A DUTCH TRIO
2 dating & 1 singing shows from the Netherlands
This issue is entirely dedicated to the Netherlands, a country traditionally rich in formats, with two originals and one adaptation.
ROADS TO LOVE
Onderweg Naar Liefde (On the Road to Love), produced by Tuvulu Media and distributed by Primitives, will premiere next Monday 11 November on NPO3, the youngest of the terrestrial television channels operated by Dutch public broadcaster NPO in the Netherlands.
The programme follows 7 ‘vanlifers’ as they embark on a romantic road trip through Europe's most scenic destinations: surfing on the Portuguese coast, hiking in the mountains of Norway, experiencing a new culture in Tunisia and so on.
Ideally, these ‘vanlifers’ would like to share this free existence with someone, so they go on dates during their journey. The ‘vanlifers’ themselves choose a number of dates from the applications, and a small committee of friends and/or family members choose one or two extra dates to have ready as a surprise along the way.
The date is free to leave at any time if the chemistry is not right. Even the 'vanlifers' can decide that they're not in and end the love adventure. Several dates can travel at the same time, so the question of who sleeps where often arises.
The singles end their journey at the love destination: a beautiful place where they hope to arrive with a potential new love.
The format is a combination of travel and dating show that is becoming increasingly trendy: see, for example, the recent Turn On The Charm, also from the Netherlands, which uses the same ingredients (with the extra 'psycho-reality' touch à la The Traitors).
I KISSED A DUTCH GIRL
I Kissed a Boy, the UK's first all-gay dating show, premiered on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer in May 2023, produced by ITV Studios' Twofour and hosted by Danii Minogue, and was certainly one of last season's most important formats.
Exactly one year later, in May 2024, I Kissed a Girl - the lesbian and bisexual version - premiered, again on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer, and again hosted by Danii Minogue (the set was a beautiful Italian “masseria”).
And now Videoland, RTL's Dutch streaming platform, has announced the first international version of the LGBTQ+ dating show. The casting process is open, with filming set to take place in 2025, ahead of the series' planned premiere later that year.
Set in an exotic location, the show follows a group of single queer women as they search for their perfect match, with the same twist as I Kissed a Boy: before any conversation, each girl is paired with her most compatible partner and their first interaction is a kiss. Will the sparks fly or will the chemistry fizzle?
I Kissed a Girl was also produced by Twofour and has travelled internationally. The finished tape of the original version has already been sold to broadcasters in Brazil, the Netherlands, Denmark, the USA, New Zealand and Ireland, and the series has also been bought by Hulu.
UNEXPECTED DUTCH TALENTS
A brand new talent show will premiere on Saturday 23 November at 8pm: 3 Minutes of Fame: It's Your Lucky Day, developed by Spektr in collaboration with Talpa Studios and produced by Talpa Studios, will be broadcast on Dutch channel SBS6.
he format is a classic singing talent show, but with a twist: the contestants are surprised to discover that they have to audition just before the programme, as they have not applied to be on the show, but their family and friends have: they have been sent secretly recorded videos by their loved ones.
In each episode, five raw talents get their moment in the spotlight. They are people who usually stay in the background, who give themselves away or who have never dared to dream of a moment in the spotlight - even though they really deserve it. At an unexpected moment, each talent is surprised by a famous coach who asks them to give a real singing performance.
The coaches pull out all the stops to make the talent shine, from trying on clothes, mastering dance moves and getting a complete makeover, to vocal coaching and rehearsals with the band. In the evening, the participants take to the big stage to perform in front of their friends, family, coaches and an enthusiastic audience.
Will the unproven talents manage not to disappoint?
NEWS IN A NUTSHELL
French broadcaster M6 has revived Banijay format The Island, to be produced by Endemol France
Last Sunday, 3 November, the reality show Palabra de Honor, set in a military reformatory, premiered on Chile's Canal 13.
Crackit TV is producing the new ten-part series Crime Scene Cleaners, which follows crime scene cleaning companies in the U.K. and U.S., for Channel 4.
Rabbit International, the distribution arm of the Monday Media Group, has announced a number of commissioning deals for its game show City vs Country: TV3 Lithuania, Telewizja Polsat in Poland and Star Light Media in Ukraine have each commissioned a local version of the format. Production on all three versions will begin in autumn 2024.
