THE 'DEAD FAKE' ERA
And a combo of French formats
THE DEAD FAKE ERA
Turning scripted content into unscripted shows is a widespread trend. Take, for instance, the competition game based on the 007 movies (007: Road to a Million), the quiz show for Friends fans set in the series’ iconic locations (Fast Friends), or the baking show set in Hogwarts (Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking), among others.
One of the most highly anticipated formats in this vein is Wonka’s The Golden Ticket, a Netflix series based on Roald Dahl’s original 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Netflix acquired The Roald Dahl Story Company in 2021). We discussed this in a previous issue, and now we can add that the show will debut on September 23, with a two-part finale streaming a week later on September 30.
The format—described, as usual, with the overused label of ‘social experiment’—is a competition show featuring 12 “golden ticket winners” along with a partner of their choosing, who will navigate a series of Wonka-esque temptations and challenges designed to push them both physically and psychologically. Not much else is known for now, so it is too early to tell whether the innovation is merely aesthetic or if there is something more compelling in the concept itself.
Actually, one other detail has been revealed, and it is causing quite a stir: the show’s voiceover will feature the voice of Gene Wilder (the unforgettable Willy Wonka from the 1971 film adaptation), recreated using AI. In a statement on behalf of the estate, Karen B. Wilder, Gene Wilder’s widow, praised the show for celebrating “the warmth and imagination that he brought to the role, introducing that magic to a new generation while honoring the fans who have cherished it for decades.”
This falls into a now widespread trend that I call “dead fake”: recreating the voices and faces of deceased actors or celebrities using advanced AI techniques. The list is already quite long: Ian Holm was ‘brought back to life’ for several sequences in the movie Alien: Romulus; German actress Christiane Maybach was ‘recreated’ for the 30th anniversary of the RTL soap opera Unter Uns; Agatha Christie ‘gives’ online video lessons for aspiring crime writers via the BBC Maestro; and, more recently, Val Kilmer reappeared in the film As Deep As the Grave (watch the trailer here).
This is a practice that will certainly spark debate and raise eyebrows. However, it is becoming increasingly common in scripted content—and from now on, in unscripted as well.
VIVE LE FORT!
For 36 years, one legendary television format has also been an island—and a true broadcasting phenomenon - and personally, one of my all-time favorite action game shows. I’m talking about the legendary Fort Boyard (the adjective is more than appropriate in this case), the iconic action-adventure game show that has been on the air since 1990, debuting on Antenne 2 before moving to France 2 in 1992.
The series is filmed on location at the actual Fort Boyard, a sea fortress located in the Pertuis d’Antioche strait on the west coast of France. Measuring 61 meters in length, 31 meters in width, and 20 meters in height, the imposing stone structure provides an unmatched, highly atmospheric backdrop.
At the heart of the show’s lore is Père Fouras (“Father Fouras”), the centenarian guardian of the fort’s keys, brought to life by three different actors over the program’s history. His exact age remains a mystery; according to legend, he helped build the fortress and subsequently made it his home, spending his winters in total secrecy devising devilish new challenges. Since 1990, he has welcomed contestants to his lookout tower, testing them with visual riddles, mathematical puzzles, or word definitions depending on the season.
The fort is also populated by a colorful recurring cast, each with their own distinct backstory. Key figures include the iconic guides who lead teams between challenges, formidable guardians like Jacques and Jules, and the wrestlers Mr. Boo and Lady Boo, who are tasked with hauling defeated players to the dungeon. This rich ensemble ensures the show is far more than a simple competitive format; it is a multi-layered narrative that seamlessly blends scripted mythology with unscripted reality television.
Now launching its 37th season with fresh gameplay, brand-new twists, and Cyril Féraud stepping in as the new host, the evergreen franchise continues to expand its footprint across both digital and scripted spaces.
Ahead of the summer premiere, France TV and Banijay France teamed up with top French streamer Domingo for an exclusive, creator-led digital special. In a historic live Twitch broadcast, Domingo alongside fellow creators Baghera, ZeratoR, and Clemquicourt explored the legendary fortress and faced its trials. This digital-first collaboration culminated in a dedicated one-hour episode that has already generated massive engagement across France.tv and Domingo’s YouTube channel.
Further capitalizing on the brand’s versatility, Screenline (a Banijay France label) has just wrapped production on a 90-minute feature-length crime drama, Meurtres à Fort Boyard (Murders at Fort Boyard), for France TV. As the latest addition to the highly successful Meurtres à... anthology collection, the thriller turns the historic fortress into a crime scene, forcing two clashing investigators to navigate its secret corridors to solve a high-stakes mystery.
