Developing and Producing Unscripted Formats

Entry requirements

You must be able to demonstrate your passion, commitment and talent for creating and developing unscripted formats.

Applicants will normally have an undergraduate degree or equivalent work experience.

While many applicants will have a degree from a British or overseas university, we will consider applicants who do not have a degree if they have an impressive portfolio, a creative track record (for instance, in theatre or other arts) or an alternative qualification.

Months of entry

January

Course content

This one-year MA is designed to prepare graduates for the convergence now taking place between traditional broadcast television and the world of the online creator. Across six practical modules, you’ll learn how to devise, develop, and produce original unscripted formats for broadcast, streaming, and platforms including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

If you want to shape the future of unscripted entertainment - on television or online - this is where it starts.

The UK is the world’s leading exporter of unscripted TV formats. Hit shows like Britain’s Got Talent, Strictly Come Dancing (adapted internationally as Dancing with the Stars), The X Factor, MasterChef, The Great British Bake Off, Love Island, Gogglebox, Come Dine With Me, Race Across the World, Undercover Boss, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and The 1% Club - all developed and produced in the UK - have helped establish Britain as the global powerhouse of unscripted television.

At the same time, a new generation of trailblazing UK content creators are creating fresh, digital-first formats and unlocking younger audiences for unscripted entertainment online - whether it’s Amelia Dimoldenberg’s Chicken Shop Date, which demonstrates how low-cost, high-concept formats can achieve significant international reach, or The Sidemen’s Inside, a digital reimagining of Big Brother.

This course will equip you to develop and produce original unscripted formats. You won’t just develop ideas - you’ll make them.

You’ll explore every stage of the process, from idea generation and development to casting, shooting, editing, and publishing your work. You’ll work both in a 4K TV studio and on location. You will be introduced to the latest AI tools shaping modern development and production workflows.

Along the way, you’ll get to discover how some of the world’s most successful unscripted formats are made and meet the creatives responsible for them.

By the end of the course, you’ll have built a strong portfolio demonstrating your ability to create original, returnable, and scalable formats for television and online platforms. You’ll have developed invaluable Industry connections through dedicated networking opportunities with producers, production companies and influential creators. You will graduate with a deep understanding of the unscripted landscape and how formats are produced and sold at the highest levels.

Information for international students

This course is open to UK/EU/International students.

Fees and funding

Please visit our website for fees information. All production costs are included in the course fees, including the use of School facilities and equipment.

The NFTS is committed to ensuring it is open to students of genuine ability, no matter what their background or financial circumstances, which is why we award more scholarships and bursaries to British students, relative to the size of our student body, than almost any other educational institution in the UK.