Burbank, Calif-based Original Productions has developed several of the most successful unscripted docuseries — History’s Ice Road Truckers and Ax Men, Discovery Channel’s Monster Garage and A&E’s Storage Wars among them — over nearly a 20-year span. Founded by Thom Beers, the FremantleMedia-owned production company also has cast the net with several shows in the fishing genre, the biggest being Discovery’s Deadliest Catch. This fall the studio and Discovery will spawn a spinoff, Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove, set among fishing families on the Oregon coast. Original Productions CEO Phil Segal spoke with Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead about adding again to the Discovery Channel series, now in its 12th season, and about the future of reality TV.

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MCN:After 12 successful seasons ofDeadliest Catch, why did you feel this was the right time to create this spinoff series?

Phil Segal: We’ve done spinoff s before — Storage Wars was one of our shows that successfully spun itself off into Storage Wars New York, Texas and Miami, and of course L.A., as well as internationally in Canada, France and South America, so I think that’s an example of a really powerful format that equally had some good characters.

Deadliest Catch is uniquely different. While over the years we’ve done many shows that feature different forms of fishing, Catch is one of those shows that we were looking to expand the universe in terms of giving the audience a much richer, immersive experience, but we never thought about spinoff s because we were always concerned about damaging the brand. What we found with Dungeon Cove is an incredibly organic opportunity to celebrate crab fishing, but from a uniquely different perspective. This is the Oregon coast, featuring small towns and very prideful people, and their fishing grounds are rich and complicated. It’s an incredibly unique opportunity for us to celebrate our world through a very different lens. I don’t like to think of it as a spinoff but rather an organic extension of a world that hopefully the audience will embrace.

MCN:From a production perspective, what criteria do you need to meet before extending a popular reality franchise?

PS: It’s a very delicate process and one that’s not taken lightly, not only on our side but on the network side as well. The negative side of an unsuccessful splinter obviously could be damaging to a brand. The object of the exercise is never through the lens of “more is better.” It’s always through the lens of whether the audience’s experience is literally going to be expanded. The question always is, “Is this a legitimate story and is this going to have a benefit to the audience?” We always take that very seriously. For us, it’s when you have a unique opportunity to tell the story of a character, but because of the prism you choose to tell that story in, you have to make a decision whether or not going off and seeing what these other characters do or what’s happening in the world evolving around them is added value and not just a special or a B-story, but a world that can add value to the brand.

MCN:How do you see the reality genre evolving given the changing content distribution marketplace?

PS: It’s a complicated question: On the one hand, never in the history of television has there been so much content available for consumers on so many different platforms. When Original Productions launched, there were 20-plus competitors; today there are over 750. So for us we continue to look at what the storytelling worlds are for us going forward. I also think on the other hand it’s a challenge because as these distribution changes evolve there will be shifts in how we do business.

I think over the next 18 months, we’re going to see a continual evolution of the distribution system and we’re going to have to get a better handle on the economics of our business. What is the price of entry? What is it going to cost to produce? What can these networks afford to pay for their content and can we remain competitive? That story has yet to be written as we continue to look at the competitive landscape and learn on a daily basis how to compete in it.

New York – First-time independent producers should spend a little less time developing their ideas and a lot more in fostering the relationships to turn those thoughts into reality, according to a panel discussion at NYC TV Week here Thursday.

“It isn’t about the idea; it’s about the execution,” said Bunim/Murray Productions president Gil Goldschein during the panel discussion, “How a Show Gets Made,” moderated by Original Productions CEO and executive producer Philip Segal.

Original Productions is a unit of reality giant Fremantle Media and produces such reality hits as Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckersand Ax Men.

Goldschein, whose company literally invented the reality genre as producers of The Real World and continues to lead the genre with shows like Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Project Runway and others, said that for the most part, ideas for shows are developed in-house. In order to get his attention, first-time producers have to show that they can help turn a project into reality.

That includes realizing that once an idea is accepted, the producer will usually give up control of the project, said Half Yard Productions co-owner and executive producer Abby Greensfelder. Half Yard’s shows range from Say Yes to the Dress for TLC to Hillbilly Handfishin’ (pictured) for Animal Planet.

“In order to get to the finish line, you have to relinquish control,” Greensfelder said. “That’s the price of entry.”

Aside from having a unique idea – either access to a character or a world that is unique to the television community, Greensfelder said first-time producers with unrealistic views need not apply.

“We’re taking on a risk,” Greensfelder said, adding that if a first-time independent doesn’t see the value she or her colleagues bring to the table “We will often walk away.”

While getting a foot in the door of a producer like Bunim/Murray or Half Yard isn’t easy, it’s even harder to go direct to the networks. National Geographic Channel U.S. president of original programming & production Tim Pastore said that he won’t even look at a project unless it comes to him through a producer he knows with a proven track record. 

That also includes agents. While landing an agent also will require an introduction from someone with an industry track record too, WME Entertainment partner Jason Hodes said that once an agent takes on a project, they can pitch it to multiple sources. Pastore agreed, adding that even if he likes a project, once he spends any money on it – even a small amount of a so-called sizzle reel (a 3-5 minute video that outlines the project) – it can’t be shopped to anyone else.

“If you come straight to me and I invest in your sizzle reel, you can’t bring it out,” Pastore said. “I’m going to start retaining rights.”

An agent, however, can shop the project to multiple networks, digital platforms and any other content distributor that would possibly be interested in the project.

Pastore recommended that would-be producers should search network web sites and comb show credits for production companies that produce shows that mesh with the genre they are developing to increase their chances for success.

“Pick the shows that are more in line with your programming ideas and pitch them,” Pastore said. “Go to Phil [Segal] if you have a fishing show more than a soap opera.”