{"id":21590,"date":"2024-06-19T08:00:35","date_gmt":"2024-06-19T12:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/corie-henson-rachel-smith-on-nbcus-unscripted-strategy\/"},"modified":"2024-06-19T08:52:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T12:52:46","slug":"corie-henson-rachel-smith-on-nbcus-unscripted-strategy-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/corie-henson-rachel-smith-on-nbcus-unscripted-strategy-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Corie Henson & Rachel Smith on NBCU\u2019s Unscripted Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day one of the TV Real Festival wrapped with NBCUniversal Entertainment\u2019s Corie Henson and Rachel Smith discussing the group\u2019s strategy for game shows, lifestyle and docs.<\/p>\n

TV Real<\/em>\u2019s Kristin Brzoznowski moderated the session with Henson, executive VP of unscripted content, competition and game shows; and Smith, executive VP of unscripted content, lifestyle and documentaries, which you can view here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the formatted entertainment space, \u201cthe focus is primarily on finding really interesting IP that we can mine in clever ways\u2014whether that\u2019s taking something that you\u2019re already familiar with and giving it a fresh spin like we did with Deal or No Deal Island<\/em> or identifying a format in its nascent stages in another territory like we did with The Traitors <\/em>and hopefully soon Destination X<\/em> and building that out for an American audience,\u201d Henson said. \u201cWe\u2019re being really selective. Not just because of the current climate but because we have a lot of programming that\u2019s already working. So, in a lot of cases, we\u2019re looking to expand on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Peacock in particular, Henson highlighted the need for \u201csoapy, engaging stories that have pull-through and will really carry you through from episode to episode, like Love Island<\/em> or The Traitors<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

In lifestyle and true crime, similarly, Smith noted, \u201cWe\u2019re looking for ways to selectively super-serve those audiences with choices that are undeniable and urgent and self-marketing as much as we can. That does often involve leaning into our known IP. So much of what I develop around in the lifestyle lane is for Bravo. Time and time again, we\u2019re told we have to have the right mix of humor and the Bravo wink and earned drama that comes with investing in characters and understanding their nuances and unexpected moments, meme-able moments and arced storytelling. That could be an occu-soap, a docusoap, a social experiment, a game show. For true crime, we\u2019re looking for really big swings, high IP and a new way to attack that story\u2014whether there\u2019s new archival material, an update in the legal proceedings, a never-been-seen interview. Some new way to frame a familiar case is often the way we enter it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite NBCU\u2019s treasure trove of owned IP, the company is still in the market for breakout new ideas. \u201cI\u2019m more than happy to snap up a paper format and have ownership with that producer and build something out together and then take it out to the world together because we have a really strong distribution business,\u201d Henson explained.<\/p>\n

The Traitors<\/em> is among the international formats that have been snapped up by NBCUniversal. It has become a breakout hit for Peacock. On what\u2019s driving the success of that brand, Henson noted: \u201cIt\u2019s everything from the location to [host Alan Cumming\u2019s] wardrobe. There\u2019s amazing play-along. The first season was part civilian, part celebrity, and there was an interesting dynamic that was created between the \u2018haves\u2019 and \u2018have-nots.\u2019 Creating the celebrity cast really took it to another level [in season two]. It\u2019s just a really clever format. It has a spontaneous format, so it doesn\u2019t have that regular cadence of challenge, challenge, elimination. There\u2019s a little bit of fatigue there. In this, there are murders and roundtables; it\u2019s always keeping you on your feet. It\u2019s really immersive; you feel like you\u2019re there. It\u2019s aspirational; you want to be there. I\u2019m desperate to do a civilian version. Every fan I talk to is like, Oh, I want to play! To me, whether that\u2019s wanting to run the Ninja<\/em> Warrior<\/em> course or audition for America\u2019s Got Talent<\/em>, all of our shows have to have that bit of aspiration to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brzoznowski then asked about finding projects that will cut through in the crowded true-crime space. Smith referenced the success of Peacock\u2019s Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s these high-IP cases where you can come in with something fresh and new to say. Then there\u2019s the undeniably bonkers, crazy stories that aren\u2019t necessarily high IP,\u201d such as a series on con artist and writer Elisabeth Finch. \u201cThat\u2019s not the most well-known case, but there\u2019s something undeniable about the twists and turns in the storytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

On what she\u2019d like to see more of in the non-scripted landscape at present, Henson said she\u2019s keen to \u201chear some new voices in the mix. Particular genres are due for a refresh. I\u2019d love to see a modernization of the studio game and what that would mean. I would love the emphasis to be on creativity and taking big swings. We all still have budget constraints and mandates that we\u2019re following, but I would love for everyone to be able to take a breath and stretch their wings a little bit more within the invisible rails that we have to give from the commissioner seat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith concurred, noting, \u201cWe are in quite a risk-averse moment. It\u2019s a crowded landscape. There are economic imperatives. When you get too focused on that, it can kill the creativity. You have to take risks. You can\u2019t anticipate what the next thing is going to be. You\u2019ve got to be open, excited and curious. So, I agree with Corie: Take some risks. Zag where everyone\u2019s zigging. I\u2019m actually looking forward to a time when it doesn\u2019t have to be [known] IP, and we can take a chance on something new. With all this proliferation of content, the standards are so high. The storytelling has to be excellent. That\u2019s good for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day one of the TV Real Festival wrapped with NBCUniversal Entertainment\u2019s Corie Henson and Rachel Smith discussing the group\u2019s strategy for game shows, lifestyle and docs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":21591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[9585,9586,8375,9645,9357],"class_list":["post-21590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-corie-henson","tag-nbcuniversal-entertainment","tag-rachel-smith","tag-the-traitors","tag-tv-real-festival","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nCorie Henson & Rachel Smith on NBCU\u2019s Unscripted Strategy - TVREAL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/corie-henson-rachel-smith-on-nbcus-unscripted-strategy-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Corie Henson & Rachel Smith on NBCU\u2019s Unscripted Strategy - TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Day one of the TV Real Festival wrapped with NBCUniversal Entertainment\u2019s Corie Henson and Rachel Smith discussing the group\u2019s strategy for game shows, lifestyle and docs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/corie-henson-rachel-smith-on-nbcus-unscripted-strategy-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-19T12:00:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-19T12:52:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/06\/4-NBCU-624-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"394\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/corie-henson-rachel-smith-on-nbcus-unscripted-strategy-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/corie-henson-rachel-smith-on-nbcus-unscripted-strategy-2\/\",\"name\":\"Corie Henson & Rachel Smith on NBCU\u2019s Unscripted Strategy - TVREAL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-19T12:00:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-19T12:52:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/corie-henson-rachel-smith-on-nbcus-unscripted-strategy-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/corie-henson-rachel-smith-on-nbcus-unscripted-strategy-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/corie-henson-rachel-smith-on-nbcus-unscripted-strategy-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Corie Henson & Rachel Smith on NBCU\u2019s Unscripted Strategy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\",\"name\":\"TVREAL\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\",\"name\":\"Mansha Daswani\",\"description\":\"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. 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