What Are Hybrid Documentary Series?
One of the newest television formats to significantly ascend in popularity in recent years has been the hybrid docu-series. While traditional documentary series would explore a specific subject matter over the course of its episodes, whilst breaking the narrative in parts without adding any fiction to it, this new hybrid docu-series format takes this already very popular genre to blur the line between being an unscripted and scripted series.
With an already huge amount of scripted and unscripted content available to users through various platforms and viewing formats, hybrid docu-series stands out as an extra engaging and relatable content option that takes real people in real environments and blends them with fictional narratives. This increasingly popular format also sometimes borrows from other widely popular entertainment content formats, such as reality television and game competitions.
As modern audience attention spans get shorter, hybrid documentary series allow for capturing non-fictional people and their environments while occasionally spicing them up for the viewer by adding scripted storylines or artificial situations, which then play out as the individuals decide to act in real life instead of continuing the fiction further. Similarly, the unscripted environments can get introduced to various challenges and rewards that additionally enhance the viewing experience.
Hybrid docu-series are also known to leverage the newest and most relevant technologies, including social media and livestreaming, as well as Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality devices, to allow viewers to immerse themselves within the series even further, instead of only passively watching them.
What Casting Directors Are Searching For With Hybrid Docu-Series?
This television series format is the one time when a lack of acting experience during applying to casting calls gives an advantage over more seasoned competitors.
As modern entertainment media audiences are increasingly trying to find genuineness and something brand new amongst the oversaturated market of highly and sometimes overly polished content, people with none or barely any acting experience or training can deliver just that. As great professional actors can be at their craft, they are very less likely to be able to appear on camera as themselves with such an inherent authenticity that non-performers can by just being themselves.
Due to the documentary aspect of this hybrid genre, it can uncover more unique and diverse perspectives and stories than if only professional scriptwriters were involved in the production. That is why the casting call process of a hybrid documentary series typically requires a more extensive research of fitting candidates by casting directors, similarly to finding specific subjects for reality television series.
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Once the audiences recognize these “real people” as being truly authentic and unique individuals, they are more drawn to their everyday struggles and genuine, unpredictable reactions. That is partially also due to the fact that a lack of acting experience and training makes them reconsider their emotions less, thus making them highly relatable to non-actors on the other side of the screen.
The addition of social media and other technological interaction formats to the series further makes it an altogether inclusive experience for the fans who can go beyond being just simple viewers of the individuals in the hybrid documentary series, and instead participate in it by interacting with the people of the cast.
