Great news–the network heavies signed off on your reality show!  Now it is time to make a deal.

It was my (unrealized) goal to fit this chapter onto one page.  You know why.  It is because this is the chapter you and your attorney must write.  Signing a deal for a show without consulting an experienced reality TV attorney will land you smack in the "Dr. Phil House," wrapped in a straight jacket, with a big, bald Texan scrunching his face at you in disgust.  "That dog ain’t gonna hunt!" he will scream.  You will be confused.  And I will be confused, as well, if you make it this far in the journey only to cheap out or sell yourself short by not hiring an attorney.

During contract negotiations, you will talk through your attorney and your friendly network exec will talk through a small army of them better known as "Network Business Affairs."  All non-legal, creative discussions will continue between you, your production partners and your network executive.  But if anyone tries to bypass your attorney and talk legalese directly with you, just say, "You know, I promised my attorneys I would do everything through them, so let me call over there and see if they can get back to you guys right away on this."  Your attorney is earning hundreds of dollars an hour to represent you, protect your interests and consult with you on these issues, even though you ultimately will make all final decisions on the contract.  So stick to creative development and let them earn their fee.

The deal phase is where some Biz Affairs units deploy the comprehensive "shock and awe" campaigns I mentioned earlier in this book.  So here is the second-to-last bit of advice I am going to offer you on creating or pitching a reality show, depending on where you are on the reality experience ladder:

 

Notes for Reality Newcomers

If you partnered with a production company to sell your show, virtually all of your standing in this sale was negotiated in the deal memo you signed with that production partner.  The sale is when "triggers" from that contract will begin, including any money you might receive during the upcoming development phase. 

If you instead flew solo in a direct sale to the networks, you have just crash-landed in a sea of sharks.  Hey, they are nice sharks, but it is Business Affairs’ fiscal duty now to brutally consume any extraneous chum weighing down the show budget ship (um, that’s you). 

As a newbie, either your talent attachment or your personal experience is going to keep you in the game, or your attorney is going to have to do some very savvy negotiating.  You will not be seeing any money any time soon (unless they try to buy you out with a small development check).  Remember, though, your goal here is not to make gobs of money but to stay attached to the show and somehow involved with whatever production company they turn the show over to. 

You have to stay Big Picture here!  This sale is the one thing that can instantly get you production experience, grease the wheel for a second sale that gives you more production experience, and coast you closer to your own production deal.

I like to tell the story of Elise Doganieri, who said to her fiancé one day, to paraphrase, hey, what about a reality show where contestants race each other around the world?  Her now-husband, who already was a non-fiction executive producer, developed that show with her then sold it.  And on the initial seasons of The Amazing Race, Elise, whose idea spawned what is now a legendary reality series, worked as one of many producers on her own show.  Many years and Emmys later, she is one of the show runners, but imagine how her staff feels about her for being willing to learn how such a massive show should be produced before deciding she would help run it herself.

One simple thought from this: Whatever is best for your show might actually be what is best for you. 

 

Notes for Reality Staffers

If you have no existing partnership deal memo defining your participation in the show, your attorney still has a far easier time keeping you on your own show because you actually can lend production experience to the game.  S/he will certainly fight for a better title than you currently have and some assurances that you can rise towards show runner status over a series of production cycles.  Be dedicated and learn from those who are running the show, and it will earn you the respect of your co-workers, bosses and network reps, which will help you rise quickly through the ranks.  It also will keep you in the network’s and production company’s eyes as a potential show runner on other shows.

For that reason, be mindful that you also will need an escape clause should another show sale–or a better-paying, higher-titled job–come your way during this first show’s development phase (when you may not be getting paid) or run (when you may be earning, at best, your current rate).  Also, keep an eye out for costly exclusivity clauses that restrict you to working only on this show, especially during periods when you will not be making money on the project.  Those periods could be development, production, post-production and delivery, unless you actually are on staff for one or more of those stages and will be paid.

 

Notes for Reality Show Runners

Your attorney absolutely will fight for you to be the show runner on your own show, though you may end up a co-show runner, depending on your partnership deal memo, your experience in this genre, or the clout of any other production company the network brings in. 

Your attorney also will fight for your own production company to execute the show.  If you have a great track record with the network execs who are buying the show, this could happen, especially if you sold a relatively low-budget show.  For higher budget projects, your attorney will fight at least to make the network’s chosen production company partner with yours so your company gets its first credit.   Of course, if you brought in the production partner, this is something your attorney will have negotiated with that company already. 

