Since innovative TV programming is in the news, might be time to share one of my favorite stories of all time, truly.

I have a friend who worked for years developing reality TV, pretty mass-market stuff. A big part of the job was coming up with the perfect name for shows. 1/

They had a research agency that would help with this. They'd be developing a show, have a few possible names, and the agency would go out, do focus groups and whatnot, to determine which ones got the best response. Makes sense. 2/

Eventually, though, you can see where this is going, the tail started to wag the dog -- someone had the brilliant idea to market test names *first*, then come back to the development team and see if they could come up with a show for that name. So, they're in a meeting. 3/

The researcher is sharing findings from the latest group of names they tested. Partway through, he stops the presentation and turns to the group. Voice lowers. He says "before I show you this next slide, I just want you to know that we've never seen anything like this...." 4/

"The response to this name is completely off the charts," he says. "We really need you to come up with a show for this."

He turns back to the presentation... clicks to the next slide.

There, on the screen, in big bold letters, the name of a show:

"JETPACK MEDIC"

I've told this story for years. And then, recently, someone texted me this. Holy shit. It's happening. https://twitter.com/BBCBreakfast/status/1310886084704980994?s=20