About eight months ago, I had a bright idea that I was sure would expose Americans to the many wonders of tea. Unlike in the rest of the world, here in the U.S., tea ranks only seventh (after sodas) among the most popular beverages. To change that statistic, we in the tea industry need to meet Americans on their playing field instead of expecting them to meet us on ours.
The inspiration, flavors, terroirs, harvest cycles, art, and business of tea are so fascinating to us tea devotees, I was inspired to create a reality show centered around tea. Teeming with the ups and downs of the weather and environmental shifts in harvest and flavor, the whimsical and somewhat cerebral characters in U.S. tea companies, cultural differences along the supply chain, and the spiritual adventures tea leads us to, it was a perfect show in my mind. I knew it would be a hit and started writing the treatment, crafting the story arc in a series of 12 episodes, building a production budget, recruiting a production company, finding a manager and an agent, and locating and convincing an industry executive producer to sign on.
After weeks of after-hours meetings, long-winded brainstorming sessions, and passionate discussions with my manager, we got a meeting at a top agency to pitch our idea to the biggest reality show agent in Los Angeles. The receptionist (a man) asked me what was in my big jute tote bag as I clanked into the marble-walled building, presented him with our tins, and explained each blend to him. He was delighted, said he’d been a tea drinker since childhood, and promised to put in a good word when he saw Mr. “B.” – the Reality Show Agent. I thought this was a very good sign, indeed!
Once upstairs, I was led to a massive conference room with expansive views of Beverly Hills and began to set up camp. I carefully lined up the tins of tea, laid out the presentation, and patiently waited. Mr. “B.” walked in and I began pitching the show, “Realitea” – Tea entrepreneur travels far and wide in search of the world’s finest tea leaves, spices, and herbs, meeting colorful characters from every developing country and sharing their inspiring stories with the world. Americans can see the world through the eyes of small farmers in exotic lands, tasting adventurous flavors and experiencing first hand why fair trade is important to the lives of workers across the world.
“Hmm,” he sat back and looked at the teas lined up before him. “Hmm…,” followed by another long pause. It took at least two full minutes before Mr. “B” spoke.
“Zhena, the first consideration to undertake here is the budget. With the average show lucky to get a $50,000 per episode budget, you would not even get as far as the airport, much less India or Sri Lanka. Secondly, although your story is inspirational and fascinating, tea is an internal, more unseen product. After you find the rare tea leaves and everyone tastes them, the climax is internal – not like a huge cake in the shape of Trump Tower or something. Television is visual, not internal.”
He continued, “The types of shows that are both affordable and that sell are revolving-door-type shows, in which there are crazy clients coming and going or huge challenges in each episode that keep the audience wondering if the main character will be able to handle it, or crack?”
“Unless the tea world is full of totally crazy people, then it doesn’t seem like it will work, because it’s too spiritual, internalized.?”
I thought through each character I knew in tea, one by one – the hip, the funny, the adventurous, and the wild. In my mind, they were all fascinating, deeply hued characters of rich color and quirks, perfect for a show. But as I ran through the catalog in my mind, I realized we all had something in common – we were, for the most part, emotionally, physically, and spiritually healthy … meaning normal.
I shared this thought with Mr. “B” and he said, “Yes, and that doesn’t really sell. One of the big shows I sold was about a tanning salon and it’s crazy clients who came in to get a tan and the crazy owners – not sure if fit, healthy tea people would be as compelling to watch.”
So that was my first pitch. And, so far, my last. I still have big hopes for my show. I think Americans would be fascinated with a life of true health, balance, and adventure in tea. If you know of any totally crazy characters I could use to sell it, please don’t hesitate.
Great story Zhena,
Fascinating and sad. :)
How about 3 men who come into a tea & coffee brewery saying they are the new President, his security guy, and the Treasurer? Yep, really happened to us this past week. Want more? Anyone in retail can share them :) Starbucks baristas (alot of them are our customers) tell us their crazy customer stories..off the charts. There was a show on beverage, centering on tea, hosted by the founder of Tempest Tea in Texas, Jody Rudman, on Veria. I don’t think it’s on anymore. She traveled around meeting various people in the beverage business and then talking to a tea/herbal expert and then actually showing how to brew tea and other beverages with accompanying recipes. Nice but not edge of your seat or rolling on the floor laughing or fixated and can’t look away. Hollywood wants the ‘crazy’, bizarre, violent ..even on Animal Planet where it seems all they can show anymore are animals stalking, killing and eating one another. We had a film crew from Hollywood with a well known reality producer ask us to use our store for filming part of a series on extreme athletes. When we read the contract, we decided against it. Brand.
Brand. Brand. :)
Zhena – I think you’re looking in the wrong place. Reality T.V. is crazy – not the right venue. I’d think a more healthy type show, empowering people toward health, wellness and sustainable crops. Something green and sophisticated – NOT vulgar and trashy. (oops, my feelings about reality t.v. slipped out)
Stay with it and my money’s on you. You just have to find the right audience. I’d be happy to brainstorm with you.
Mmmmm… nice! I really enjoyed reading about this, Zhena. And I believe you were working on this when we did our Tea Bus Tour together.
I disagree that we in the tea world are normal, psychologically healthy folks, by the way. My background is the arts and I used to work with insecure artists, prima donna art collectors, diva gallery directors and the such. I thought the tea industry would be different, but through producing our Tea Lovers Festival, I’ve encountered just as many of the characters I just mentioned — tea personalities who need a weekly dose of Alice Miller’s “The Drama of The Gifted Child” injected into their heads (myself not entirely excluded). lol! :-) So perhaps a tea & therapy show? Just joking.
But I think that what you may have pitched was a really interesting documentary series rather than a reality show. Perhaps NatGeo, the History Channel or even PBS would be a more suitable framework. Or perhaps the show should be based on tea but not completely focused on it? Even an HBO or Showtime fictional drama series, set around a tea purveyor’s personal and professional life, family, etc., would be fascinating. Or a competition — make the most exquisite tea blends, the best tea-infused lunches and deserts, as cooking always sells. The Food or Fine Living Networks would be great platforms for something like that. And finally, just like Kate Gosselin takes her kids on trips to high ratings on TLC, we can take tea lovers on a bus tours to interesting and hard-to-find tea-infused experiences.
In other words, I believe that there is platform out there for a tea-based television show. And I hope you continue exploring, as we do need the general public to be inspired to make tea a much more popular beverage in the US. Count me in for any help you may need with this venture.
Well, this turned into a blog itself, rather than just a comment. lol! Cheers! :-) Kulov
Zhena
I like the premise of Realitea and think it can be pitched to a different audience. What of travel channels, Nat Geo, etc.? Perhaps it could be filmed as a documentary that can be recut into a web series… I’ve thought of a travel show that searches for truth and how to relate to anyone and everyone through the universal language of tea culture. There can be music woven in as well as interviews with characters and pop culture figures who have relationships with tea too. Ideas abound…