MANILA, Philippines - It might seem unimaginable now, but documentary programs used to be unceremoniously dumped in the netherworld of afternoon television — nothing more than airtime fillers after and before big-ticket shows.
Today, “factual entertainment” programs are, quite frankly, big business. Untethered from the largely stale, unimaginative grip of scripted television, reality is the new currency. For good or for bad (consider the Kardashians’ shows), people are now tuning in to what’s real — or at least perceived to be. The truth is now compelling eye candy.
Still, you’d be forgiven to think of the History Channel (today known simply as History) as a black-and-white showcase of World War II footage and its ilk. There’s nothing wrong with that, but that’s now only part of the story.
“My personal professional journey has a lot to do with the transformation of the brand,” shares Paul Cabana, the Chicago-born Filipino who sits as an executive producer for the “factual entertainment” channel and is immensely proud to be part of the channel’s dynamic evolution leading to its dominance.
He attributes the successful metamorphosis to Nancy Dubuc, History president, who coined the pitch “History made every day.” Indeed, this mindset affords greater thematic latitude to the channel’s programs.
“I wanted to be part of that,” Cabana declares. So in 2008, he left his field producer position with the Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations show (which was nominated for a primetime Emmy for Outstanding Mini-Series the same year) to help Dubuc realize her vision for History. Cabana adds it was “a gut decision that ended up being a good one.”
The evolution of the channel was not without pitfalls, and Cabana explains they wanted “to transform History and make it entertaining while being loyal to core viewers.” The traditional audience was composed of older males who loved traditional historical information. So while History has reached out to a new demographic — the younger set, as well as women — it continues to boast a customary set of shows that appeal to hardcore history lovers.
Still, a common approach underlies the programming. “Capture people by making it entertaining first, and educational second,” Cabana explains. “One thing my boss says all the time is that it’s just TV. It’s about being a viewer first. You can’t scientifically craft a formula for a great TV show. You just have to enter it from the standpoint of a viewer. You have to really enjoy and be passionate about watching TV so that you could recreate the experience.”
Take the case of Top Shot, which Cabana calls his “baby.” It’s a strangely compelling show where marksmen from all over the United States compete for a $100,000 payday. On paper, it might be hard to relate to gun lovers showing off their prowess, but Cabana (who confesses he wasn’t much of a gun lover either) was proven right in his faith in a show that featured “slow motion visuals, precision shooting, and the fascinating history of marksmanship.”
“It has become a big phenomenon in the States,” says Cabana. “(Though) some might ask where’s the history in that, the direction I gave producers was that every time they pick up a weapon or do a challenge, it should be a time capsule that connects people to another place in another time.” Indeed, even the selection of the contestants pits them in a traditional, 150-year-old skills challenge using the same kind of rifle as wannabe Union soldiers did.
Now on its third season, Top Shot is not just sustaining the momentum, but vindicating the act of risk-taking in an industry that is usually averse to it. Again, Cabana credits History president Dubuc for “creating an environment that rewards creativity.” He underscores: “I really tie the success of the network now to the risks that were taken.”
History continues to slug it out in its industry competitors with fresh, intriguing programs like Ice Road Truckers, Pawn Stars (which, Cabana says, is the No. 1 series on cable), How the States Got Their Shape, and Secret Access: The Vatican.
His being Filipino brings in a unique perspective, especially since History is looking to expand its reach. “We have to think about our position where the History brand is bigger than the country it emerges from,” Cabana says. “There’s a global history, but each region also has its own history.” That explains the conceptualization and creation of content tailored for certain territories. Cabana shares with a smile that his relatives here in the country make up his informal focus group.
In a way, History and the “factual entertainment” tag seeks to raise the bar of reality and documentary television. “Reality has the baggage of Big Brother, and documentary has the baggage of being boring,” Cabana declares. “It’s like dessert; you feel guilty if you consume too much.”
There are three big “guilt-free” projects currently in the History pipeline. Although Cabana can’t reveal anything about them, he promises these are the “biggest things the channel has done.” And the Filipino is one of the two people leading the charge.
Cabana insists that factual entertainment is the wave of the future. It’s cheaper to produce, and satisfies people’s appetite for information that didn’t even know they had. People have two usual comments about History programs, maintains Cabana. “They first say they love it, then insist they didn’t think they’d love it.” Take Pawn Stars. “You come because of the funny Harrison family, but you stay because you learn something along the way. It’s like a new way of doing sitcom,” he observes.
The show History of the World in Two Hours delivers the following teaser: “It took history 13.7 billion years to unfold. We’ll show you everything you need to know in the next two hours.” It certainly gets your attention.
Meanwhile, the Pinoy television executive continues to dream of other exciting programs that will make us learn even as it keeps us entertained. For instance, Cabana envisions a show that tells the complete tale of human civilization. You can say that History wants to take the “boob” out of “boob tube.”
Guilt-free entertainment or the Kardashians? Your move.