here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe unscripted business is still such a powerful asset for most platforms and a lot of the broadcast and cable channels, but there\u2019s definitely been a shift over the years,\u201d Smith said. \u201cClearly, broadcast budgets are tighter than they\u2019ve been recently. We all know that. But there\u2019s still buying, just buying at a different level. Budgets are probably down 10 to 15 percent across the board. And it\u2019s up to us as producers to find things that fit into those budget parameters.\u201d<\/p>\n
The streaming business helped to boost demand for reality fare, but \u201cthe episode orders are smaller,\u201d Smith noted. \u201cHere I am on the set of Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em>. We\u2019re shooting our 24th season. I find it hard to believe that there are going to be shows that are going to go 23 and 24 seasons anymore. We do a fairly chunky order with Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em> and American Ninja Warrior<\/em>. We\u2019re doing 20 to 30 hours. You don\u2019t see those orders anymore\u2014they are usually 10 or 8. When you\u2019re planning a show, you benefit from a budget standpoint from the amortization of doing a lot of episodes. Now, when you\u2019re planning a big show, you\u2019ve got to figure out how the math works, divided by 8 or 10.\u201d<\/p>\nTo maintain longevity on a property like Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em>, constant reinvention is key, Smith noted. For season 23, \u201cfor the first time in Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em>, we have head chefs only on the two teams. That dynamic is crazy because we have all those egos in one kitchen. Gordon [Ramsay] has raised the bar, and the quality of the chefs is amazing. This season\u2019s probably the best group of chefs we\u2019ve ever had. When you have a show as long as we\u2019ve had this one, we never get complacent. We\u2019re always trying to think of doing different challenges. We love it when we say, \u2018For the first time ever in Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em>\u2026.\u2019 We have to say that at least five or six times a season\u2014if we do that, we know we\u2019re doing our job.\u201d<\/p>\nOn his overall approach to franchise management, Smith commented, \u201cYou never want to completely change the format. You have to think about what the core appeal of the show is, and you always have to protect that. But you have to continue to reinvent and reengage. If it feels like we\u2019ve been there too many times, we\u2019re going to change it. On American Ninja Warrior<\/em> last year, we put racing into the show. There are new obstacles, and there\u2019s always something new to hang on to. Sometimes it\u2019s in the casting; sometimes it\u2019s in the development of the challenges. We\u2019re always trying to push it to the next step.\u201d<\/p>\nTalking more about American Ninja Warrior<\/em>, Smith weighed in on adapting that Japanese format for the American market. \u201cSome of the core things are the same, but the obstacle courses and the showmanship that we\u2019ve put into it, we\u2019ve taken it to another level. The show was on in Japan for a number of years. It was only shown in Japan. Now based on the American show, it\u2019s seen in 100 countries. There are some two dozen formats. The show that grew out of the original Sasuke<\/em> has become the format that people are developing. Sometimes it\u2019s the second generation that becomes the format that travels, not necessarily the first generation.\u201d<\/p>\nWhen he first saw the format, Smith loved the core idea of \u201cordinary people trying to do extraordinary things. That\u2019s where I talk about the course being a metaphor for life. Why they run it and what it means to them and their family\u2014if we can dive in there and get people vested in their story, then the course takes on a whole other level.\u201d<\/p>\n
The conversation then moved to Smith\u2019s approach to casting. \u201cEvery show is different,\u201d he said. \u201cThe type of people that we\u2019re looking for on Ninja<\/em>, there\u2019s the athletics and the story behind it. Anytime I do an ensemble of any kind or a show like Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em>, it\u2019s not only about finding great characters, it\u2019s always about the mix. It\u2019s the chemistry. You have to anticipate how they\u2019re going to interact together. You want your cast to represent what America looks like, too.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arthur Smith, the chairman and CEO of A. Smith & Co. Productions, offered up a big-picture view of the state of reality television in the U.S. as the TV Real Festival came to a close today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":21622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[1696,9663,3421,5313],"class_list":["post-21621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-a-smith-co-productions","tag-american-ninja-warrior","tag-arthur-smith","tag-hells-kitchen","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n
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