1. A GUIDES’ COMPETITION FOR RELAUNCHING TOURISM
Can a TV format help a country to relaunch the tourism -and the local economy in general- in these difficult post-covid times? This is exactly the aim of My Trip is Better, soon on KAN11, Israel’s Public Broadcaster, produced by Ananey Studios and distributed by Armoza Formats.
The program, with the classic structure ‘everyone-votes-all-the-others’ opened by Come Dine with Me (2005), follows 5 charismatic, unusual and culture-clashing contestants that will meet each other for the first time in a captivating local destination (for the Israeli version, each week will focus on a specific area of the country – North, South and Central Israel). They will then embark on a five-day travel experience during which they will take turns being the group’s tour guide for the day. Each morning begins with a unique wake-up call to introduce the ‘theme of the day’, before they hit the road to visit 3 destinations. At the end of each day, the 4 other travelers will give the trip a rating, with the final scores being revealed on the last day. Who will win the battle of the trips?
This way, as well as entertaining the viewers, the format is part of efforts to reinvigorate the internal tourism industry, helping to discover ‘travel gems’ and iconic and landmark sites. An example of clever format with an extra-purpose.
2. FIVE NEW FORMATS FOR WARNER BROS. (+ 2 NOT SO NEW)
In these lean times for formats, the presentation of WBITVP (Warner Bros. International Television Production) of its formats slated for the year ahead, with 7 unscripted shows -5 of them completely new- is literally a breath of fresh air.
Maybe the most interesting -at least on paper- is the studio entertainment talent series 60 Seconds (from TVNZ). The format sees performers attempting to grab the attention of the series’ judges and viewers in just 60 seconds. From comedians, dancers, daredevil stunt artists, circus acts, lip-syncers, magicians, singers and the cleverest of animals, there is the chance to shine and win up to $200,000 of cash.
More traditional is the American dating series, soon to debut in the U.S., The Big D (TBS). In this format 10 divorced couples move to a Costa Rican tropical villa to re-learn how to date, while looking for love with the other contestants in the house. The ingredients are the classic ‘3 S’ of this genre: sun, seduction & sensuality.
Changing continent, the UK Top Takeout (BBC Two) sees several of the UK’s top takeout restaurants battling for top marks from real families trying the food in their own homes.
Also planned are two formats from the Netherlands: Hot Shots (NPO3), in which social media stars take a close looks at the hyped-up products of the moment; and True Prices (NPO3), which examines the real costs behind some of the cheap yet popular products on the market today.
The showcase will also provide updates on two of WBITVP’s previous formats: the UK studio gameshow The Wheel, from Hungry Bear Media (the contestant stays at the centre of a spinning wheel trying to answer questions, with the help of the celeb that stops in front of him/her after the wheel is spun); and the singing competition format Wall Duet, from Thailand’s Workpoint TV (see FRIDAY’S ESPRESSO 4th February).
3.USELESS UNSCRIPTED AWARDS
Awards and other types of events can very effectively support the audiovisual sector, so long as they promote the novelties and the best contents of the period, otherwise are completely useless. This is the case of the Realscreening Awards 2022 in non-fiction entertainment (but it’s not the only one), that was presented last Friday (11 February). The winners of 2 categories (Alone - Reality Competition and The Masked Singer - Talent & Studio Based Competition) were launched in 2015; The Wall (Quiz & Game Shows) in 2016, Making It (Lifestyle competition) in 2018 and so on.
Where is the sense in all of this?