Another TV season has come and gone. Ratings across the channel spectrum continued to plummet, even on shows/channels that weren’t hit by the writers’ strike.
And with the explosion in programming across broadcast and cable channels, telecasters are constantly on the lookout for entertainment forms that haven’t yet been adapted to the screen.
Saturday Night Live, as you’ll recall, was born from trends in stage sketch comedy that hadn’t yet been brought to TV on a regular basis.
Later years brought us televised karaoke, poker, ballroom dancing, shows based on video blogs and webcams, travelogue shows at pubilc-drunkenness events, and even prime-time bingo.
So: What else is out there, to feed programmers’ ravenous appetites for stealable concepts?
Here are a few ideas. (If any readers successfully package a series based on one of these, you may pay me a modest royalty.)
- Poetry slams
- Jam bands
- The entire worlds of classical music, opera, ballet
- Modern dance
- “Legitimate” theater
- Conceptual performance art
- Easter egg hunts
- Neo-burlesque
- Alternative circus acts, such as Circus Contraption
- Drag cabarets/pageants
- Mr./Ms. Leather contests
- Drum circles
- Sewing circles
- Storytelling competitions
- “Cuddle parties”
- Role-playing games (not cartoons based on the characters in the games, but actual sit-down game playing)
Please feel free to suggest your own.
