What is the best way to sell a reality TV show idea?

Adam's answer is spot on.  Since this was an A2A, I'll add my two cents.  First off, there's a huge misconception that people have regarding selling their ideas for a show or movie.  The fact is, everyone thinks they have a great idea.  Ideas are nothing.  They are aplenty.  And in regards to the entertainment industry, they have plenty of established people that have plenty of ideas as well, thus they aren't looking outside of the current industry community.  It's all about the hook.  Lindsay Lohan reality show?  Sold.  People love to watch a train wreck.  A reality show about a dangerous job?  Sold.  Deadliest Catch cemented the draw of that genre. I could go on and on.  But the key thing to remember here is that established television producers are coming up with these ideas and then going out to find these people and these concepts, rather than these people and concepts successfully selling ideas to the television producers and studios. So your only saving chance is the hook you have for a show.  And it has to be something you are attached to or have special access to.  Otherwise it means nothing to them in reference to you selling it. Are you a pilot that does some dangerous crop dusting, along with a circle of hardcore pilots that live in the country or something? You've got a hook there.  A blending of successful reality show genres (Country hicks and dangerous job).  And you are personally attached to it.  You COULD pitch this to a studio or producer.  But you need something on camera.  You'd have to make a pilot episode on your own.  Almost like an audition tape. Just find out who is producing similar shows to yours and contact them.  You can find most contact information if you have an IMDBPro .com membership.  You could just do their two week trial too.  That way, you can look up any show, look up the producers and studios, and look up their contact info to approach them.    OR do you just have some game show type of idea OR a concept that you have no personal connection to?  If so, you're likely out of luck because ideas are like a**holes, everyone has one.

I've never sold a reality show. I've worked on some sales packages-- none of which got beyond the rough pilot-ish area. But I have sat in on many, many, many pitches for people to have my company produce their reality show and I can tell you where they failed. One Sentence Pitch What's your idea? One sentence. Does that sentence sound like a show anybody would want to watch? So many people came in and pitched the idea of a show that "me and my friends hanging out, going through life." And? There have been shows that were successful with that format, but I guarantee they sold it with a better logline. Rob & Big is basically this show, but their logline was probably "Professional Skateboarder has a unique friendship with his gigantic black bodyguard." Rob & Big has a hook. It actually has a bunch. It's about a celebrity. It's about a lifestyle. It's about cross racial friendships. And the pictures of the two of them are hilarious. So if you want to do a show about your hilarious friends, think deeper. Are you a group of fratty outer borough schnooks who grew up pranking each in new and hilarious ways? You could be Impractical Jokers. Maybe you show what it's really like to grow up in the hoods of Brooklyn. Maybe you want to show the Real New Jersey. I have seen a lot of pitches about a group of friends. They need an identity. Or some other hook. I worked on a neat pilot about the son of a major record producer and his friends trying to make their own name in the music business. There were two clear hooks: the lifestyle of growing up under a music industry legend, and streetwise kids hustling. So write up a one sentence description that is actually interesting. And if you can't fit what is interesting about the show in one sentence, it's a tough sell. Sure, it could be good, but so is Arrested Development. And networks don't want to pick up a critical darling that struggles in the ratings. Especially not from somebody they never heard of. Character List Make one sheet with all the characters. With pictures. Three sentences about each person. One of those sentences should put them in a box. One should expand them outside the box. Joan Rivers - A desperate, washed up celebrity who knows her best days are far behind her. Her piercing and brash sense of humor hides her fear, but the jokes are often turned on herself too. A fierce competitor who never quits. People like boxes: has been, brash funny lady. But they also like surprises. Who expected Joan to be so amazing on the Apprentice? Who expected her to be sincere? Somebody who inspired people? I guarantee that the producers of the Apprentice did. Try to throw in some descriptions that help people envision the conflict. Do you have a chef who learned traditional cooking from his Mexican grandma and another who's white and moved to Mexico to learn to elevate the food to a gourmet level? How about a black activist and girl who graduated from a high school that was 98% white? It doesn't have to be conflict between characters. It can be about how the characters will conflict in your scenario. Maybe she's never lived on her own, having her life managed in every way, but now she's married and has to live as adult. Maybe he's a lifelong bachelor who loves bourbon and cigars, but this is a show about raising a newborn. People want to read your characters and immediately know the conflict. Make a Test Run HD video is incredibly cheap now. Scrape together some money and make a test run. Don't break the bank. Save up for a few months, then do it. You need to shoot a lot. Reality shows have about 6-8 hours of footage ON EACH CAMERA. You should have three cameras. You're going to build it in the editing room. Make sure you have a concrete story. It's best if you know what it's going to be going in. Your characters try to cook Thanksgiving. They have to plan a party. Give them a goal. Because your piece needs a beginning, middle, and end. You'd be surprised how many sample videos of reality shows I've seen that forget that. There's an old joke that the hatches on Star Trek used to read GNDN for "Goes Nowhere, Does Nothing." And that's what most reality show samples are. If you give them a goal, then they have reasons to do things, to argue, to joke, to have drama. And picking a goal that's important to the concept is good. If your show is about the best 14 year old party promoter in the world, then clearly they need to promote a party. Whether they succeed or fail-- or even fall in between-- it's drama and it's a concept. Put It in a Nice Package Print your stuff in color on a not crappy printer. Put a label on your DVD. Keep it in a amray case. The $10 you spend on the presentation will be the most cost-effective of this whole endeavor. $10 per presentation in cases, labels, printing, etc. But don't waste a lot on your DVD menu. One menu screen. One or two buttons. One button says "play" or the title of your show. The other is maybe your character list. MAYBE. Simple, but professional location. Simple is probably better. Show It Around I can't tell you how to get it in a door. I'll just tell you to use every door you have. Anybody who's halfway connected to the entertainment industry. This will mean you're annoying and rude. You have to be. You just do. Don't Put It on the Internet If you want to make your show on your own, make a lot of episodes, and then have it get picked up by a channel, you can do that. Very few people have succeeded at that, but eventually it will start happening. But you didn't ask that. You want to sell the reality show idea. So don't put it on the internet. I have trouble telling you why, but nobody likes this. Maybe because it's cheap. Maybe because if it's a link I click on, then I just do that while I'm reading the rest of my email. Maybe it's because the 20 seconds it takes to pull the DVD out of the case, put it in the drive, then puch play means they pay that much more attention to it. Maybe it's because they feel guilty to throw physical things in the trash, so it sits on their desk. Maybe because it looks like more work on your part. I will definitely say that sending a physical DVD is MUCH more effective than sending a link. But don't send it unsolicited. That goes in the trash. Make a personal connection. Exchange cards. Ask if you can send the DVD. Ask them if their uncle wants to see the DVD, then have them hand deliver it. You need to give them the impression that you want one specific person (or company to see it). It just carries weight. After that, I don't know. I worked on awesome pilots that never got picked up. I've worked on awesome pilots that did. I've never worked on a terrible one that did get picked up. I was never the guy who made the connections or made the sale. My work was in logistics. I made sure we had cameras and crew and permits. One last thing: MAKE CONTRACTS. You and your friends. Crew and actors. You and your funders. Anytime somebody joins the team, they get a contract. Because I have seen shows that were AMAZING with once in a lifetime pilots depicting historical events that never saw air. Because when the network was ready to pick it up, all the people involved started fighting. Because they didn't have contracts. Get a contract. The internet helps set it up. Good luck! I know my advice is only so useful.

