The two failures of Mark Burnett's last reality series efforts shows that reality TV may be in need of a makeover. Burnett's "Pirate Master" on CBS (CBS-A) and "On the Lot" for Fox (NWS-A) haven't performed near to expectations for a Mark Burnett production.
Some of it is obvious in the case of "On the Lot," which even with having Hollywood heavyweight Steven Spielberg, hasn't been able to draw a strong audience. Most of that is attributed to the fact that most people don't see themselves in the role of making a movie, so don't personally relate to it the way they do to "American Idol." The shows average around 4 million viewers and a 1.8/5 in the key 18-49 demo.
"Pirate Master" is thought to be too much of a knock off of the popular "Survivor" franchise, while attempting to draw upon the popularity of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films.
This could be a early indicator of a tiring genre, but probably not. It does show that viewers want a different direction for their reality fare; something different than they've been getting.
While "On the Lot" was definitely different, it didn't capture the imagination of a mass audience because of the reasons I mentioned above. "American Idol" can do it because huge amounts of people picture themselves becoming stars through their singing and so can relate more to the contestants.
With Mark Burnett himself being a bellwhether to the non-scripted business, usually he's an indicator of the health of reality TV. With the response to these two latest shows, it means that there is definitely some changes in the wings for the genre.
It's impossible at this time to really know which direction reality TV will go. I think we can be sure it's going to change directions in the next season for the news shows being offered.
Even with the strong record of Burnett, he's still had a number of failures in this space. It'll continue to be a trial-and-error strategy as non-scripted series look for new ways to reach viewers who are waiting for the chance to be captured by another show they can see themselves being part of while they watch.
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