FRIDAY'S ESPRESSO - 15th September

The most followed newsletter about unscripted in the world

1. FROM RADIO TO TV FOR 1000€

At the beginning of the tv era it was common to adapt a radio program to the new medium: for example the panel radio show It Pays to Be Ignorant (1942) that became a tv panel show with the same tittle in 1949, or the The Candid Microphone (1947), that became the television hit Candid Camera one year later and many others.

Now, 80 years later, the same thing happens for Le Jeu des 1000 euros (The 1000€ Game): created in 1958, with the title 100000 Francs Par Jour (100.000 French Francs By Day), is the longest-running program on French radio and premiered last Saturday 9th September on France 3, hosted by Nicolas Stoufflet (the original radio host from 2008), together with Carinne Teyssandier (pic).

The rules have slightly changed during the years and are a bit complicated, but the basic mechanism has remained the same. Contestants draw 6 questions in 3 colors: 3 blue questions, 2 white questions and 1 red question. The questions are developed by the audience, but the production team ranks them by difficulty. At this point there are different possibilities, but if the contestants respond correctly to all 6 questions, they can leave with their winnings (150€), or can try the “Banco”, a particularly difficult question.

The audience traditionally yells "ban-co, ban-co!" to encourage the contestant, after which the contestant usually makes their attempt. Contestants responding correctly to the “Banco” question can also try the “Super Banco” question, which is the key moment of the show, with the audience encouraging the contestants by shouting "su-per, su-per!". If the response is correct, the contestants receive the 1,000€ of the title.

2. BIG BANG IN BELGIUM AND THE NETHERLANDS

The brand-new format The Big Bang - co-created by the Belgian prodco Roses Are Blue (The Restaurant that Makes Mistakes, The Way Out, Down the Road…), Talpa Concepts and VTM, is soon to air on SBS6 in The Netherlands and VTM in Belgium, and will be distributed by Be-Entertainment internationally. The hosts are the 2 Flemish brothers Staf and Mathias Coppens (pic).

The game sees 3 celebrity duos challenged to execute a series of assignments in the studio all around popping balloons. They will enter the game arena in a race against time to get through the obstacle course in 3 rounds, with an ultimate goal: being the first duo to cause “The Big Bang” by popping a giant balloon in the finale.

The trials are such as: solving problems while they are hanging upside down, or even under water; answering general knowledge questions while there’s “electricity” in the air and in the chair and so on.

A classical “wacky” action game show, in which everything is up to the funny trials & participants.

3. ANOTHER DRAG QUEEN SHOW

From Drag Race franchise, yet another drag queen show (that has become, more than a trend, a real genre): Slaycation - produced by Blue Ant Studios, in association with Crave and RuPaul’s Drag Race producers World of Wonder - set to premiere on Canadian streamer Crave and day-and-date on WOW Presents Plus globally.

The six-part series features six drag queens from across the international Drag Race franchise, as they spend a vacation together at a Canadian winter cabin. The show follows their fish-out-of-water escapades and culminates in a drag performance for the local community.

Perfect for the loyal fans of the Drag Race universe…