Your attorney will have to fight even harder to extricate you from utter exclusivity and a long-term commitment to multiple series cycles.  But having sold and run your own show is like honey to other network bees, and you want to be able to leverage this sale for more.  See what you can do to soften any language that ties you down to one show for years.  And if you were able at least to get your production company partnered on this first show, for your next sale, pitch projects with small enough budgets that a network might give your company its own deal.

 

Making the Deal

Whatever level you are at going into this deal, remember that negotiating a sale can take months.  And more months.  Months for which you will not be paid but might be expected to do development work because the network has, in good faith, agreed to buy your show.  Talk to your attorney about setting boundaries for you, but do not let a tough-talking attorney–or your own greed, empty wallet, entitlement or bruised ego–kill your deal. 

A final thought:  do not invest tireless energy in trying to own part of the first show you sell.  That is not part of the reality business model right now for most people.  Mark and Tyra do not own their shows outright (they share ownership with their networks), so know that you will not either.  And since you are not the one paying and risking millions of dollars to produce the show, perhaps that is only fair, right? 

Maybe.  There is a big industry battle going on over format rights, since show creators rarely reap the rewards of their projects being duplicated and lucratively spun-off across domestic and international markets (again, this is not fiction TV!).  But know on your first sale, at least, that retaining format rights is a huge demand, and be prepared for considerable resistance from the network.

Do keep financial focus on any money that is guaranteed to be paid.  Your percentage of any production fee will not be much if you are not the production company who is committing the resources, staff and connections to make the show, but that is only fair, too, right? 

Maybe.  The production company, if it is the right one, is in a position to gain more from the network for this sale than you might, including the intangible boost of having brought their network contacts another original, sellable show.  This may not translate into much money up front for you, but it certainly should translate into other benefits, the least one being a position on the show staff.

Your Show File now will have up to 16 items:

 

SHOW FILE

•  Pitch Database

•  Five Key Pitch Elements

•  Reality TV Research

•  Logline (draft)

•  One-Sheet (draft)

•  Partnership Deal Memo

•  Talent Agreement

•  Talent Reel

•  Treatment

•  Registration applications (and final forms)

•  Sizzle Reel (only if absolutely necessary!)

•  Budget and Schedule Notes

•  Network, Production Company and/or Show Runner Research

•  Show Runner Deal Memo

•  Production Company Deal Memo

•  Network Contract

 

The Next Step

You already have learned that the next step after having an idea is not pitching it.  Instead, there is a detailed development process to get your show ready to sell.  You will not be surprised then, to learn that the next step after selling a show is not producing it!  Instead, there is a detailed development process to get your show ready to shoot.  That is known as the "Development Phase" of your contract, where you and the network try to craft a solid format and a reasonable budget and schedule for the show.  Sometimes you are paid for development, but it is never much (it can be as little as $5,000), especially if you are sharing it with a co-creator–or only getting a small piece of it from your production partners. 

The bad news is many shows never make it out of "development hell" into actual production, where producer’s fees finally kick in.  The good news is most first-time producers do survive development hell and go on to pitch more shows.

Remember, your first sale, just by being a sale, represents capital beyond $5,000, $10,000, $50,000 or even a full production fee.  It elevates you to a new position in the industry.  It gets you into respected agency interviews where you can be signed and shopped to many more networks without all of the grunt work you had to do to open this first door.  It is a passport, a stamp of approval, a membership to a very amazing club.  As you have learned in this process, you simply cannot buy that.  And it will pay you back handsomely over time if you truly appreciate it…and work it for all you’ve got.

One last piece of advice for you on this incredible journey.  Take a full day and night off and celebrate your first sale.  It sincerely might be the last break you take for six months, one year, a decade.  Creating and producing reality television consumes your life.  It is exciting, surprising, enraging, insane and unlike anything you have ever done.  And that is why we do it.  The money, when it comes, is just a cool extra.

Welcome to the club.

 

"REALITY CHECK"

 

P

Pledge #8:  I have finally sold my first show, and my attorney and I are negotiating my network deal.  I will read every sentence of the contract myself and ask my attorney to explain everything I do not understand.  I will know what I am getting into and, unbelievably, how I might be able to get out of it.  I am excited to sell my next show.