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Who owns a TV show in the land of unscripted television? Like it or not, when it comes to documentary series, reality TV, true crime, and anything else that is considered “unscripted” — the owner is not usually the producer (not in America, anyway. Europe is different.) Just like us, you may spend months or years developing a project. But when it finally gets to air, someone else (the network, a studio, or a combination of both) will more than likely take all or most of the ownership. They’ll profit from selling the show around the world, merchandising, and more. You’ll be hired to work on the show, receive on-screen credit, but likely share in no profits, or none worth speaking of. To many (including us when we first started) this is hard to swallow. So why does it work this way? Should you allow someone else to own the show you develop? And what options do you have if you absolutely want to be the one who owns a TV show? We’ve got your answers…