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Amy Savitsky on US network History’s return to its core mandate
Rewriting History
Am mA y y Sa S vi v ts sky yk at t Hi H st s or ry y te t lls Jo Jord dr an an Pi P nt to ho how w th he e US U cab ble e net two ow rk kr is si ret te u ur rni in ng gn to o it ti s s co oc re e man anda date te to to dif fi fe fere rent ntia ate et its tsel e f f in n a cro or wd dw ed ed f fa act ctu ua al ma mark ket e p pl lac ace e.
The programming remit at US cablenet History has expanded over the past decade to encompass a vast roster of male-skewing reality series such as Swamp People, Mountain Men and Ice Road Truckers. These shows have been extremely popular for the network, and it intends to do more in this space.
But over the past two years, the A+E Networks-owned network has made an “intentional pivot back to core history,” according to senior VP of development and programming Amy Savitsky, as it looks to reestablish itself as the go-to maker of premium history programming in a factual landscape that has been turned on its head over the past fi ve years.
“We made an intentional pivot away from male reality shows, back into core history, and fi nding entertaining and informative ways to tell history stories,” says the exec, who joined History from sibling brand A&E Network in late 2019.
There were two primary reasons for the strategic shift, she says. First, historically focused content was becoming a slightly underserved genre of programming. “Core history storytelling is not something we’re seeing prolifi cally, at least not in the US marketplace,” she notes.
Second, and perhaps most importantly, the network recognised that the best way to distinguish itself in a vast sea of content was to use its track record and expertise in producing premium history programming.
As it was for all networks, the onset of the pandemic was a jarring and uncertain time, but the network has emerged with fresh and innovative programming approaches that are guiding its development slate today.
One area where Savitsky sees opportunity is fi ltering the true crime genre through a historical lens.
“When I look at crime shows, they are whodunnits – who is the killer and how do we bring them to justice. When I think of crime told through a history lens, I think of them as ‘howdunnits,’” says Savitsky. “Our audience is very interested in how it all went down, the little pieces of the puzzle that you might not know from hearing just the story in broad strokes.”
The fi rst series in this vein is Great Escapes with Morgan Freeman, in which the US actor goes behind the scenes of history’s most dramatic and complex prison escapes, from Alcatraz to Dannemora. The executive team at History will be watching the audience reaction closely, and, if it’s positive, has “other things waiting in the wings in development in the howdunnit category,” says Savitsky.
Elsewhere, the That Built franchise has been a revelation for the network. The most successful to date has been The Food That Built America, which looks at some of the foods and brands that have shaped US culture. “It’s on the verge of touching pop culture in a way that’s different than we’ve explored before,” says Savitsky. Sensing an opportunity to create a recognisable, formattable series that will appeal to existing audiences and entice new ones, History followed up by commissioning three spin-offs this year, including The Toys That Built America. Bringing more diversity to its programming is another key component of its drive to reach new audiences, says Savitsky. And while one of History’s mandates has always been to tell diverse stories, it has expanded on that in light of the broader societal push towards increased diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
Although its development slate is under wraps, the network is cultivating a slate of projects that will both document a more diverse set of historical fi gures and recontextualise and re-examine others through a DEI lens, with a view to telling more stories of Asian, Hispanic, Latinx and African American cultures.
The objective, which will come more clearly into focus in the year ahead, is to “widen the aperture” of its audience appeal and cement its position as the premier commissioner of historical programming, says Savitsky. “This is a real opportunity in the marketplace for us to get back to our roots, our core mandate and really own the history vertical.”
Great Escapes with Morgan Freeman
Amy Savitsky, History
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Amy Savitsky will be revealing more about her content plans in the International Unscripted panel session today at 11am in Hall 2.
