It’s spring and a number of new formats has finally bloomed as well. Here you have a selection of the most significant ones.
1. GORDON RAMSEY INVESTS HIS OWN MONEY
Presented in preview during the last London Screenings (28th Feb - 4th Mar), the last cooking show with Gordon Ramsey, Future Food Stars, produced by All3Media, is going to premiere on BBC One primetime next Thursday (31st March).
The series follows 12 food and drink entrepreneurs battling it out to win £150,000 of Ramsay's own money in their business. But before investing his money, the famous chef will push everyone to their limits through a series of relentless challenges that tests their character and business acumen. The person who impresses him most will win the life-changing investment.
Seeing the first trailer, the ingredients of the show seem to be the typical ones of the 17 Michelin stars winner: tears and kitchen (but with spectacular challenges outside).
2. THREE NEW GAME SHOWS
Game shows seem to be at the centre of this springtime boom of formats.
In Germany this month premiered the new primetime game show Lucky Stars - Alles auf die Fünf! (Bet Your Lucky Stars), produced by RedSeven Entertainment and distributed by Red Arrow Studios.
As the original title says, at centre of the format there is the number 5 (fünf). In each episode, one contestant enlists 5 celebrities to help them try to win a cash prize. Over 5 individual themed rounds, the celebrities are put to the test; first with 5 general knowledge questions – where they can win cash - then with the ‘Star Challenges’.
With advance knowledge of the challenges, which could be anything from blind cooking to arm-wrestling, the contestant picks the celebrity they think most likely to succeed. In the final round once again the contestant allocates the 5 challenges but bets different cash sums on each, based on which stars they think will be most successful.
In Israel, Armoza Formats has launched the new prime-time entertainment format Beat the Average. In each episode, a team of 3 contestants competes in studio challenges across a variety of categories. In 3 increasingly difficult stages, they’ll compete against a group of 100 individuals doing the same task to get an average score. If they can beat the average, they’ll win a cash prize.
Finally, in Hungary the local version for TV2 of the Finnish studio game show City vs Country, produced and distributed by Rabbit Films, will start in May.
In the format two comedian hosts take 2 teams of 3 people through three rounds of the game to see which side dominates: city or country? What do snobby city folk know about the reality of living in the country? And do the country bumpkins have any idea what it takes to survive city life? A dream trip for the winning team is at stake.
The original version of the game (Stadi vs Landi) is a hit, with a 7th season due in 2022.
3. WELCOME TO METAVERSE!
Someone says metaverse will be the new frontier of entertainment. In fact some K-pop groups like Billlie meet their fans on a local metaverse platform to expand their presence in a three-dimensional virtual space, and the girl band NMIXX created a fandom space earlier this month on another metaverse platform.
Now Qontent Formats has launched Meta Date, the world’s first dating show combining the metaverse and the real world. The format, focused on artificial intelligence technology, pairs participants with their soul mates on the base of their previous relationships, lives, social media postings and life aspirations. After settling into different rooms in the same building, ten participants go on dates within the metaverse in order to correctly identify their soul mates and to win up to $100,000. They will use genderless avatars created from their rooms using VR glasses.
And, for the very first time, the format will be present with a special event in metaverse next Thursday 31st at 6,00pm CET. If you wish to participate, click this link: https://bitly.com/metadatevirtualevent.