How’d They Do That?

The latest evolutions in the diverse pop-science genre, where everything from engineering shows to motoring series are in demand.

The simple flush of a toilet belies the almost unimaginable complexities of cities’ sewer systems. The beep of a microwave oven signals the end of a journey that required incredible innovations in food science. The click of a TV remote ignites a chain reaction so you can flip on your favorite shows.

Inside the devices and systems we use every day is a world of tiny marvels. The inventiveness, imagination and innovation of the modern world continue to fuel the demand for pop-science series that let viewers take a magnifying glass to the things around them.

Offering insight into the ingenious innovations that have rocked our world, ZDF Enterprises’ Great Inventions examines everything from common everyday items (think batteries and denim jeans) to those that have had a profound impact on the world (like satellites and X-rays). The series, which spotlights the greatest inventions of mankind, was initiated, self-commissioned and fully financed by ZDF Enterprises.

“If you just take a look around at all the objects that surround you in your daily life—the subway, the jeans you wear, the watch on your arm, the screen in front of you, the telephone you use—there are so many stories behind these inventions that need to be told,” says Ralf Rückauer, VP of ZDFE.unscripted.

“The ‘how it’s made,’ category is really the driver of the market in this space,” says Simona Argenti, the head of sales at TCB Media Rights, which has popular offerings such as Wicked Inventions and How Hacks Work, featuring a panel of comedians and scientists who explain various “life hacks.”
Series that offer viewers inside access to various processes or locations also consistently pique viewers’ interests. “Shows like How Did They Build That?are still selling well for us,” Argenti says. Additionally, series like The Production Line, which looks at iconic and famous brands, always grab audiences’ attention, she contends.

Audiences are also gripped by the narrative being woven on top of the visuals that make them feel privy to private worlds. “The high production value is attractive, but viewers stay for the storytelling,” says Hud Woodle, executive VP of international sales and operations at GRB Studios. “It always goes back to the storytelling.”

ENGINEERING DEMAND
The engineering and technology genres are seeing an upswing in nearly every market around the world. Orange Smarty, for one, has seen a great performance from Inside Jaguar: A Supercar is Reborn, an engineering documentary that follows a team of automotive artisans as they hand build the Jaguar XKSS from scratch. In the same vein is GRB’s Tech Toys 360, one of the company’s most popular pop-science programs. The series gives viewers “the story behind the coolest gear, from personal flying machines to supercars, and interviews with inventors and exclusive tours of the factories that produce these gadgets,” Woodle says.

TCB’s Abandoned Engineering, meanwhile, showcases what went wrong in the construction of monumental projects. Behind closed doors, many of these structures, once set to be marvels of modern engineering, fell prey to bureaucracy or financial complications that resulted in them being proverbially left for dead. Massive Engineering Mistakes, too, explores the failures in huge building projects, from Baltimore’s crumbling sewer system to bridges with structural issues. Argenti says that both series have consistently done well for TCB, and the engineering category is “prominent in the market at the moment.”

Meanwhile, GRB’s Man at Arms: Art of War explores engineering from a different angle. “This fun show highlights weapons from famous movies or TV shows, like Conan the Barbarian or Game of Thrones, and then talented artists re-create the weapons,” says Woodle.

“Engineering, technology and space always remain popular, particularly for the male-skewing channels and slots,” says Amy Kemp, Orange Smarty’s head of sales.

However, Kemp notes that the greatest demand in the pop-science genre is for eco-themed fare. “The biggest thirst at the moment is for environmental programs that address climate change and sustainability,” she says. “The importance of these issues is echoed around the world, and therefore it’s a topic that is high up on the wish list for many broadcasters.”

PUMP UP THE VOLUME
Pop-science shows can help broadcasters with schedule gaps to fill. Great Inventions, for example, is catered to channels “that need to fill in or create a new slot,” ZDFE.unscripted’s Rückauer explains. “With 35 episodes as a start, you may establish a weekly slot for one year. So DTT channels and specialist factual broadcasters will love this series. Aside from that—and at the same time—it is the perfect match for binge-watchers on streaming platforms.”

All episodes have been produced in English, so the aim is for an international audience, Rückauer says. “All stories and content are very global,” he adds. “People wear jeans all over the planet so an episode like this should resonate with everybody around the globe. As a second step, one could think about a more local approach. We are looking forward to getting some local input from our clients as I could imagine it would be very interesting to have different versions with different experts created by producers in different countries and languages. This could make the strand more diverse and broaden views on ‘great inventions.’”

PLEASED TO PRESENT
Producers always keep in mind their potential market when chewing over the perennial question of how to present a pop-science topic to audiences. Sometimes, series need to be anchored with a host and given a little bit of a human touch. But for distributors, it can be a tough sell if a series has a person fronting it because it narrows the potential market. Hosts mean personality, but locality as well. So how do you strike the right balance between the two? “There’s really no formula to it, it just depends on meeting the audience demands,” says GRB’s Woodle. “As many options as we can have with versioning a show, the better a show can perform.”

Orange Smarty’s Kemp agrees that it all depends—on the buyer, on the presenter and on the territory. If the presenter is well-known internationally, they can lend some credibility to the series and some broadcasters’ ears might perk up just hearing their name. “However, for some channels, a presenter is less appealing, as they prefer non-hosted versions in order to localize,” she says.

“U.K. audiences like a U.K. base and broadcasters like to be able to sell a show on familiar faces, and it’s the same [in the U.S.],” says Nick Tanner, Passion Distribution’s director of sales and co-productions. “But ultimately, the utility value of a pop-science or factual series is higher if it’s presenter-less. It’s an important factor when we’re looking at the potential for any given show because hosts are so subjective.”

“For pop science, I find it quite good when there’s a talent, and they draw out the stories and try experiments,” says TCB’s Argenti. “But generally speaking, we prefer presenter-less.”

SMART TV
“There continues to be a high demand for this genre, particularly for popular science that is accessible to a broad audience and can also cut across demographics,” says Kemp. “The demand is seen across the landscape—linear channels have regular science slots to fill and there is also a thirst from VOD platforms.”

Hitting the sweet spot that both allows audiences to learn and stay entertained is quite the feat, a chemical reaction triggered by just the right amount of science mixed with a scoop of human interest. “It can be a tough genre to get right as the programs need to be accessible to a wider audience, credible and have high production values,” Kemp continues.

“By watching Great Inventions, we learn a little bit more than we used to know before,” adds ZDFE.unscripted’s Rückauer. “Where does the name ‘blue denim’ or ‘jeans’ come from? Your next party talk is safe; you don’t need to talk about the weather anymore.”

The interviews for this report were conducted prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Media companies are currently shifting their strategies in the wake of production postponements and economic trends.