Behind the Scenes of Little Caesars' 'Pretzel Crust Island'

How McKinney riffed on reality shows

Pretzel Crust Pizza and reality shows have one thing in common. People really, really, really love them.

For the past few years, Little Caesars fans have begged, pleaded and begged some more for their fave pretzel pie to return. Saying crazy things like “I’d file for bankruptcy for Pretzel Crust” or “I’d skydive dressed as a pretzel for it.”

We saw it in comments and all over social, time and time again. They’d do just about anything for Pretzel Crust. And lucky for them, so will we.

We decided to take those insane comments and built an entire reality show around them.

Four fans competing head to head, in challenges for one pizza, a concept that championed the love for Pretzel Crust in a whole new way. We brushed up on some Bravo, The Challenge and Survivor to create … “Pretzel Crust Island.”

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WRITING REALITY

Anyone who’s watched 10 seconds of reality TV knows that it’s all scripted. So, we decided to just write our show from beginning to end, like one long ridiculous stage play. This gave us the control to make this thing as weird and ridiculous as we wanted, while keeping the focus on the glorious pizzas.

We ended up writing a 30-page, four episode script that rolled every reality trope, archetype and silly joke into one very absurd story. Ultimately, we felt like we had a story worthy of Andy Cohen and Jeff Probst.

WORKING WITH PROS

Next, we partnered with two comedy veterans, the Director Brothers—Ryan McNeely and Josh Martin—and the team at Reverie Content. They immediately understood the vision, adding ridiculous challenges, workshopping story lines and helping us package something that was both ambitious and achievable into a day of shooting.

To nail the vibe, we also worked up with Grandma’s House, the production company behind The Trust on Netflix. They helped make everything look, feel and taste like legit cable-worthy fare.

Obviously, every reality show needs a lederhosen-wearing German comedian to blow a pretzel conch, right? We knew from the getgo that we wanted a celebrity to help up the ante. Thanks to Ryan and Josh’s connection through their YouTube series Neon Dimension, we were able to tap comedian and improv extraordinaire Flula Borg. He brought his quick wit, German accent and full commitment—especially when it came to pouring cheddar cheese sauce on people’s heads all day long.

CREATING THE ISLAND

Since Fiji was out of the question, we opted for the beautiful white sand beaches of Glendale, Calif. We rented a sound stage fitted with an 18-by-65-foot curved LED screen, allowing complete control of background imagery without the need for intensive green screen.

This allowed us to shoot everything in camera, expediting the post-production process while still getting jaw-dropping visuals. We merged the LED with practical island props like palm fronds, and a ton of sand to build our locations.

Part Gilligan’s Island, part Bachelor in Paradise, it was everything we could’ve dreamed of and more.

Who needs Fiji, anyway.

EDITING REALITY

We shot the show using a four-camera rig, capturing an overwhelming amount of footage with endless editing possibilities.

We worked with ABGO to whittle it down to 24 minutes of chaotic, trope-filled reality TV, including wall-to-wall music, over-the-top sound effects and out-of-context reaction shots. It gave us a new respect for reality TV editors, the Michelangelos and Raphaels of 2025.

With no real time limit on the content, we leaned into the absurd: blowing conchs for far too long, over-the-top flashback sequences and speed-eating slices in the dark.

THE FINAL PRODUCT

This was one of the most ambitious projects we’ve ever worked on, but we’re super proud of it.

It’s fun, entertaining and celebrates our Little Caesars Pretzel Crust superfans in a big way, turning their Pretzel Crust dreams into something almost approaching reality.