FORMATS FOR A BETTER WORLD

2 classic dating shows + 1 Canadian "mystery reality show"

FORMATS FOR A BETTER WORLD

Premiering April 5 on CBS and Paramount +, The Visioneers with Zay Harding is produced by Hearst Media Production Group's in association with the VoLo Foundation, a privately funded nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, advancing education and improving health.

The format, described as an 'eco-adventure', will be part of CBS WKND's educational/informational programming block, which consists of three hours of live-action documentaries and lifestyle series aimed at teenagers, all designed to meet the educational programming requirements set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under the Children's Television Act.

The concept is simple: coinciding with the start of Earth Month, the format, hosted by international explorer Zay Harding (aka ‘Jeff Northcutt’ on MTV's Spyder Games television series), will take viewers around the world and showcase the remarkable scientists, engineers and everyday people who are creating environmental solutions.

The show is part of the ‘Formats for a better world’ trend, i.e. formats that promote correct and more sustainable behaviour, with titles such as The Yurt - Celebrity Green Challenge, Re-Fashion, Restaurant of the Future (about sustainable food) and others. And we really need such formats, and - above all - we need a better world...

CLASSIC DATING SHOWS

The long English week of formats (MIP London + London TV Screenings) has given us further confirmation of this: new ideas are good, but already consolidated and well-known content is better. Two 'classic' dating shows from the UK and Austria, which have recently been adapted in countries outside Europe, are proof of this rule.

The first is First Dates (on Channel 4 since 2013), distributed internationally by Warner Bros. Discovery, in which strangers who have previously passed a compatibility questionnaire are sent on a blind date in pairs in a restaurant (which in the English version, until 2020, was London's Paternoster Chop House). Here they get to know each other, have an intimate conversation and assess whether or not there is a possible romantic connection. Finally, they have to decide whether or not to see each other again.

The format has been localised in more than 20 countries, including Spain, where three spin-offs have been produced: First Dates: Crucero, First Dates Hotel and First Dates Café. And the latest news is that the Chilean channel Chilevisión is adapting it with the local title Amor a Ciegas ('Blind Love'), which will premiere on 25 March.

The second is a successful Austrian television format, Liebesg' Schichten und Heiratssachen (‘Love Stories and Marriages’, but the international title is Lonely Hearts Club), distributed by ORF Enterprise, which has been acquired by Indigenius for adaptation into a South African version, where the show will initially be produced in Afrikaans, with the potential to expand and create versions in other languages.

The programme has been a favourite with Austrian viewers for decades (it premiered in 1997). It has been aired over 200 times in more than 25 years and is successful in almost every time slot from morning to second prime time or as a late night show.

The concept is very simple (almost 'minimalist'): lonely people from all backgrounds open their hearts to a live camera in the hope of finding a partner for life. These miniature portraits, amusing and melancholy, resonate with the desire for love and trust, as well as the fear of loneliness and death, and range from the very moving to the very strange.

As you can see, both of these are simple (very simple) mechanisms, but they are well established and reassuring: and that's what is most important to the buyers at the moment.

MYSTERY REALITY SHOW

One final interesting format presented at the London TV Screenings: House of Secrets, a reality competition produced by Canada's Sphere Media (Fremantle has acquired international distribution rights - excluding Canada), which will air in Canada this spring on Bell Media's streaming platform Crave.

It sees 10 contestants, each guarding a personal secret, enter an isolated cottage cut off from the outside world. Before the first player is 'dropped' through a trap door, 15 secrets are revealed, 10 true and five invented. To survive, they must separate fact from fiction. The twist is that the hosts are actors, and they lead the audience through a clever, twisting narrative that is quite an update on the genre.

It is also worth noting that this unscripted format is based on a scripted series: Aller Simple, a Crave’s French crime drama series, also produced by Sphere Media. In this psychological thriller, six complete strangers are invited to travel by helicopter to the home of a French-Canadian billionaire and end up stranded in a cottage when an emergency forces them to land deep in the forest. Surviving unharmed, they stumble upon a fishing camp. But disturbing incidents suggest it may not be a safe haven, and there are questions as to whether the guests are really who they claim to be.

Another interesting example of how unscripted can sometimes be derived from a scripted series/franchise, such as 007: Road to a Million (from the 007 movies), Fast Friends (a quiz show based on the iconic Friends sitcom) and Wizard Of Baking (a baking show set in the world of Hogwarth) and many others.

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NEWS IN A NUTSHELL

• Channel 4 is preparing a competition-style spin-off of its popular daytime series Chateau DIY. Produced by Sheffield-based Spark Media North, Chateau DIY: Win the Dream will see aspiring chatelains take part in challenges to prove they have what it takes to win an authentic chateau in France, which could be worth up to £250,000 - less than the average price of a house in the UK.

• Sweden’s TV4 has ordered a local version of Deal or No Deal, marking a return of the Banijay Entertainment format to the country after 11-year hiatus.

• CTV and Crave are bringing back The Traitors Canada for a third season. The French-language Québécois edition, Les Traîtres, also returns for season three, with the second season premiering March 24 on Noovo and Crave and season one streaming on Crave.

• The local adaptation of Talpa Studio's The Floor will premiere on Sunday 16 March on Chilean TVN: the strange thing is that the Chilean version will only have 64 contestants, instead of the ''regular'' 100.

• The Netflix docuseries With Love, Meghan, featuring Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been ordered for a second season to air this fall. The series sees Meghan invite friends and famous guests to a California estate, where she shares cooking, gardening and hosting tips. It debuted on March 4 and has already landed a renewal.

• Netflix has also set an April 8 release date for the comedy reality show Kian's Bizarre B&B. he series follows three Korean entertainers who team up to run a bed and breakfast on Ulleungdo Island.

• Prime Video has picked up seasons one to seven of The Apprentice, featuring US President Donald J Trump, which first aired more than 20 years ago. Each season of the series will be released weekly, with season one premiering on Monday 10 March.