Geraldine Smink, who leads the nascent adventure reality arm of Dutch format specialist Talpa with Wim van Dam, talks about why the company has made the move, why the genre is booming and whether economic headwinds will help or hinder it.
Geraldine Smink
Why have you decided to set up a dedicated adventure reality department?
Talpa Studios has a strong heritage across a variety of genres, from gameshows to reality. With the expansion into adventure reality, we can further grow our offering across this genre and showcase our international production capability, as well as welcoming new concepts to bolster our creative partnerships.
Wim and I have been working together for the last 15 years focusing on factual, survival and reality shows like Survivor. We started working with Talpa Studios on Million Dollar Island in a creative partnership and on the basis of that good experience we’ve decided to join forces and create a department dedicated to this growing genre. Talpa Studios offers an environment where there are no boundaries in creation and production, so we can create content beyond compare. We have the freedom to create new content with the backbone of an experienced and creative company with skilled professional colleagues and an incredible distribution network. This way we can share our production dreams in an easy way with many more countries.
What sort of programming will you be producing and what will make Talpa Studios’ content unique?
Adventure reality is a broad genre ranging from reality formats in exotic or hard-to-reach locations, trail shows to travel. What makes our content unique is the fact we can create scale and then offer this at lower pricing in production hubs. We just recorded our first adventure reality show for Talpa Studios in the heart of the wildlife of Botswana. The content is unique because we were able to produce the show among lions and elephants, and really in the wild. With our contacts and experiences built up in the past 15 years all over the world, we are able to think bigger, out-of-the-box and create shows on exceptional places.
Why is this genre booming at the moment? Is it a post-Covid thing?
Escapism might be a reason. Netflix and other global streamers have embraced adventure reality early on with shows with Bear Grylls and other forms from the start. Adventure reality seems to be a particular fit for the current generation who are constantly on the lookout to challenge themselves to become better people.
Smink worked with Talpa Studios on Million Dollar Island
What shows do you have on your slate that you can tell us about?
Of course, you know Million Dollar Island. The finished production in Africa is an adventure reality show without challenges and without eliminations, which makes it quite rare in the genre. The yet-to-be-announced show is set to air in 2024 in the Netherlands, on SBS6. Also yet to be announced is an exciting show that has just been taped involving trails. This is also a creative cooperation. Upcoming are some concepts for which you don’t necessarily have to fly around the world. Other great adventure reality projects are soon to be announced, both originals and productions resulting from creative partnerships. It is too early to tell you more about these at this stage.
What current trends are you seeing in this genre?
Survivor or Amazing Race have continued to be very strong brands, capturing audiences all over the world. Of late we have seen a lot of success with Traitors and SAS: Who Dares Wins. The genre, however, keeps expanding. We are creating shows that combine psychological reality components with intoxicating locations fixed or within controlled environments such as trails. Naturally, we are focused on cost-efficiency, hubs and sustainable operations.
Who are the big buyers for this?
This genre fits very well with the streamers, since it is great content for binge watching. But we believe reality shows are still working very well on linear too, stripped and for public and commercial broadcasters. If the idea is working well, we can adjust it to the wishes and focus of the platform.
Survivor has continued to be a popular format worldwide
What innovations will keep the genre new and fresh?
Wim is an experienced format creator of this genre and is able to come up with new angles to keep the genre evolving, always looking for new innovative ways with the use of the latest techniques. At Talpa Studios, we think innovation is extremely important to stay relevant. We are sure we can create new, innovative content combining our adventure reality experience and Talpa’s ambitions for the future.
At a time of economic crisis with broadcaster budgets challenged, will this expensive genre be threatened? Can it be produced on a small budget?
Yes, the genre can be expensive, but in the Netherlands, we are used to working ‘lean and mean’ with budgets. The good thing is that we produce the first series ourselves. This way we can adapt to the lessons learned on set and in the edit to help other countries when they buy the show and apply them in our hub productions.
There have been some notable accidents and it’s a dangerous genre by definition. How do you ensure participant safety? How have protocols changed?
As an experienced producer of this genre, we see safety as our number one priority. We take the journey from casting to coming home very seriously. Since the production of Survivor, we have learned how to produce in a safe and responsible way. We pay great attention to our protocols and have safety managers on site as well as physicians, because the safety of our contestants and staff are our main priority.
