Help create a celebrity-hosted National Geographic TV show by developing a two-page Treatment based on one of three celebrity show concepts.

When the National Geographic Channel comes on screen, you know you are about to embark on a far flung exploration of something unknown, and even though the subject might be new or bizarre, there is often a familiar face to join us on the journey.

Whether it’s Neil deGrasse Tyson, Katie Couric, or Ron Howard, the channel has had several shows pair well-known talent with subjects related to their persona. Each program benefits from the elevated notoriety, AND National Geographic takes care to ensure that the celebrity offers the audience both an intimate familiarity with the topic and a unique point of view.

So, what’s the next great pairing? We asked you, the Tongal community, to inspire us and came away with three thought provoking notions:

1. The Mythical World with Benedict Cumberbatch – From Jorogumo in Japan to La Madremonte in Colombia, this would be some kind of docu-series exploring different cultural mythologies from around the world. It would dig deep into their origins, their local meanings, their religious contexts, and how they’ve come to influence modern and pop culture, while building on the public perception of Benedict Cumberbatch through his roles as Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Strange, and Alan Turing.

2. R&D with Robert Downey Jr. – With artificial hearts and robotic exoskeletons and brain-to-brain interfaces, this would take a look at some of the wildly advanced and life-affirming technological developments at the cutting edge of science, engineering, and medicine, with Robert Downey Jr. meeting some of the real-life “Tony Starks” behind it all, and introducing the audience to inventions and discoveries that may help people live better, longer lives.

3. Beating Hart with Kevin Hart – This pits the top endangered species against Kevin Hart (and others?) in tests of speed, strength, intelligence, etc. It could present a hilarious way to show the beauty and power of these great animals, while also presenting the audience ways to help protect them.

Now, it is time to dig in and really flesh these concepts out. National Geographic needs a real plan if they’re going to try and turn these into actual TV show shows – and if they’re going to get talent excited about really doing something like this. 

The goal of this project is to develop a unique and exciting two-page Treatment for a celebrity-hosted National Geographic TV program based on each of the three concepts provided. National Geographic wants to use these Treatments to explore the potential they see in each of the three concepts, and see how they might actually work as a series. They want you to help them figure out, what about these shows would make people notice and care?

The three finished Treatments will be used to drive further development, and may become the starting points for discussions with celebrity talent. They should cover not only the basic premise of the show – and how each individual celebrity is the perfect match for it – but also elaborate on what kind of topics the show covers, how the show covers those topics in a unique way, and what some of the episodes might look like. Specifically, National Geographic would like the finished treatment to also include:

• A great title
• A movie poster-style one-liner or tagline 
• A single sentence that describes a superlative related to the project, i.e. "first," or "biggest," or "exclusive access," or “For the very first time...” 

These items, especially the last one, really help people understand that we're raising the bar for an ambitious series, and that we're bringing something new to the table. Including them in your Pitch helps, but isn't required. 

Don’t let your creative approach be too constrained by budget or production logistics. This can involve other A-List talent, and it can involve international travel, real world activations, stunts, or even something like 3D animation. Existing National Geographic programs, like those below, may serve as helpful examples, but shouldn’t be considered the only ways to approach a show.

• ”One Strange Rock” with Will Smith and Darren Aronofsky
• ”Star Talk” with Neil deGrasse Tyson
• ”The Story of God” with Morgan Freeman
• “American Inside Out” with Katie Couric
• *The upcoming “Curiosity of Jeff Goldblum,” which will uncover the extraordinary-behind-the-ordinary.

National Geographic is also open to a range of tones, but this should be about entertainment first. Don't try and be too earnest!

This Project will be worth a total of $3000 and consists of 3 Phases: a Pitch Phase, Writing Phase, and a Revisions Phase. Be sure to read the following information carefully as well as the Official Rules.

