Docs, Dating and Dining: The MIPCOM Unscripted Hot List
The big-budget drama series often get the most attention at MIPCOM Cannes, the world’s largest television market. But this year is time for unscripted to shine.
Hit by a sluggish advertising market and a reality check on overblown predictions of global streaming growth, broadcaster have shrunk their acquisition budgets. Cost-cutting and profitability are the new buzzwords. And nothing says low-cost/high-return than non-fiction formats.
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Here’s The Hollywood Reporter‘s MIPCOM Hot List of non-scripted titles — from high-concept game shows to celebrity-driven reality shows and investigative documentaries — that promise to grab buyers’ attention at this year’s market.
The Americas
FORMAT Natural History
PITCH From BBC Studios Natural History Unit, producers of multi-Emmy Award-winning Planet Earth and Blue Planet, and Universal Television Alternative Studio, comes this 11-part nature documentary series on the natural wonders of the American continent. Narrated by Tom Hanks and scored by two-time Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer.
SALES NBCUniversal Global Distribution
Barbie’s Dirty Secrets
FORMAT Investigative Documentary
PITCH This one-hour investigative documentary produced by Zandland for Channel 4 reveals the disturbing reality behind that Barbie pink, exploring allegations of unsafe working conditions at Mattel’s toy factories in Southern China and aggressive legal tactics used to suppress small businesses.
SALES All3Media International
Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain
FORMAT Food Travel Show
PITCH Desperate Housewives and Only Murders in the Building star Longoria takes us on a gastronomic pilgrimage across the rich tapestry of Spanish cuisine in this CNN Original Series, enjoying some of Spain’s most iconic traditional dishes from homemade tapas to rustic paellas and fresh regional seafood delicacies.
SALES Banijay Entertainment
Love at Third Sight
FORMAT Documentary Reality
PITCH Vibrant men and women in their golden years spend two weeks together at a luxurious resort and taking part in activities tailored to spark romance. Guided by relationship experts, they have to navigate the complexities of dating later in life and challenge societal perceptions about love and aging in their quest to rediscover passion.
SALES Dori Media Group
Master of the Game
FORMAT Psychological reality
PITCH Twelve celebrities compete in a twist-and-turn mystery game to try and identify the “Master of the Game,” a charismatic and enigmatic figure who, Masked Singer-like, remains hidden and masked while orchestrating the game. In a Traitors-esque twist, the Master of the Game has secretly recruited one contestant as an accomplice to mislead the others.
SALES Fremantle
Mommy Knows Best
FORMAT Dating Show
PITCH In this hit Belgian dating format, singles go on dates with three suitors, accompanied by their mothers, who bring items that best represent or define them to their children. The singles have to remain silent and can only communicate by writing down questions.
SALES Lineup Industries
The Never Ever Mets
FORMAT Dating Reality Show
PITCH Seven couples, who have only ever connected online, are brought together to live in the same house for three weeks and face a series of challenges, from couples therapy to family visits, designed to stress test their relationship. The original U.S. version, hosted by Ta’Rhonda Jones on OWN, was a ratings hit and has been renewed for a second season.
SALES Banijay Entertainment
Quiz 100
FORMAT Game Show
PITCH This Japanese show cranks up the trivia format by pitting quiz experts — dubbed “superhumans” — against a crowd of 100 people who share a vast knowledge of niche hobbies and interests. Each episode features a different theme, with the experts trying to outsmart the crowd in a battle of brains.
SALES NHK International
Ramesses II, Secrets of a Pharaoh
FORMAT Historical Re-creation
PITCH A three-part series that uses cutting-edge 3D visual reconstructions and interviews with the world’s most renowned Egyptologists to shed new light on the extraordinary life and enduring legacy of Egypt’s most iconic leader.
SALES BBC Studios Natural History Unit
The Summit
FORMAT Adventure Reality Show
PITCH The Summit, an Australian format the U.S. version of which recently launched on CBS, is vying to become the world’s next big reality competition show. Banijay has already sold The Summit, in which ordinary people struggle to overcome extraordinary physical challenges — climbing New Zealand’s Fiji Mountains for example — to multiple territories. More are set to come at MIPCOM.
SALES Banijay Entertainment
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