1) K-FORMATS AND K-TV AT ATF
As predictable, at this edition of ATF (Asia Forum & Television, from 1 to 3 Dec + 5 extra days of open platform for online meetings) Korea has taken the lion’s share, presenting in 2 different sessions 8 new unscripted formats, not all of them unmissable, to tell the truth. The Masked Talent (MBC) is a spin-off of The Masked Singer, with ordinary participants (no celebrities) and self-made masks; Shooting Stars (SBS) is a simple soccer tournament with female teams; in Fantastic Family / DNA Singer (FormatEast) a family member of a famous singer -whose identity remains secret till the end- performs on the stage in front of the judges in order to establish if they have the “talent DNA”; in Crime Scene (JTBC Studios) a murder is reconstructed and the contestants have to find out who did it; something similar in Still Alive (Something Special), where a group of participants, all stuck together in a house, have to discover hints and clues, but will be eliminated one after the other till the final winner; Cook King (JTBC Studios) is a normal cooking challenge with celebrities, but in a spectacular set design.
The most interesting ones are EXChange (CJ ENM), where 4 ex-couples of young participants live together in a beautiful villa: some hope to reunite with their ex, some are ready to find new love, and Dancing in the Box (DI Turn): a pair of dancers perform in 2 special “cages”, and their aim is to push a series of buttons at exactly the same moment to show their perfect coordination.
Also interesting the K-CONTENT SHOWCASE, with an overview of thematic K-tv about a number of issues (K-pop, Healthy, Meditation, Fishing…). But by far the most curious one is Happy Dog Tv, a channel completely dedicated to pets: they watch funny videos of their “colleagues” with therapeutic music on screen and calm down.
2) PARENTS VS CHILDREN I - CHILDREN OF CELEBRITIES
Sometimes ideas (and trends) are in the air. After Parental Guidance (see the last Friday’s Espresso), other 2 new unscripted shows explore the relationship between parents and kids.
The first one is Relatively Famous: Ranch Rules, which follows the children of celebrities (among them Harry James Thornton, son of Oscar-winning actor Billy Bob Thornton) as they live and work on a Colorado ranch. The series puts the celebrity kids into various fish-out-of-water situations as they work to restore and reopen the ranch after a year-long shutdown due to the pandemic. During their 30-day stay, the eight celebrity children navigate unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, living situations, connecting over their shared experiences growing up with famous parents.
Relatively Famous: Ranch Rules is produced by Fremantle and will premiere on E! on January 12 at 9 p.m.
3) PARENTS VS CHILDREN II - MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS
The second one is the unscripted series Like Mother, Like Daughter?, produced by Discovery+ and OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), which explores the dynamics between mothers and daughters. The show follows six mothers and daughters who head to a three-week retreat to address their broken relationships. They’ll expose and deal with old secrets, reopen old wounds and reveal deep-seated issues. With the help of mental health experts, the women work together to address trauma and develop the skills necessary to have a healthy, loving relationship.
The eight-episode series will debut on Discovery+ on January 8 with a pair of episodes, with subsequent episodes released weekly.
Parents & children have always been a “stories generator”: and in this period more than ever.