PHASE 1: PITCH – Submit your Pitch (What is a Pitch Phase?) convincing the Sponsor why you should be selected to write a Treatment for a National Geographic celebrity show based on one of the provided Concepts using:

• Text (REQUIRED): 500 characters or less synopsizing how you envision the series, and what possible directions you think it might take.
• Celebrity Concept (REQUIRED): Select from the drop-down menu which of the three Concepts your Pitch is based on.
• Treatment (Optional): This could just be a rough draft of your two-page Treatment for the show, but if you’re going to include it, we suggest that it incorporate a narrative description of what's going to happen in the series. Remember that, though they are not required, there are three things National Geographic listed above that could be helpful to include in your pitch: A) a great title, B) a movie poster-style tagline, and C) a superlative related to the project. If it's helpful to you, we've provided a Treatment template, which you can find here.
• Writing Sample (Optional) – This is a sample of your own work as a writer, and preferably something relevant to the creative ask in this project.
• Links (Optional): To videos that feature your previous writing work. Please specify your role. DO NOT INCLUDE LINKS TO A SHOWREEL. Please link to individual videos.

The three (3) most compelling Pitches will be selected and, upon submitting the Winner’s Affidavit and the IP Assignment, will each receive $500 to help create a two-page Treatment for a different celebrity show. Additionally, upon submitting a Treatment that satisfies the criteria laid out in your winning Pitch, completing Sponsor notes, providing the necessary release forms, and providing all assets required by the sponsor, each Pitch Winner will receive a final payment of $500. For an example of an effective Pitch, check out The Indie Machines winning “3 Artists & 5,000 LEGOs” Pitch video. All Pitches will remain private until after the winner of the Writing Phase is announced and the Project is complete. 

PHASE 2: WRITING – We’ll work with the three (3) winning Writers from the Pitch Phase to fully develop a two-page Treatment. This document will likely cover these elements:

• A great title.
• A one-liner or tagline for the poster.
• A single sentence that markets the appeal of the show, describing some kind of superlative that applies, like, "first" or "most exclusive," etc.
• The basic premise of the show, and how the celebrity figure connects to it.
• A format breakdown that describes what topics the show covers, and how it uniquely addresses those topics.
• Some creative direction describing the look and feel of the show.
• A short list of potential episodes.

PHASE 3: REVISIONS – Once the Writing Phase has concluded, each of the three Writers will enter the Revisions Phase. During this phase, Writers will perform reasonable edits according to the Sponsor’s feedback.

1. Unless provided otherwise, all work must be your own original creation and free of any copyrighted material. You shall provide detailed information of your work regarding the source, the creator and background information as requested by Tongal.

2. BY SUBMITTING AN ENTRY, YOUR SUBMISSION IMMEDIATELY BECOMES THE SOLE PROPERTY OF TONGAL OR ITS ASSIGNEES – SEE OFFICIAL RULES FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT OWNERSHIP OF ENTRIES. YOU MAY NOT PUBLICLY SHARE OR PUBLISH YOUR SUBMISSION IN ANY MANNER AND YOU MAY NOT POST OR UPLOAD YOUR SUBMISSION TO ANY WEBSITE OR VIDEO HOSTING SITE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE OR VIMEO), WITHOUT THE PRIOR EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF TONGAL. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION OF YOUR ENTRY IN THE PROJECT.

3. Submissions cannot contain any profanity, offensive language, nudity or otherwise objectionable material, the determination of which is solely at the discretion of Sponsor.

4. Submissions must not portray Sponsor in a negative way, the determination of which will solely reside with Sponsor.

5. By submitting to this project, you acknowledge that your work may become subject to public voting on the Tongal site. Public voting may be used to help the project sponsor determine the final rank order.

6. Limit 5 submissions per member.

7. You must be at least thirteen (13) years or old.

8. The Sponsor reserves the right to repost the contest at their discretion.

9. Winners must submit the standard Tongal W-9, Winner Affidavit, and IP Assignment.

10. See OFFICIAL RULES for additional contest information, terms and conditions. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between these requirements and the Official Rules, the terms and conditions of these requirements shall prevail.