20th Television Delivers Hits With ‘Nobody Wants This’ and ‘Tracker’ — But Disney Passed on Both
Erin Foster’s Nobody Wants This debuted on Netflix last week and quickly became the streaming service’s number-one English series.
On CBS, meanwhile, Tracker returned with a strong Season 2 premiere, delivering 8.3 million Live+Same Day linear viewers. That number made the series the highest-rated entertainment program across broadcast and cable.
Photo: Collider
Independently, neither the success of Nobody Wants This nor Tracker is overly surprising. What is interesting, however, is that both hit series were produced by 20th Television and passed on by Disney.
20th Television’s New Strategy
The success of both series, outside of the Disney bubble, is indicative of a shift in strategy by 20th TV head Karey Burke.
ABC WINTER TCA 2020 Ð Talent and executives enjoy the ABC All-Star Party on Wednesday, January 8, as part of the ABC Winter TCA 2020, at The Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, CA. (ABC/Frank Micelotta)
While 20th Television has produced numerous hits for Disney-owned streamers, including 9-1-1 on ABC, Only Murders in the Building on Hulu, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+, Burke has also allowed producers to shop their shows to other networks if Disney passes.
Photo: Hulu
In the case of Nobody Wants This and Tracker, that is exactly what happened.
Disney Passed on Both
According to Deadline, Nobody Wants This was initially pitched to Hulu, who passed on the project. The show then sold to Netflix, where it has been #1 or #2 for three straight weeks.
Photo: Netflix
Tracker, meanwhile, was originally shopped to ABC, which likewise passed. The series is now having a strong run on CBS.
During the launch of Disney+ and Bob Chapek’s reign, shows like Nobody Wants This and Tracker would never have been allowed to leave the Disney world.
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Bob Iger, however, has been more open about working with other networks and streamers.
In an increasingly complex television ecosystem, the rigid barriers that once separated the major players in television are beginning to come down.
