Netflix has four words for you: Willy Wonka reality show

Last year, the movie Wonka, starring Timothée Chalamet as a younger version of the famed chocolatier, became a big hit at the box office. Netflix wants to keep that roll going with a Willy Wonka reality show, according to Deadline.

What kind of reality show would they make? They have no idea. Netflix is engaging in a process known to reality TV producers as a "Bake-Off," where they go to various production companies, ask "What would you do if you made a Willy Wonka reality show?" hear all the ideas, and then say "Yes" or "No." Or rather, "You get nothing, you lose, good day sir!"

Apparently producers hate this process. “In the good old days, once in a while there were bake-offs, but typically, networks would pick a production company they knew and trusted and they would just partner up and make it work," one told Deadline." But now because the markets so bad, they have the opportunity to make people audition. It’s the bane of our existence.” Production companies can lose lots of money and time preparing an elaborate pitch only to be told, "Nah, thanks" by the IP holder who solicited the idea in the first place. And then they choose someone else.

Netflix has the rights to make a reality show about Willy Wonka, but if they want to use clips from any of the movies — whether the prequel starring Chalamet, the original with Gene Wilder or the remake with Johnny Depp — they'll have to work with Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns the rights to all of those. Wall to Wall, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, is one of the production companies fighting for a chance to make the show and I wouldn't be surprised if they win. It might make things easier.

As for the show itself, again, we have no idea. Some ideas suggest themselves:

• Contestants must make it though a perilous candy factory without succumbing to material temptations the producers have placed along the way, thus proving they're pure of heart and worthy of the grand prize.
• Contestants make desserts and whichever one the Oompa Loompas like best is the winner.
• The Unknown, the uncanny villain from that disastrous AI-driven Willy Wonka event from earlier this year, stalks contestants through a maze. Whoever survives wins.

Willy Wonka's Wet and Wild Ride, or whatever they end up calling it, will slot in nicely next to Squid Game: The Challenge, another Netflix reality show competition based on an existing IP.

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