In the last few days, news has come out about two formats that have something 'big' about them: length in the first case, an impressive set design in the second. Here's what they are.
GERMAN QUIZ MARATHON
In Germany, between the night of Saturday 14 September and the morning of Sunday 15 September, the public channel ZDF hosted an exceptional 'quiz marathon': the historic Der Quiz Champion, which premiered in 2012, was broadcast for 16 consecutive hours (from Saturday 23:15 to Sunday 15 September at 12:15).
This amazing tour de force is in aid of charity. In fact, this special was called Der Quiz Champion - Das Spenden-Special ('the Donation Special') for German Cancer Aid, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The aim is to familiarise a wide audience with the subject of cancer and raise awareness as well as donations.
After the regular 180-minute live broadcast of Quiz-Champion on ZDF's main programme, the fundraising campaign and the quiz will continue through the night from 23:15 until 12:15 the following day. The marathon was broadcast throughout the night in the main programme and in the ZDF media library.
This extreme challenge put experienced presenter - and marathon runner - Johannes B. Kerner and the panel of five experts, each representing a different field of knowledge, to the test.
It was also a big game in terms of the amount of money raised: by the end of the programme, more than €3.4 million had been collected. Not bad at all...
COOKING ON THREE LEVELS
Mediaset España, in collaboration with Shine Iberia (Banijay Iberia), will produce the Spanish version of Studio Ramsay's Next Level Chef for Telecinco, hosted by Blanca Romero (actress, model and semi-finalist in the eighth edition of MasterChef Celebrity). Filming will take place later this month in Dublin, the international hub where the different versions of the format are shot.
The original format, produced by FOX Alternative Entertainment and Studio Ramsay, premiered on FOX in 2022 with great success: three series have already been produced and a fourth has been officially announced.
Outside the US, however, the show did not have the same results. In the UK, it was broadcast on ITV1 in 2023, always hosted by Gordon Ramsey, but the series was cancelled after one season due to low ratings. There have been no other versions, although a French version is in preparation.
In this case, the "big thing" is the monumental set - built from 85 tonnes of steel and more than 15 metres high - which is divided into three levels. The top level has a state-of-the-art kitchen, with top-of-the-range equipment and choice ingredients to work with; the middle level has a standard kitchen; and the bottom level uses only a precarious installation of basic elements.
To make the tests even more difficult, the ingredients are placed on a mobile platform that travels up and down the centre of the structure, forcing the contestants to make quick decisions about which products to use.
NIPPON MANNEQUINS (OR MAYBE MEN?)
Nippon TV has unveiled its line-up of 4 new formats (2 unscripted and 2 scripted) for this year's MipCom.
As for the unscripted, Unstoppable seems to be a fun, but also quite classic Japanese action game show, "where challengers relentlessly push themselves to break their limits, with a cash prize awaiting those who succeed," according to its catalogue.
And it goes on: "Challenges range from physical tasks in the obstacle course, to a test of manual dexterity, to a spicy food tolerance challenge. For example, Keep Hopping: keep hopping on the flashing panel while avoiding the shooting balls; Keep Framing: keep staying within the camera frame while wearing a bubble suit and bumping opponents out".
As said, fun, but a little bit already seen.
The second one, Man or Mannequin?, on the other hand, may or may not be liked (I like it a lot), but it is definitely unique.
Two teams of two celebrity contestants race against time to find mannequins hidden around the city. Each mannequin found brings the team closer to victory. But there's a twist - fake mannequins, real people pretending to be mannequins - are also hiding to fool the contestants. When they reveal themselves and move suddenly, they give the contestants a jolt and the audience a laugh.
In the final round, the contestants enter a dimly lit room and have to find a single mannequin among ten human stand-ins. Really funny and original...
NEWS IN A NUTSHELL
On Wednesday 25 September, the second series of the psycho-reality La Caza: Nada Es Lo Que Parece (The Hunt: Nothing is What It Seems) will premiere on ETB2, the television channel of the Euskal Irrati Telebista group in the Basque Autonomous Community, Navarre and the French Basque Country
Danish broadcaster DR has commissioned a local version of Belgian adventure reality Destination X, to be produced by Banijay-owned Mastiff in collaboration with X-line, the dedicated line production company for the format
Warner Bros. Discovery has ordered two new versions of Seven.One Studios International’s adventure dating format Stranded on Honeymoon Island for Denmark and Sweden. The two adaptations are set to be produced by Snowman Productions and Monitor Media and will debut on Max in 2025
Amor Con Fianza (Love With Fiance), an original format from Fremantle Spain, is expanding with the premiere of its South African version on Netflix on 29 November. This new version follows the success of the editions produced in Spain and later in Poland
CTV, Canada's terrestrial English-language television network, has commissioned an 11th season of The Amazing Race Canada for 2025, with Olympic gold medallist Jon Montgomery continuing as host
Prime Video announces Indian adaptation of The Traitors. The new version of the format will be produced by BBC Studios India Productions in association with distributor All3Media and will premiere on Prime Video in Hindi with English subtitles
The first international version of The Golden Bachelor, produced by WBITVP France, premiered on M6 in France on 18 September. The format has also been commissioned by Discovery Real Time in Italy, produced by Fremantle, and by RTL in Germany and Videoland in the Netherlands, produced by local WBITVP production companies
Fremantle's talent show My Nombre Es (My Name Is) returns to Chile after premiering on Canal 13 and Chilevisión, with a new edition on TVN premiering on Sunday 29 September