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Welcome to Deadline’s The Hot Ones — Formats, our guide to some of the best non-scripted being sold at MIPCOM this year. Our editorial team has done extensive research in the run-up to the 2024 market and has handpicked a selection of the projects set to be big talking points at this year’s event in Cannes.
In between meetings and cocktail parties, you’re sure to hear whispers about the next potential global hit, and The Hot Ones is here to guide you. So scroll down for the juiciest fare including Studio Lambert‘s latest hit The Anonymous, ITV Studios‘ brand new Shark competition and Warner Bros’ competitive take on Harry Potter.
The Anonymous
Distributor: All3Media International
Length: 12 x 60’
Producer: Studio Lambert
Network: USA Network (U.S.)
The Anonymous is a very modern competition format.
Conjuring elements of Studio Lambert hits The Circle and The Traitors while speaking to our social media-driven culture, the show, which launched earlier this year on USA Network, sees players living together, competing in challenges and forming in-person alliances.
Where it differs from rivals is in what happens next. At key moments, contestants have the power to communicate with each other anonymously, and they can use that anonymity to say and do whatever it takes to keep themselves safe in the game.
“This exists in two worlds,” says Nick Smith, All3Media International’s EVP Formats & Licensing. “I could have been your best friend all day, but then throw you under the bus. It reflects how we have public personas but so many of us comment online anonymously, and the reason we do that is that we don’t want to experience any of the negativity that comes from people knowing what we truly believe.”
Smith compares The Anonymous in scope to The Circle — the Channel 4 and Netflix series — but says it pushes the envelope further by allowing players to meet and interact. It also has plenty in common with The Traitors, but at times it can feel as if everyone in the game is a ‘traitor’, which ups the stakes, he adds.
Episodes have already aired on the USA Network. The first three installments were dropped simultaneously — sparking an “interesting reaction on X,” according to Smith — and they were subsequently given plenty of repeat time across other NBC channels before episodes dropped on streamer Peacock a week after the linear launch. The final episode airs this week.
Smith says All3Media International held back on chatting to buyers until The Anonymous had launched in the States, partly so the distributor “could do deals with those who had fallen in love with the show and not just because it is produced by Studio Lambert and is a U.S. commission.”
But informal interest has been mounting, he adds, particularly from buyers who liked The Circle but were frustrated that Netflix swallowed up the rights globally.
Smith says The Anonymous’ focus can be tilted to suit different territory requirements. He gives the examples of it potentially being more social strategy-focused in the Nordics, or amping up the reality and drama in Spain.
The Answer Run
Distributor: BBC Studios
Length: 25 x 45’
Producer: BBC Studios
Network: BBC One (U.K.)
In a troubled buyers’ market that is witnessing the slow death of mid-range programming, quiz and gameshows are having a bit of a moment, the sellers behind new BBC show The Answer Run tell us.
It’s no secret that buyers around the world are eschewing mid-budget shows, pivoting focus to “fewer, bigger, better” premium offerings, while buttressing schedules with high-volume, cost-effective fare.
In steps The Answer Run. The latest quiz show from the team behind The 1% Club and The Weakest Link is a fun, play-along offering that can be made, if required, on a shoestring.
“Schedules are challenged at the moment but statistically gameshows are the most successful formats,” says André Renaud, Senior VP of Global Format Sales at BBC Studios, who is set to move to Warner Bros. International Television Production. “The idea of being able to film four episodes a day isn’t something that would be ignored by a commissioner. Getting ideas over the line is harder, but in this sphere, buyers are definitely looking at the ones that are much easier to get into the schedules.”
The Answer Run has slotted into the BBC’s late afternoon schedule like a glove, regularly attracting more than 1 million viewers as it attempts to compete with big ITV daytime beasts Tipping Point and The Chase.
Hosted by Jason Manford, The Answer Run sees three teams battle it out for a cash prize. They are given answers and need to sort the questions into the correct answer to bank the cash, all in a very short space of time as the clock ticks.
“The best quizzes are the ones with a simple premise,” says Sumi Connock, Creative Director of Formats at BBC Studios. “That moment of panic is exciting. The Answer Run is cost effective, we give away a decent amount of money and you have different mechanics in the opening round.”
