Netflix is embarking on an ambitious journey to create a reality series based on the iconic board game Monopoly, engaging around 40 production companies in a competitive bake-off.
Netflix’s Ambitious Monopoly Reality Series Bake-Off
EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is no stranger to the bake-off, a process designed to choose a production company to create a specific show within the unscripted realm.
Past Bake-Offs and Current Competition
The streamer has previously held auditions for series such as Meghan Markle’s With Love, Meghan, which was won by Sony’s IPC, and its upcoming Willy Wonka series The Golden Ticket, produced by The Floor producer Eureka Productions.
However, its latest endeavor to select a company for a reality series based on the iconic board game Monopoly has escalated the stakes.
High Stakes in the Bake-Off
Deadline reports that around 40 companies are competing for the rights to produce Monopoly, which Netflix acquired from Hasbro Entertainment earlier this year. With the same number of companies eager to battle for the show as there are squares on a Monopoly board, this bake-off has become a hot topic in the unscripted industry.
Jeff Gaspin, who leads unscripted programming at Netflix, expressed his confidence in purchasing the project without a formal pitch, partly due to the success of Monopoly Go!, the mobile board game from Scopely, which launched in 2023 and reportedly achieved over 150 million downloads and generated at least $5 billion in revenue.
“There’s a gameplay in Monopoly Go! that I think will resonate with gameplay in an unscripted series,” he noted. “The concept is still open for interpretation. Should it be a giant game board? Should it take place in the real world? We don’t have all the answers yet, and we’ve had numerous agents and production companies reaching out to participate, so we decided to keep the first round broad.”
Selection Process for Production Companies
Companies must either be invited or pre-approved by Netflix executives to join the process. These companies are believed to have signed a two-page contract, indicating that the successful company will not retain any backend rights to the property, before submitting a logline. This larger group is expected to be narrowed down to about 15 companies, who will then participate in 15-minute pitch meetings, where a winner will be selected or a few companies will be chosen to further develop their ideas.
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Netflix aims for the end product to be a “large-scale” series akin to its hits like Love Is Blind and Squid Game: The Challenge.
Industry Reactions and Future Prospects
One source described the unprecedented scale of the bake-off as “ridiculous,” while another deemed it “a little out of control.” A producer remarked, “It seems completely crazy and also seems completely disrespectful of people’s time and resources.”
However, Gaspin countered this perspective, asserting that the process is structured to prevent companies from wasting time developing and pitching series that may not materialize.
“We’ll see what comes back,” he stated. “My guess is this will be an iterative process. It may take some time, but that’s acceptable. We did it with The Golden Ticket, and I’m genuinely excited about the creative direction of The Golden Ticket. We employed a bake-off style process, which benefits the community by allowing producers and production companies to showcase their talents.”
He added that this approach might also open doors for companies that haven’t yet landed a significant unscripted series with Netflix. “Even if they don’t get selected for this project, we might see something in their pitch that we like, keeping them in mind for future opportunities. It’s beneficial for the community to provide many individuals with a chance to shine.”
