DRAG ME OUT: when formats are also a political issue
Scrabble & Trivial: boardgames are not game shows - Soccer wants a wife
DRAG ME OUT: when formats are also a political issue
Drag shows are very popular around the world (just think of the global franchise RuPaul’s Drag Race Race), except of course in those countries where governments have anti-LGBTQ+ stance. One of them used to be Poland; but now, with a new, liberal government taking over under the leadership of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, things are changing.
One of the signs has precisely been the possibility to produce a local version of Mastiff TV Denmark-created format Drag Me Out, distributed internationally by Banijay (already adapted in Norway: a brief clip below). The format - which is going to be on air on Polish commercial network TVN from spring - will see six bold personalities from the Polish showbiz scene undergo a transformative experience to discover their “inner queens.”
Under the guidance of mentors – stars of the Polish drag scene – and a jury of experts, contestants will compete in a series of challenges, including learning the art of makeup, costume creation and lip sync battles.
Sometimes formats can be a sign of the times…
SCRABBLE & TRIVIAL: boardgames are not (good) game shows
Turning boardgames (and card games) into game shows is something that has always been done (e.g. Guess Who? Taboo, Top Trumps - see FE 11st Feb 2022) and seems quite natural: if a game works ‘live’, why shouldn't it also work watched on the screen?Moreover, as in the case of reboots and the growing trend “from scripted to unscripted”, a brand already known to the public is used, which reassures broadcasters.
But unfortunately, as the past teaches, this has rarely worked (hardly any, in my memory). The risk is to show contestants playing games, instead of letting the viewers play themselves from home, like the most successful game shows.
Now, the American network The CW has closed deals on the game show versions of the classic board games Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble: both are being produced by Hasbro Entertainment (and in the case of Scrabble together with Mattel Television Studios). Despite some informal reports (e.g. about the actor LeVar Burton), neither series has a host attached to it at this time.
Both boardgames have already had a TV version in the past: Scrabble for some years from 1984, and Trivial Pursuit in 1993 (see pic. In the link the “historical” episodes for the nostalgics). We will see how these new versions go, but I sincerely think that, as their “ancestors”, they will not leave their mark in the world of TV shows…
SOCCER WANTS A WIFE
NBCUniversal-owned streamer Peacock recently revealed its slate of three dating and lifestyle programs for spring/summer: two renewed series and one new.
Love Island USA (here the trailer of season 5) will be returning with a sixth season, based on the “classical” Celebrity Love Island which premiered on ITV in 2005. Queen’s Court (here the trailer of the first season) has also been renewed for a second season, with three new celebrity queens dating 22 confident, successful men.
The new one is Love Undercover, that is going to premiere May 9, presented as follows: “Five international soccer players embark on a unique journey of love and self-discovery. Produced by Beyond Media, the show follows these athletes as they travel to the United States, leaving behind their fame and fortune, to find true love among 18 unsuspecting single women. In this modern-day fairytale meets buddy comedy, the soccer stars must navigate the dating scene without revealing their identities.”
Soccers want a wife.
News in a nutshell
Warner Bros. International Television Production has bought Boys Like Boys, its first gay relationship format: we will write more about it in the next issue
Two additional seasons of the Finnish adaptation of the Nippon TV format Silent Library for Star Channel have been ordered
Cuarzo Producciones, part of Banijay Iberia, will produce the first international adaptation of No Strings Attached (Sexo, Famosos y Muñecos de Trapo) for Atresplayer, the platform of the leading audiovisual group in Spain, Atresmedia
Uruguay's Canal 12 will premiere this Friday 23rd February the Spanish version of El Grand Prix. The format is inspired by the French show Intervilles, in turn inspired by the Italian game show Campanile Sera, which premiered in 1959 (!)
Talpa Studios announces Turkey as 11th market for The Floor. The show has been ordered and will be locally produced by ATV
Discovery-owned HGTV has greenlit a hotel renovation series by NorthSouth Productions: 100 Day Hotel Challenge, an extension of the network’s 100 Day Dream Home, also produced by NorthSouth
The just finished edition of Operación Triunfo was Prime Video's first live daily content in Spain. Due to its great success, the platform already announced that they will broadcast a new edition
MasterChef Celebrity 2024 is coming to the Mexican TV Azteca
