In this week's P.O. Box:
What I’m actually looking for
Content roundup
We’re fresh off our best episode of So You Think You Can Tout—a Survivor homage that featured two tribes, a tricky challenge, and an intense tribal council where relationships and alliances greatly impacted the results.
But as we enter the homestretch of the show—there’s only 8 contestants left—I wanted to respond to a question I’ve seen bubble up more and more of late…
What is Pete actually looking for in a winner?
I certainly get why this is a frequent question. The show has taken on many different forms and so far there hasn’t been one clear through line as far as what matters most…other than survive and advance.
From my perch, there are three levels to the show right now:
A tout competition (who actually has the potential to do this for a bigger audience)
A reality show (for anyone to care about the competition, the audience needs to be invested in the contestants, the storylines, and the relationships)
A search for my next collaborator (I’m building a show around whoever wins this contest)
Those are three pretty clear lanes for the show, but they certainly don’t all work in harmony together. I fully understand that it’s very difficult for a contestant to optimize for all three of those at once.
Focus exclusively on the touting? You might not be interesting enough to resonate with the fans.
Go too hard as a reality show caricature? I might not ever get to really know the real you enough to want to work with you long term.
It’s legitimately tricky and requires a balancing act for the remaining eight personalities.
With that said, here are four things that are on the forefront of my producer mind as we barrel our way to a sole champion in the next six weeks…