chord with viewers. Many workplace programs have been ratings leaders, drawing in big audience numbers and giving broadcasters even more incentive for pickups. Paul Heaney, the president and managing director of Cineflix International, says, “These types of shows, irrespective of their subject, are gems for the broadcasters, as they are frequently high-volume series that can lock in a slot and command high ratings over a sustained period. They also have a secondary role as ‘blotting paper,’ soaking up the floating viewer.”
 
JOB PLACEMENTS
Heaney also points out that these shows can play across a range of networks, from general-entertainment channels to niche lifestyle services. “There is an observational doc series out there for every broadcaster,” he says. “With our own shows, we have Python Hunters for the natural-history/adventure channels, Cash & Cari for the female audience, The Cupcake Girls for the more upscale entertainment slots,” and the list goes on.
 
Another advantage for broadcasters, Heaney says, is that these workplace-focused subjects can easily be stacked to create thematic blocks. “I’ve noticed broadcasters tacking together more than one show to create a strand, whether it’s an animals-and-vets theme (Python Hunters, Animal Squad, Animal Rescue, Zoo Tales), saving lives and security (Surf Patrol, Border Security) or comedic factual (Air Ways, Dussault Inc., The Cupcake Girls).”
 
Heaney further highlights these series’ broad scheduling potential. He says that the shows play mainly in prime time or weekend daytime, “but I’ve also seen shows of this ilk appear in the most unpredictable time slots.”
 
AT THEIR PEAK
Passion’s Miles agrees that depending on the broadcaster, these shows can be placed into slots ranging from just slightly off-peak to peak.
 
One example of a workplace reality series dominating in prime time is Studio Lambert’s Undercover Boss, sold by ALL3MEDIA International. The series was commissioned by Channel 4 in 2008 and was piloted for the U.S. in early 2009. CBS placed a full order for the show, which follows members of management as they slip into frontline jobs incognito, and decided to debut the series immediately following the 2010 Super Bowl. “It was an extraordinary way to launch a show,” says Stephen Lambert, the founder and chief executive of Studio Lambert. “The first episode was seen by almost 40 million viewers and the first series was the most popular new show of the 2009–10 tele­vision season, with an average audience of 17 million viewers.” The show has sold into nearly 200 territories, with the majority of the pickups coming from leading commercial networks.
 
“We conceived of the show as a format, and it was always intended to be something that could be made in other territories,” Lambert explains of Undercover Boss. Yet reviews are mixed on whether all series in this genre have format potential.
 
WORKING OVERSEAS
Passion believes its new series Pretty Hurts, a reality workplace comedy set in a Beverly Hills skin-care clinic, could be replicated as a format. “I think you could go out and find a business very similar to that” outside of Beverly Hills, says Miles. “We would sell that as a format, but with the original producers working closely with the potential new producers to help them with what’s necessary for how you need to cast the show and how you need to film the show, the amount of characters and story lines per episode.”
 
HISTORY’s McKillop agrees that with the right cast, workplace series are transportable. “The Pawn Stars format has been optioned in Canada by History Television and by Seven Network in Australia, while the American Pickers format has also been optioned by History Television in Canada,” he points out. “We are speaking with a number of broadcasters about the format rights to these and other series.”
 
There are others, however, who are not as optimistic about the idea of formatting this style of programming. “These shows are really dependent on the location,” argues FME’s Tahler. “These are jobs that happen in specific places. Can you bring people over? I guess. But would it be authentic? Probably not.”
 
Aside from often being location-based, job-centered reality series also rely heavily on the strength of the personalities they showcase. Trying to replicate the archetype of these bold characters, or to recreate the unique settings these shows are set in can diminish the original appeal, Tahler says. “What really is the key to these shows is the authenticity, and I think you lose that if you try to format most of these ideas.”
 
From jobs that are dangerous or dirty to family-run businesses to start-up companies dealing in fashion, cooking or real estate, the workplace genre runs the gamut. Given the proven success of these series, and their flexible scheduling potential, the trend doesn’t seem to be losing momentum, either.  
 
“Every time you think that there isn’t anything more to tell, somebody unearths a job that you didn’t know very much about or a group of people who are so compelling that you have to tell their story,” says Tahler. “A lot of production companies, including Original Productions, are out looking for what the next big thing is.”
 
He adds, “People have shown that they like to sit on their couch in the comfort of their own home and watch these types of programs, so I don’t think they’re going away. There are always interesting worlds out there that people don’t know about—these subcultures and smaller industries—and they are very much still in demand.”