3 UNDER-THE-RADAR COUNTRIES
Formats from the 'other' Belgium, Hungary, and Chile
JOURNEYING THROUGH THE ‘OTHER’ BELGIUM
When thinking of unscripted content, the region of Belgium that immediately springs to mind is Flanders. According to the latest data presented by The Wit at the recently concluded Paris Unscripted Showcase (see the Formatbiz article here), Flemish Belgium currently holds the fifth position worldwide for unscripted format exports.
However, Walloon Belgium is also rich in compelling IP. A notable example is the eco-reality show La Yourte, which aired a few years ago on RTBF (Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française). This past Saturday, June 6, the same broadcaster premiered Les Trésors de Wallonie: L’Aventure en Famille in prime time with the excellent share of 22,4%.
The format is a giant treasure hunt that takes four families on a journey to discover Walloon heritage. Aboard playfully revamped camper vans, these families travel the UNESCO Route, a cultural circuit crossing Belgium from west to east.
The kick-off takes place at the Antoing Eco-Park, where the initial objective is to identify—from among five colored keys—the one that opens the “WalloVan” (pictured). This fully equipped luxury van will take the ultimate winning family to various music, comedy, and street theater festivals across the region this summer, from Namur to Enghien, and through Chassepierre.
Finding the right key, however, is just the beginning. The families must hold onto it until the very end by winning host-led challenges and collecting as many clues as possible throughout the adventure.
Simple in its essence but visually stunning, the format is a classic example of an entertainment show built around domestic tourism. It is highly reminiscent of another hit from the francophone market: La Route des Coffres, which aired on the French channel M6.
Like its Belgian counterpart, the French format seamlessly blended gameplay with the promotion of local heritage. Pairs of contestants in customized camper vans traveled across France, solving riddles and completing challenges to find treasure chests hidden in historical, unusual, or particularly picturesque locations nationwide.
INVESTIGATING IN HUNGARY
Hungarian free-to-air broadcaster TV2 has commissioned the Studio Lambert game show format The Hustler, distributed by All3Media. The upcoming series is set to launch under the title A Szemfényvesztő – Hazudj, ha tudsz! (literally: The Illusionist – Lie if you can!) and will be hosted by Hungarian actor László Jáksó.
Set in an atmospheric location, The Hustler is a high-stakes tactical game of deception and betrayal where all players are under suspicion and viewers at home play detective.
Contestants (five in the original US version broadcast by ABC) work together to answer trivia questions correctly to build a collective prize pot. However, one of the contestants — the Hustler — already knows all the answers. If the Hustler can keep their identity a secret, they win the entire cash prize; but if the remaining players work out who the Hustler is, they walk away with the money.
Each trivia question has a connection to the Hustler’s real life, gradually revealing clues about their identity. As the Hustler tries to steer the group toward the right answers while remaining undetected, the other contestants must unmask them while staying on their guard — especially since the Hustler anonymously eliminates two of them ahead of the final showdown.
The Hungarian version marks the format’s first international localization since its American debut. However, format enthusiasts might note that the core concept is nearly identical to Dirty Rotten Cheater, a 2003 game show that had both a US version (aired on PAX TV) and a British version (broadcast on BBC One and produced by Celador), alongside various global adaptations.
While The Hustler successfully modernizes the premise by introducing a biographical trivia element tied to the impostor — making it feel closer to a modern deductive party game — it is worth pointing out that the format’s engine (a quiz show where one contestant secretly holds the answers and must be unmasked) is the direct descendant of Dirty Rotten Cheater.
DATING IN CHILE (AND BEYOND)
Let’s move over to Latin America now, and specifically to Chile—a country with a very rich tradition of television formats, even if they aren’t often in the global spotlight. A great opportunity to get to know this market better is now being provided by the reality-dating show ¿Volverías con tu ex? (‘Would you get back with your ex?’). Originally premiered in 2016, it is one of the most iconic original formats from the free-to-air channel Mega, owned by Megamedia.
Now, the brand-new version, ¿Volverías con tu ex? 2, will stream on Disney+ across Latin America and on Netflix in Spain, in addition to Megamedia’s local channels and its Mega Go platform. This strategic move opens up the original Chilean show to a much larger potential audience.
The format premiered on Monday, June 8 on Mega. Hours later, the content arrived on Netflix and Disney+, where a new prime-time episode will drop every day from Sunday to Thursday. The remaining spin-off content from the reality show will be distributed across the wider Megamedia ecosystem:
Mega 1, Mega 2, and Mega Go: Will air the “Non-Stop” 24/7 live stream channel, extended prime-time episodes, and the talk show El Juicio (‘The Judgment’).
Social Media Platforms: Will host reaction videos and shorts.
