{"id":7320,"date":"2020-04-06T14:58:41","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T18:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa-magazine\/?p=7320"},"modified":"2020-05-20T09:53:33","modified_gmt":"2020-05-20T13:53:33","slug":"brooke-karzen-real-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa-magazine\/2020\/04\/06\/brooke-karzen-real-tv\/","title":{"rendered":"Real TV"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unscripted Television Pioneer Brooke Karzen<\/span> Helps Bring Hits Like The Bachelor<\/i> And The Voice <\/i> To American Screens<\/h2>\n

By Andrew Thurston | Photos by Patrick Strattner<\/p>\n

The Bachelor had run off.<\/p>\n

Literally jumped the fence. On season 23 of ABC\u2019s hit reality show The Bachelor<\/i><\/a>, millions watched as Colton Underwood stormed off set, hauling himself over a seven-foot-high gate and disappearing into the night.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor 45 minutes in the darkness of Portugal they could not find him,\u201d says Brooke Karzen, one of the executives who helped develop the show. \u201cYou can imagine the calls that were coming back to the US. The producers who were there on the ground were pulling their hair out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like most successful reality TV shows, The Bachelor<\/i> follows a formula: real life within prescribed boundaries. Over 12 weeks, 30 single women compete to win the heart of one eligible guy. Through a series of dates and challenges, the competing bachelorettes fall by the wayside until one remains\u2014and, viewers hope, is presented with a sparkling engagement ring.<\/p>\n

Except Underwood busted the formula.<\/p>\n

When his favorite bachelorette didn\u2019t reciprocate his feelings, he decided to quit\u2014leaving the production with no star.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of just letting that happen behind the scenes, they turned cameras onto it and followed it; they broke the fourth wall,\u201d says Karzen (\u201984), a 2019 CFA Distinguished Alumni Award winner<\/a>. Panicked crew members shouted \u201cColton\u201d into the night; cameras scanned dark roadside verges. \u201cIt was unplanned, it was spontaneous, and it threw everyone into a tizzy\u2014and that\u2019s exciting for the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karzen is an unscripted television trailblazer and a small screen powerhouse. As executive vice president and head of Warner Horizon Unscripted Television<\/a>, she leads a team producing hit shows like The Voice<\/i>, Little Big Shots<\/i>, Ellen\u2019s Game of Games<\/i>, and Ellen\u2019s Greatest Night of Giveaways<\/i>, as well as The Bachelor<\/i> franchise.<\/p>\n

Reality shows, \u201cespecially ones that have been around for a long time, sometimes feel too packaged, too predictable,\u201d she says. \u201cBut when you really tell the truth\u2014and show the truth in a raw, real way\u2014it speaks to our audience.\u201d The Bachelor<\/i>, which premiered in 2002, has been refreshed, Karzen says, by the producers\u2019 increasing willingness to start \u201ccoloring outside of the lines\u201d of the show\u2019s tried-and-true format.<\/p>\n

As streaming and on-demand services put the squeeze on networks and shift viewing habits, the pressure is on Karzen and her team to find new hits and innovate with existing ones. One of the newest ideas involves a return to her roots as a stage actor: The Bachelor Live on Stage<\/i><\/a> has brought the show on the road and into theaters.<\/p>\n


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