1) HYBRID SHOWS EXPAND TO DATING
As anticipated in the last Espresso, “hybrid shows” (i.e. with virtual and real persons) are not just about talents. In the last days, Endemol Shine Israel has combined virtual reality with dating in a social experiment format that aims to help celebrities to find love.
Mystery Star Date shows celebrities using personalized avatars to keep their identity hidden whilst they date non-famous suitors. Designed to remove anxiety over the suitors’ intentions and any preconceptions based on what they have read, the use of avatars should mean that the celebrity can be themselves as they search for a genuine connection. At the end of the series, when a bond has been formed, the famous persons’ true identity is revealed.
Avatars and virtual idols are for sure the new trend of unscripted, but now the challenge is not to to use them as an end in themselves, but in a coherent way with the format concept.
2) ANOTHER CLASSIC GAMESHOW FOR OTT
After Family Feud, that was launched by Netflix in 44 African Countries (see Friday’s Espresso of 26th Nov), also Amazon’s Prime Video bets on a classical gameshow: the UK Pop Quiz, which was revived last year by format owner and historical host Mike Read.
Initially premiered in 1981, Pop Quiz ran throughout the 1980s on BBC One. It was revived in the 1990s with Chris Tarrant hosting the show, then again in the 2000s by Red TV and Vintage TV, and later in 2016/17 with a pair of specials on BBC Four.
The concept is easy: two teams of musicians compete to answer music-based questions, and, exactly as Family Feud, also in this case a few boardgames have been made, together with a number of CD compilations.
The “new” OTTs are greedy of “old” gameshows.
3) PARENT SOCIAL EXPERIMENT
Parental Guidance, developed and produced by Eureka Productions for Channel 9 in Australia, recently became the most watched non-news show in the country, beating Celebrity MasterChef, Big Brother VIP and other big hits.
The show follows 10 sets of parents with very different parenting styles, putting their methods to the ultimate test to find out which one “produces the best kids.” From ‘helicopter’ parents to ‘free range’ and ‘routine’ parents to extreme authoritarians, the format takes viewers behind the closed doors of parenthood.
Due to the success of this format, Fremantle has acquired its global distribution rights and is going to sell it worldwide.
Social experiments with parents are becoming more and more popular: just to give another example, we can remember the Irish format Pulling With My Parents, where parents have complete access to the dating apps of their children (with the due consequences...)