The core mechanic of the format revolves around a 24/7 lockdown where an international cast of ex-couples—both celebrities and everyday people—cohabitate in a specialized house. The participants face a dramatic choice structured around two main paths:
Reconciliation: Confronting their unfinished business to give their past relationship another chance.
New Temptations: Moving on completely by pursuing romance with other contestants in the house.
Throughout the season, they compete in intense physical and mental challenges that test their loyalties, determine who gains immunity, and ultimately dictate who gets eliminated.
We will see if this format, with its ambitious and multifaceted media architecture, will also conquer audiences outside of Chile.
NEWS IN A NUTSHELL
Following two successful seasons, Dutch channel SBS6 has commissioned a third season of Talpa Studios’ The Know-It-All. In the format 22 celebrities head back to school for a fun, light-hearted and competitive quiz adventure. Set in a nostalgic elementary school complete with wooden desks, chalkboards and a strict-but-fair head teacher, contestants face a mix of clever word games, visual puzzles and larger-than-life challenges.
The Circle, the format that ran for seven seasons on Netflix, has a surprising new home. Hulu has ordered a new version of the show, which comes from Studio Lambert and previously streamed on Netflix. It marks a surprising move by the Disney streamer.
Mediaset España is preparing Got Talent: Fantasy League, the first international adaptation of NBC’s Got Talent spin-off, in which the show’s judges also compete against each other. The show, which premiered in the US in 2024, will be produced by Fremantle Spain. In Got Talent: Fantasy League, the judges not only evaluate the performances but also build their own teams of contestants by selecting artists who receive at least three favourable votes from the panel.
Spanish public broadcaster RTVE announced the launch of La Cena de los Idiotas (The Dinner of Idiots), a new prime-time format for La 1 that will seek to encourage dialogue and reflection on current topical issues. Each week, the program will gather a group of well-known guests around a large dinner table to debate relevant events on the news and social agenda. According to RTVE, the goal is to demonstrate that it is possible to converse and confront ideas between people with differing opinions without resorting to confrontation or shouting.
Spanish public broadcaster RTVE has also greenlit a local version of the musical game show Hitster, which will be produced by Fremantle España. The format is based on the musical trivia board game, and features two intergenerational teams facing off in a studio to arrange iconic songs according to their release year. The first to correctly place 10 hits advances to a final where they compete for a cash prize.
Spanish broadcast group Atresmedia will premiere its adaptation of Japanese gameshow format Freeze, made by Fremantle, on laSexta this summer under the name Congelados. The original was developed by Japanese companies Fany Studio and Yoshimoto Kogyo for Prime Video and won the Best Comedy Format Award at Mipcom 2024. The same year, Fremantle acquired the global rights for its production. The format proposes a simple mechanic: contestants must remain completely immobile while being subjected to all kinds of stimuli, traps and unexpected situations designed to provoke a reaction.
ZDF Studios is showcasing the format rights to Song Trip, a show that combines music, travel, and cultural exchange, which is returning for a second season on German public channel ZDF this summer. The series is produced by Content Laden, an affiliated company of ZDF Studios. It follows as popular artists travel to other countries to collaborate with local musicians. Performances are staged in natural settings and fuse the atmosphere of a live concert with the production values of a high-end concert.
Claro video and Elefantec Global have adapted Can’t Stop Media’s format The A Talks in Mexico, marking its first version in Spanish-speaking Latin America.
Originally premiered in France on France 2 as Les Rencontres du Papotin, the format was created by QUAD+TEN and Kiosco TV (part of the Elephant Group) and is distributed by Can’t Stop Media. In Mexico, the show will air under the title Mentes únicas and is set to premiere this Wednesday, June 10, on Claro video.
In tandem with the NEM Dubrovnik market, which is currently underway and runs through June 11, Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP) has secured a number of new format commissions across Central and Eastern Europe. Serbia’s Prva TV has commissioned a first season of the dating show The Bachelor, which sees an eligible man searching for love among a group of women who are all hoping to be chosen. Serbia becomes the 47th territory to pick up the format, with the local adaptation, produced by Emotion Productions, set to film later this month. Elsewhere in the region, Pro TV in Romania has commissioned a first season of Bachelor in Paradise, the spinoff series that sees participants from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette travel to an exotic setting where they live together and hope for another chance at love.
Telefe and Disney+ announce the arrival of Popstars, the Banijay Entertainment musical format. As part of a strategic agreement between Telefe and Disney+, Popstars will air simultaneously on Telefe’s broadcast screen and on the streaming service. Following each broadcast, the episode will be available on Disney+ alongside Mucho más Popstars (Much More Popstars), exclusive content that will expand the audience experience with unique access to rehearsals, backstage footage, daily life in the house, never-before-seen moments, and exclusive material of the contestants.