Sales will launch at MIPCOM Cannes, and the team is hoping The Answer Run can replicate the recent success of shows such as The Weakest Link, which is currently having a serious renaissance and is now in more than 45 territories. BBC Studios, meanwhile, is also selling Nation’s Dumbest at MIPCOM, the Scandi gameshow that is the first where the loser is the winner. It struck a deal for the Norwegian format earlier this month.
“These are stripped shows that keep a heartland audience coming to the channel and that is why they work,” concludes Connock.
Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking
Distributor: Warner Bros. International Television Production
Length: 1 x 90’ / 5 x 60’
Producer: Warner Horizon Unscripted Television
Networks: Food Network, Max (U.S.)
Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking aims to cast a spell over fans of both cooking shows and the popular book and film property. The series is for Food Network and Max in the U.S., and their corporate stablemate, Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP), is selling the finished show and format.
Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking was filmed against the backdrop of Warner Bros Studios Tour in the U.K. James and Oliver Phelps, famous for their portrayals of Fred and George Weasley in the Harry Potter films, are the hosts and other stars from the movies will drop by during episodes. Chefs Carla Hall and Jozef Youssef judge the Potter-inspired baked goods on the show, with professional chefs from different countries competing to turn out the most magical creation.
“Harry Potter is a world of magical, fantastic celebration and here was the idea for something that recognized the role of food and meals and events in the Harry Potter world,” says Andrew Zein, EVP, Creative, Format Development and Sales at WBITVP. “You obviously had family dinners, you had the Great Hall and you had the students feasting, so there was already this connection between food and Harry Potter. From the moment you hear that theme tune in this series and the camera pans in on Hogwarts, you’re in that space.”
He adds: “You’ve got the huge kitchen where the contestants are preparing food, and everything is presented on a set that relates to the challenge in that particular episode, whether it’s Gringotts Bank or Dumbledore’s study, or on Platform 9¾.”
Local versions of the show could be shot at the Potter tour venue in the U.K. Zein notes there is also one in Japan that could service Asian buyers. Given the premium IP, the production values of the U.S. show are understandably high, which would need to be the same with any local formatted versions, meaning the sales effort will likely be focused on the larger TV territories.
Buyers will get a taste of the baking show at MIPCOM. “The strengths are it is instantly recognizable, and it’s immediately apparent it can be made as a TV event,” Zein says. “Your audience is going to know what it is and buyers understand the job it would do in their schedules. We think it is a special treat.”
Nation’s Toughest
Distributor: Lineup Industries
Length: 11 x 60’
Producer: NRK
Broadcaster: NRK (Norway)
Take 10 young people who excel in a field such as athletics or dance or MMA or have physically tough jobs such as fishing or firefighting, remove their creature comforts and task them with rock-hard trials on a disused oil rig, and you have Nation’s Toughest. The series has been a hit on Norway’s NRK and now formats specialist Lineup Industries is bringing it to the international market.
The contestants are selected for their competitive instincts. They are there purely to win and prove themselves while also embarking on a journey of personal growth and enjoying the camaraderie of being with similarly focused individuals. To ramp up the challenge, those taking part have their social media and devices removed — rendering them effectively off-grid. Many of the participants have not had it easy, and viewers see their stories unfold across the series.
The NRK series was set on an oil rig, but Lineup says it could also be another industrial building or location — ideally one that is a little scary, such as a bunker or old military base. The challenges have a gritty urban feel and include a relay across factory roofs, scaling a 40-meter silo on rope ladders and becoming “smoke divers” who locate items in boiling hot, smoke-filled environments.
In Norway, the show’s following has grown over its five seasons and Season 6 is in production. NRK commissions for digital first and the numbers for the show on its on-demand service have stacked up nicely. In the most recent run, more viewers watched the final installment than the first episode. “We can see that the Norwegian version is also doing really well in Sweden, where it airs on SVT proving its wider appeal,” says Lineup co-founder Julian Curtis.
“Nation’s Toughest has excelled in a crowded market for five years, growing its audience with every season,” he adds. “Over the years the show has adapted and innovated to the audience feedback and data, moving to ‘the rig’, which has become an iconic integral part of the show. The data has also driven the casting, which has become a rigorous and detailed process.”
Local versions could be produced in the buyer’s home territory, or on the original rig. “Coupled to the fact it’s affordable, another of the key things we’re offering to the market is that we can now also offer the location,” Curtis explains. “While not a condition, it does mean everyone else can benefit from both a low-cost and high-impact location.”
Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters
Distributor: ITV Studios
Length: 6 x 60’
Producer: Plimsoll Productions
Network: ITV (U.K.)
Iconic Spielberg movie Jaws turns 50 next year and networks around the world will be putting plenty of thought around how content about the cinema world’s most famous shark can bite into their schedules.
Enter Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters, an imaginative format from Tiny World producer Plimsoll Productions that mixes factual entertainment with good old-fashioned formatted fun and will debut on U.K. net ITV next year.
“Jaws is a helpful marketing tool for any local broadcaster that is looking to make local versions of our show,” says Andrea Jackson, Plimsoll’s Creative Director of Factual Entertainment. “That 50-year anniversary speaks to the enduring fascination we have with sharks. It has left a stamp on so many of us.”
In the series, celebrities come face to face with nature’s most terrifying underwater predators. They travel to the Bahamas where they partake in several challenges, concluding with an up-close run-off with a bigger, more terrifying, species of shark.
While there is plenty of entertainment attached to watching your favourite celebrity cross paths with one of the world’s most dangerous and revered creatures, Plimsoll, which is owned by ITV Studios, has used the opportunity to set out its credentials in combining entertainment with educational fact-ent, which Jackson calls “wildlife-plus”.
“We looked at our natural history audience and thought that in a different market we could turn this into a unique selling point,” adds Jackson.
With this in mind, Celebrity Infested Waters showcases sharks in a different light, as viewers are given the opportunity to learn about the creatures and the “huge service” they provide to the ecosystem, according to Plimsoll’s factual entertainment boss, Karen Plumb.
“The fear of sharks and the need to redress misunderstandings is something globally relevant and we have had a really strong response to this idea,” she says.
Cameras started rolling a few weeks back following a lengthy casting call. At MIPCOM, ITV Studios will be selling the show as a format that can be co-produced with Plimsoll in what has now become the production hub-cum-ocean of the Bahamas location where the original is being filmed — described by Plumb as a “turnkey solution”. A U.S. deal is close, we are told.
And while the entertainment market remains “depressed”, Jackson believes Celebrity Infested Waters is perfect for buyers interested in chasing premium, noisy series that are “braver and tell a message”.
Buyers at MIPCOM may be heard screaming from across the Croisette: “We’re gonna need a bigger schedule.”
Three Are the Champions
Distributor: Banijay Entertainment
Length: 2 x 185’
Producer: Endemol Shine Germany (Germany)
Network: RTL
The Paris Olympics and Paralympics were a resounding global success, drawing billions to TV screens and reminding people just how far the limits of human endeavor can be stretched. Banijay Entertainment is hoping some of that golden glow will rub off on Three Are the Champions, a key format launch at MIPCOM Cannes.
The format sees former Olympics winners, world record holders and other physical champions going head-to-head with a trio of celebrities, who strive to use their team dynamic in an attempt to outperform them.
“The Olympics drive emotion and create atmosphere around the world,” says Endemol Shine Germany Managing Director Fabien Tobias, who created the program for RTL. “That is creating momentum for our idea.”
The teams of champions and celebrities compete in a variety of physical and mental challenges, with some involving animals, children and crazy stunts. “It is great for primetime on a Saturday evening,” says Tobias. “When you play on RTL in that slot, the audience has to be very broad. You have to conquer the mainstream, and you can’t win with just the niche.”
The show achieved those targets, taking majority shares of 14-59s (now the standard measurement demo in Germany) and a stronger than expected female share. Episode 2 even increased Episode 1’s 13% share by 1.6% — an unusual and promising stat. “We won in every important field,” says Tobias.
While RTL supersized the show, and its budget, Tobias and Banijay are framing Three Are the Champions as a “scalable” format. “In Germany, it was absolutely the right thing to do, as we have to compete with big shows to achieve the audience — we flew in champions from around the world,” says Tobias. “But you could scale it down to an hour, which changes the cost completely, and you could do smaller challenges indoors that are great entertainment and lower cost.”
That will be the selling point on the Croisette, and Banijay is hoping to attract networks who have seen the likes of Ninja Warrior and the Gladiators revival flourish in the U.K.
Tobias says the key to unlocking the format is in the celebrity casting. In Germany, that was RTL star chef and TV host Tim Mälzer, social media personality and entertainer Jens ‘Knossi’ Knossalla, and presenter Elton. “It could be Ant and Dec and a third buddy — you really have to have that chemistry,” he adds.
