As Writers Strike Looms, Reality Producers Optimistic About Possible Unscripted Boom

deadline.com:

A potential writers strike would be incredibly harmful for many in Hollywood, but there’s one sector of the entertainment industry that is quietly optimistic that it could lead to a boom for them – the unscripted television makers.

As history has shown, there’s also precedent for an uptick — from the 1988 strike that led to the creation of Fox’s Cops and the 2007-08 strike, which bolstered unscripted shows such as The Amazing Race and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

The issue was top of mind at this week’s Realscreen conference in Austin, where thousands of nonfiction producers, documentary filmmakers and buyers discussed the future of the unscripted business.

Kathleen Finch, Chairman and Chief Content Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery’s U.S. Networks Group, told Deadline that while a strike would aid the unscripted business, she warned there would be “big repercussions” “Given past history, it would [help the unscripted TV sector], but I don’t think it helps the industry at all,” she said. “When you think about how many people would be out of work, if all those scripted shows stopped, none of us want that.