Many in Hollywood figured that the strikes would lead to an unscripted TV renaissance. But Julie Pizzi, president and CEO of Bunim/Murray and 51 Minds Entertainment, says that reality TV pitching changed too with Hollywood’s contraction.
“A lot of the networks, platforms and cable channels have a certain amount of money they can spend in a year, and they want to put it toward something that’s going to be a landmark,” Pizzi told TheWrap’s Office With a View. “Everyone’s looking for ‘What’s our ‘Traitors’? What’s our ‘Squid Game,’ What’s going to put us on the map?’ ”
Creating hits was never an issue for Bunim/Murray, the Banijay-owned production company behind unscripted staples like “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” “The Challenge” and “The Real World” franchises.