Why Dick Wolf Wants To Make Hit TV Shows Until He Is 100

Forbes

The creator of the ‘Law & Order,’ ‘Chicago’ and ‘FBI’ franchises became a billionaire producing some 200 hours of television a year. Now he has a plan to transform streaming. The lesson? Crime really pays.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2024/01/05/dick-wolf-net-worth-billionaire-law-and-order-creator/?sh=1b52a7bd61fd  Forbes Daily Briefing shares the best of Forbes reporting on wealth, business, entrepreneurship, leadership and more. Tune in every day, seven days a week, to hear a new story. Subscribe here: https://art19.com/shows/forbes-daily-briefing  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00 Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Tuesday, January 9th.

00:05 Today on Forbes, why Dick Wolf wants to make hit TV shows until he is 100.

00:13 Few in Hollywood are as invested in the traditional broadcast TV schedule as Dick Wolf, who in

00:18 an average year produces enough episodes of his Law & Order, Chicago, and FBI franchises

00:25 to completely fill three nights of prime time.

00:28 But 2023 was no average year.

00:31 Strikes by the writers and actors guilds halted production for nearly five months, wrecking

00:36 any hope that Wolf's nine shows could fulfill their regular 22-episode orders.

00:41 Wolf tells Forbes, "I'm sure I lost more money on the strike than any other producer."

00:46 Yet, unbelievably, within four weeks of the strike's ending, eight of those shows were

00:52 cast, crewed, and filming.

00:55 It's a feat so improbable that the 77-year-old Wolf compares it to a scene from one of his

01:00 favorite movies, Patton, when the famed general promised that his troops would march 100 miles

01:05 in the snow to fight for him without hesitation.

01:08 Wolf, seated on a shaded patio at the Beverly Hills Hotel, says with Patton-esque bravado,

01:14 "People ask, 'How did you do this?'

01:16 I said, 'I did it all myself.

01:18 I mean, come on, I've got the best organization that's ever existed in the business."

01:24 His Wolf Entertainment is, at the very least, one of the most profitable and prolific production

01:29 companies in Hollywood history.

01:31 Over a career that has spanned more than 30 years, Forbes estimates Wolf has personally

01:35 earned $1.9 billion before taxes and agent fees.

01:40 He also has an extensive art collection and recently donated 200 pieces of Baroque and

01:44 Renaissance art, plus enough money to have two galleries named for him at New York's

01:49 Metropolitan Museum of Art.

01:51 With Wolf's career and his art collection, combined with his multiple homes and yachts,

01:56 Forbes estimates his net worth to be $1.2 billion, putting him, alongside Oprah Winfrey

02:01 and Tyler Perry, in the rare class of television billionaires.

02:06 At a time when most producers are seeking their fortunes from Netflix, Apple, Amazon,

02:10 and other streamers, the nearly 200 episodes churned out by Wolf Entertainment each year

02:15 represent one of the last remaining pillars holding up the broadcast schedule.

02:20 Seven Wolf shows, including FBI and Chicago Fire, ranked among the 16 most-viewed scripted

02:25 programs of the 2022-2023 television season.

02:30 His status as the undisputed broadcast king has earned him an unprecedented deal with

02:34 Universal Television, which entitles him to nearly half of his show's profits each time

02:38 the studio sells them, to networks like NBC and CBS, or in syndication to cable channels,

02:44 foreign markets, or streaming platforms.

02:47 That is in addition to his executive producing fee, which Forbes estimates to be as much

02:51 as $350,000 per episode on his most popular shows, paid up front as part of the production

02:57 budget.

02:59 Over the years, Wolf's deal has expanded to include bonuses, protections, and promises,

03:04 all while grandfathering in generous contract features that are no longer industry standard.

03:09 For example, after year five, his series have a guarantee that the network must pay the

03:14 full amount of production costs even if it exceeds the original network license fee,

03:18 turning all syndication revenue into pure profits for Wolf Entertainment.

03:23 Even after paying his employees, agents, and lawyers, Forbes estimates Wolf earned an estimated

03:28 $125 million in the past 12 months before taxes.

03:33 For now, Wolf believes, quote, "the imminent death of broadcast television is overstated,"

03:38 as it remains the best place to reach 10 million people in a single night.

03:42 He wants to add even more network shows and truly become TV's so-called "last man standing."

03:48 Still he's a realist.

03:49 He says, quote, "Once it's gone, it's gone.

03:52 I think there's another 10 to 12 years of broadcast before it's basically all streaming."

03:58 For this, Wolf also has a plan.

04:00 Harking back to the 30-minute dramas of his childhood, he wants to adapt his signature

04:04 three-hour linear binge into six-episode, half-hour series for streaming.

04:09 In his mind, he's already programming successful franchises and shared universes.

04:14 He says, quote, "In three years, I'd like to be the biggest, if not the only person,

04:18 producing volume half-hours."

04:22 For full coverage, check out Matt Craig's piece on Forbes.com.

04:27 This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:29 Thanks for tuning in.

04:30 [MUSIC PLAYING]

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