FE - SHORT EDITION
2 Snake Formats + 1 A**hole
Due to the Easter holidays and a bank holiday in Italy, this edition of Friday's Espresso is shorter than usual, with only two news items.
SNAKES’S FORMATS
Two new shows were announced this week, and they happen to share the same title: The Snake (but it's not just a coincidence).
The first is a game show commissioned by Channel 4 for its You Tube Channel 4.0. Created by Strong Watch Studios, it combines a competitive quiz with strategic gameplay, as some players can only win by getting the answers wrong (sabotaging and deceiving the team).
Each episode sees six creators begin the game with a collective prize pot of £5,000. Together they must navigate their way through a series of multiple-choice questions in order to keep as much of the prize money as possible. What the group doesn't immediately realise is that two of the creators are secret 'snakes' - saboteurs whose aim is to manipulate, influence and mislead the group into submitting the wrong answers.
Any money lost from the pot as a result of a wrong answer can be won by the Snakes instead. As the quiz progresses, the 'investigators' work to identify and eliminate the snakes. If both Snakes are caught, the prize money is split between the honest players and the investigators, leaving the Snakes with nothing.
Yes, it's yet another format with the usual traitor/saboteur mechanism, which is now very (too) overused: even the game show version has already been seen.
The second 'snake format' is a competition show that will premiere this summer on FOX and stream the next day on Hulu. The series is wholly owned by Fox Entertainment and produced by 495 Productions and hosted by comedian Jim Jefferies (pictured).
The show features 15 masters of manipulation from various professions competing in a series of challenges. The winner of each challenge becomes the Snake, who has control over who gets to stay and who has to go. Aside from the challenges, the contestants must work to win over each other. The ultimate winner will receive a grand prize of $100,000.
“The social aspect of the game never stops – connections are everything whether you’re making friends, faking friends, or sparking romantic connections,” the official description says. “Promises are put to the test during the Saving Ceremony as players do everything in their power to avoid being picked last by The Snake, hoping to escape elimination. Every week is a fresh start with a new gauntlet and a new Snake. In the end, only one contestant will get within striking distance of the $100,000 grand prize. Befriend, Betray, or Be Gone.”
In this case, the similarity to The Traitors is even more obvious. Even The Hollywood Reporter dismisses the format with this succinct statement: “Shorter version: Fox is doing its take on The Traitors”. That's how it is.
WHO’S THE A**HOLE?
r/AmItheAsshole, abbreviated AITA, is a subreddit (i.e. a user-created area of interest where discussions are organised on the social media platform Reddit) where users post about their real-life interpersonal conflicts and receive judgement from other 'redditors'.
Now Paramount's Comedy Central UK has commissioned Jimmy Carr's Am I The A**hole?, created and produced by indie prodco Tuesday's Child (Lego Masters) and hosted by the popular British comedian, to begin shooting in late spring for broadcast later this year. Format rights will be licensed worldwide by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
According to the subreddit rules, the 8×60' series invites members of the public to appear before host Jimmy Carr and a panel of two other comedians to ask their hilarious and sometimes shocking questions. The questions cover everything from relationship problems to small family squabbles, with Carr having the final say.
In reality, it's a Carr one-man show. The subreddit is just an excuse to let Carr's temper run wild.
