The Studio: Episode 10: The Zoo

The Pitch for a New Show and the Studio’s Reaction

So a few weeks ago, Joy came to us and said that she had an idea for a new show. She was going to film it, she was going to edit it, she was going to produce it. Today we got to see the show. I don't even know what to say.

I'm not telling her. If you don't tell her, who's going to tell her?

Not me.

Gabe, you can tell her.

Yes. It's all you.

Shh, shh, shh. Here she comes.

Hey, Joy.

Hey, Nance. What's up?

Uh, yeah, we should probably talk about your new show.

Oh, cool. Do you guys like it?

Let's watch it together and then we can workshop it.

Animal Videos, Brand Fit, and the Search for Something Original

So solid. What's wrong?

What if we put, like, a message rolled up in the dog's mouth or, like, on its collar or something?

Because when a puppy is licking your face, you can listen to the worst news ever.

Yeah.

And it won't matter.

It won't matter.

As long as the puppy is licking your face.

Okay.

What if we pay for a carrier pigeon and the carrier pigeon brings her the bad news? Why don't we get a star and name it after her?

Yeah, we could call it We Don't Like Your Show.

Perfect.

But should we be happy she has a star?

Yeah. Who doesn't love a star?

Hopefully they're not out of stars. Joy, it's not that. It's not a great show. It is.

So here's the thing that I don't understand. Animal videos are a staple of the internet. They get a lot of views and a good animal video can bring you to tears. That's the kind of stuff that we're looking for, right?

I mean, I love a good animal video. I think Marcus does. I think we all do. Can we agree that animal videos are good? I just, don't you think it's getting a little old?

Is that a serious question?

That's totally a serious question. I mean, it's good. I just don't think it really fits our brand. Like, I think we could be doing better than that. Something more entertaining, more original. That's what we want is something original.

Right?

Gabe, what do you think?

I'm with Gabe. I'm speechless. I think you can do a lot better.

Joy’s Alien Show Idea

Okay, well, I mean, obviously I like it. Because it's animals. I mean, I had an idea for, I was thinking about something. I was thinking about maybe like a show on aliens.

Aliens?

That's a great idea.

Nobody does shows on aliens. That's great.

Love it.

Aliens.

Honestly, I pitched the idea for the alien show about a month ago. And they all turned me down. They said that it wasn't really interesting enough and not enough people would care about it. So what I decided to do was make something really bad.

And they would be happy with me making just about anything else. They're distracted. I get to make my alien show. Imagine that everyone in the studio is an adorable kitten distracted by a big ball of yarn.

With a fluffy tail and tiny little whiskers.

Like this.