The legend of Fort Boyard continues to thrive, bridging linear television, digital platforms, and scripted fiction. Longue vie au Fort !
EXPEDITION IN GREENLAND
More news from the French public broadcaster, which has been highly active recently both in localizing international formats and creating new ones (such as the spectacular and ambitious L’Anneau / The Ring, which in my opinion was one of the best reality/competition shows of last season: see the description here).
France Télévisions has just announced an adaptation of the original Belgian format, The Expedition. The show originally aired in Belgium on Play and the SVOD platform STREAMZ, spanning three 8 x 60’ seasons set in Greenland, Namibia, and Patagonia. It was produced by the award-winning indie Roses Are Blue and distributed by Primitives.
In this adventure reality format, eight celebrities are challenged to navigate extreme environments, testing their endurance, teamwork, and resilience in the face of nature’s toughest conditions. The new French adaptation is set to air next winter season and was filmed in Greenland earlier this year. The series was commissioned by France Télévisions and produced by Warner Bros. International Television Production France.
Braving the desolate Arctic Circle Trail in Greenland during the depths of winter, contestants face bone-chilling temperatures as low as -40°C (-55°C wind chill), pushing their physical and mental limits to discover what they are truly capable of. Under the guidance of a seasoned polar expert, the group undergoes extensive training before facing the brutal reality of Greenland’s icy wilderness.
Battling exhaustion, self-doubt, and the ever-present threat of nature’s might, the expedition thoroughly tests their endurance and teamwork. Yet despite these struggles, the group consistently finds strength in moments of camaraderie and the pure simplicity of life on the ice.
To be fair, the concept isn't highly original—L’Anneau was far more innovative, introducing almost video-game-like mechanics. Nevertheless, the striking setting and extreme conditions of the location should guarantee its success among fans of the genre.
NEWS IN A NUTSHELL
Endemol Shine Brasil, part of Banijay Americas, has secured the first international adaptation of Banijay Entertainment’s entertainment format Upside Down, with Globo ommissioning a Brazilian version of the series. Originally created by EndemolShine Nederland, part of Banijay Benelux, the format will make Brazil the second market to produce the show following its debut in the Netherlands. Two teams of celebrity families compete inside a television studio that is literally turned upside down.
Bell Media-owned streamer Crave is slating new dating series Temptations Under the Sun: Cyprus for an August 7 premiere and will drop two episodes each week until the finale on September 4. Based on the French-language series OD: Tentations Au Soleil, also on Crave, the 10-episode show follows 17 Canadian singles as they face temptation, strategy and unexpected twists under the Mediterranean sun.
Vietnamese broadcaster VTV9 is bringing back Banijay-owned modelling format The Face after a three-year hiatus. The fifth season of the competition reality series will air on VTV9 this October, produced by Ho Chi Minh City-based prodco Multimedia JSC. The Face previously ran in Vietnam for four seasons between 2016 and 2023 on VTV. The format sees three successful fashion icons lead a team of aspiring young models, each competing to become ‘the face’ of a well-known brand.
Netflix will continue its push into the reality dating space with the new series Let’s Marry Harry, which drops seven episodes on August 5, and the finale hitting a week later on August 12. The series features Harry Jowsey, who broke out as a heartthrob on the previous Netflix dating shows Too Hot to Handle and Perfect Match. After spending years in the public dating spotlight — and getting it wrong — Jowsey has ceded control of his dating life to his close friends Amanda Kloots, Georgia Hassarati and Sonny Henty, who will guide him through a carefully selected pool of potential matches as he searches for authentic love and, hopefully, marriage.
NBCUniversal’s Hayu reality streaming service is teaming with Vancouver-based prodco Lark Productions on Summer House Canada, the first international adaptation of the hit Bravo reality series. Production on the Canadian series is currently underway in Muskoka, Ontario, with the series set to launch exclusively on Hayu in 2027. Following the original Summer House format, the Canadian adaptation assembles a group of friends who get away to a shared house on summer weekends.
Bravo is debuting its second unscripted original microseries on Wednesday (July 8), following salon owner Madison LeCroy and five of her clients. The 52-episode Salon Confessionals with Madison LeCroy, available on the Peacock mobile app, hails from Micromaker and sister company Haymaker East.
AMC-owned cable net WEtv will explore the topic of age-gap relationships with the new dating series Age Inappropriate, which premieres on August 7 and streaming same-day on All Reality. Exploring issues around age-gap relationships such as power dynamics, family pressure, stereotypes and financial imbalance, the series discusses whether experience, money and life-stage are insurmountable differences and whether couples separated by decades can build a lasting love, digging into what makes these relationships work — or fail.
