Created by the executive team at Firstline Security, Inc., The Prodigy reality TV series featured a multifaceted competition that tested contestants’ sales skills and business acumen. Firstline organized all aspects of the competition—from recruiting and interviewing potential contestants to conceiving competitions and tests to assess business skills and abilities. All of the participants received initial training with the Firstline products and services before being assigned to a specific sales territory. Competitors on the show vied for 3 grand prizes: a new car, $300,000 in cash, and $700,000 for investment into a business. Guest judges picked a winner of a skills competition each week, while the Firstline Board of Directors chose the grand prize winner. In total, more than 80 hours of footage was shot for the first season of The Prodigy, which was intended to be aired with the final awards ceremony in Hawaii and a compilation of footage from the 5 finalists.
The idea for the show came about when Firstline management began seeking innovative ways to recruit representatives for the company’s summer sales campaign. Bryan Ferre, the Firstline CMO at the time, posited The Prodigy as a combination of reality TV and traditional recruiting. Although the first season of the show was filmed without a hitch, Firstline experienced legal difficulties and a subsequent bankruptcy shortly after production finished, preventing The Prodigy from ever being televised. The show’s winner, Jordan Folsom, collected both a new car and $300,000 despite Firstline’s legal and financial difficulties. Actuality Entertainment currently owns the intellectual property rights to The Prodigy.
