ToolKit
I Have an Idea for a TV Show. How Do I Get It Made?
The honest answer for formats, reality and game shows, from someone who still hears two or three pitches a week.
TV Formats
Market Wall
Fewer doors, bigger rooms
More outlets, fewer gatekeepers. The BBC and Channel 4 are talking about sharing the machinery behind their brands, Channel 4 has a new programme chief, and Paramount and WBD are now one company. Here’s what each means for your next pitch.
Format Lab
OUTSIDE, Netflix: Who Can Afford to Prove a Format?
The Sidemen turned a self-funded YouTube experiment into a Netflix franchise. A teardown of the game, the route to commission, and whether comic spending carries real stakes.
Market Wall
Friday Format Sweep 11 Sept 26
Two brand new formats land this week, but the real story is five proven ones finding a new mechanic. Ruthless, I'm a Celebrity, and more.
Format Lab
Two Warnings From Nine Cancellations
Nine big-name UK entertainment shows. Nine one-series cancellations. The first Post-Mortem breaks down the two patterns that actually explain it.
Format Lab
Premortem Case Study: The Box
Five days before The Box aired, a Premortem flagged the exact failure mode that showed up on screen. Here's the report, next to what actually happened.
Format Lab
THE BOX ITV, Where did it all go so wrong?
Gary Lineker's big ITV launch got savaged on transmission night. A look at what actually broke, on screen, and why the international success story didn't save it.
Format Lab
The Premortem. Find the failure before the failure finds you.
Every TV format that fails looked fine when it was greenlit. The Premortem finds the crack before you spend a penny developing it.