In April of 2006, Realscreen unveiled the first edition of its Global 100 list of the top production companies working in non-fiction and unscripted screen content. The list, intended to represent a variety of non-fiction sub-genres as well as the production landscapes in territories around the world, quickly became one of our most eagerly anticipated, and hotly debated, features.

As time marched forward, so too did the industry itself. Some genres enjoyed global bursts of popularity and resurgences — from the unscripted boom of 2008 to the premium-doc explosion of the past few years — and more and more companies emerged, creating work worth recognizing and businesses worth celebrating.

While such activity was (and is) great for the industry and for audiences, it consistently poses a challenge in creating a list that is intended to provide an overview of the global non-fiction and unscripted production ecosystem. Indeed, it would be easy (in fact, easier) to craft a list of 100 companies from a single territory, as some trades do. Still, with the economic turbulence of the past year expected to get even bumpier in 2023, all signs are pointing towards a renewed interest in global coproduction. And, by shining the spotlight on the production scenes in more territories via our annual list, we are further fulfilling our mandate to inform and connect this international community.

And so, in recognition of all of this as well as Realscreen’s 25 years of comprehensive coverage of this business, we have the first-ever Global 200, designed to cover a more considerable swath of your industry and perhaps call attention to companies that might be flying under the radar from an international perspective. Certainly, there are many companies making their first appearances in the list this time around, both from the territories that have been extensively represented in the past, and from territories we hadn’t heard much from in recent years.

As always, the list has been compiled with the input of linear and streaming executives, agents, distributors, production peers and other stakeholders, and this year we are grateful that a wide range of industry folk from around the world sent us their feedback. While we say every year that the list is intended to be a snapshot of the vibrancy of the international unscripted and non-fiction production business, we hope this year’s Global 200 provides a picture that’s even more vivid in detail.

Barry Walsh
Content director and editor-in-chief
Realscreen