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Participating producers on the advisory committee include MGM Alternative, Scout Productions and Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Blind Nil.
By Mikey O'Connell
TV Features Editor
Just two months after launching their formal initiative to make unscripted TV more sustainable, eco-entertainment organization Reality of Change and environmental nonprofit Rare have assembled 30 studios and production companies to work on an advisory committee to address the climate crisis across the industry.
Gathering for the first time in late May, the committee will meet throughout 2024 in an effort to help establish a course of action for unscripted TV producers with achievable goals and tangible results in addressing sustainability both in front of and behind the camera.
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Led by Reality of Change founder Cyle Zezo and Rare Entertainment Lab senior director Ellis Watamanuk, the committee represents a slew of prominent unscripted producers from studios like MGM Alternative and Sony Pictures Television’s The Intellectual Property Corporation to thriving indies such as Scout Productions, Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz’s Alfred Street Industries and Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Blind Nil. (See the full list of participants below.)
“Collectively, this advisory committee has decades upon decades of experience and a track record of producing some of the most-watched and beloved unscripted content,” says Watamanuk. “I can think of no better partners in building a path forward for the industry than the producers on the ground, living and breathing this work. The active engagement and participation that this advisory group is bringing to this vital cause is already laying a strong foundation and clear roadmap on which real, tangible progress can take place.”
The goal of the task force is to focus on what the industry can do in the immediate term — as well as identify what data and resources can support environmental efforts in the unscripted sector over the long term. A report will be issued at the conclusion of the process.
“We’ve assembled an advisory group that includes a cross-sectional array of unscripted television creators, from some of the biggest studios to the most exciting indies, ensuring that we hear a diverse range of ideas and solutions in addressing climate change, and the industry’s response to our call for action has been overwhelmingly positive,” adds Zezo. “Much like the audiences we serve, the unscripted community is eager to be a part of the solution, and is arguably best situated in the entertainment industry for that role. We firmly believe that good business does not require sacrificing sustainability, but rather it can make good business great by bringing about real change.”
Participating companies
44 Blue Productions
Alfred Street Industries
APG Pictures
Back Roads Entertainment
Blind Nil
Boardwalk Pictures
Chicken Run Productions
Common Ground Studios
Critical Content
DAT’s Entertainment
Intuitive Content
Lighthearted Entertainment
Magic Lemonade
Margot Station
MFP Inc
MGM Alternative
Evolution Media (an Amazon MGM Studios Company)
Mission Control Media
MorningStar Entertainment
OBB Media
Scout Productions, Inc.
Sony Pictures Television’s The Intellectual Property Corporation
Unger Media
Velvet Hammer Media (VHM)
Village Roadshow Entertainment Group
Wrigley Media Group
As well as key executives formerly of Participant
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