OK, I'll bite. Like Adam, I've not sold one of my own reality shows, because frankly, there's not enough money in it to make it worthwhile vs. the amount of pain involved in getting one made and to air.  So let's set aside the fact that most non-network (network meaning NBC, CBS, ABC, and FOX primetime) reality shows have terrible budgets, and will likely make you far less money than anyone not working in TV would assume. However, I've definitely been deeply engaged with shows during development, pitches, pilots and thru to series both with some creative involvement and deeper business involvement (contracts, budgeting, deliverables, etc). First of all, don't worry about protecting your idea. It's worth less than you think.  Worry about partnering with the right teams of talented people and getting your product to market.  In case we all haven't noticed, reality is a constant we all live in most days - therefore, there is no such thing as a really unique idea in the reality genre.  As Adam points out, there ARE unique characters - if your show is based on very unique, real people, make sure you have deals in place with those people before you pitch so that it's much more difficult for production company partner or network to cut you out if some acrimony develops between Network and Prodco. Aside from that, assuming you are an outsider in the television business - meaning you haven't worked in it for 10+ years, and know folks in the development arms of the places you want to pitch who will let you come in and pitch - you will have to partner with a known Showrunner or Production Company that will do what's called an "If/Come" deal.  Which means, no money upfront, but IF they can sell it, then you can COME along. The best way to find a prodco or showrunner partner that might work with you, is to find companies and showrunners who have made shows that are similar to what you want to pitch, and figure out how to contact them; and see if you can get a meeting setup.  When you go into the company, you'll have to sign a waiver noting that it's possible the company may already have something similar in development.  This happens ALL THE TIME, because frankly, Reality TV formats are almost never truly unique.  If you're too scared your idea will be stolen, then let it sit on the shelf forever.  If you want to actually get it made, talk to as many (reputable) showrunners and companies as you can. If the production company or showrunner likes the concept and characters enough, they will be willing to front some small amount of cash to shoot or create a sizzle reel - maybe $5-15k. Which goes into production/editorial, not to you.  If a prodco isn't willing to put any production or editorial resources behind your idea, it's probably not worthwhile to do a deal because the odds of selling the show to a network without out that are slim to none.  It also means your concept and characters likely aren't strong enough to warrant that time and money investment from the prodco. TL;DR - Assuming you don't have a rolodex and relationships to directly call and pitch, you will need to partner with a person or a company who *does* have that, and is known to the networks in a good way.

As for ‘selling it’ you have it Optioned which in layman terms means it is rented for a certain period of time as a negotiated price. In the Option Agreement you set out all the details of the terms and agreements including what happens if the production company, producer, studio or network actually shoot the show, what your percentages its sale will be, how you will be credited, if you will be hired as a Writer or Producer/Director, Spin off, market share etc. The Option is the most important negotiation document there is in terms of a series sale and I would strongly recommend having an Entertainment Lawyer negotiate it in your best interest. Its worth the $1000.0 they will charge. As for selling it there's no really answer. Since the digital age has landed there has become a slew of ‘Reality T.V.’ content producers. Reality TV is the easiest and cheapest form of filmed entertainment around and almost anyone with a consumer video camera and cheap home computer software can produce it. No major studio, network or production company will even look at a reality series pitch unless it comes to them from an Agent/ Rep. (that's another bowl of wax) but for sure most local production companies that are even slightly established and have a track record will. I don't know where you live but I would take it to them or find a local producer with experience and team with them.

Findyr is looking for pitches for ideas and stars for reality TV shows.  Get in touch with us at and we can help get you set up. We are working with a major network. For more information: http://blog.findyrworld.com/become-the-next-reality-tv-star/

The answers here are of great help, thank you SO MUCH@!  I keep seeing "most reality shows are not unique", but I assure you, this one is not happening all over America and it's happening soon.  I wish I could slow my life down until we know whether or not there's interest in helping us with a sizzle reel.  So once I have a list of showrunners, do I just start calling them?  What do I say?  lol