Talpa format is Utopia for Turkish channel

Talpa Media’s reality format Utopia will be produced in Turkey for media tycoon Acun Ilıcalı’s network TV8.

The format – in which a group attempts to forge a new society over a year – has sold to Ilıcalı’s Acun Medya, which will produce and broadcast the local version.

Acun Medya has already adapted Talpa formats The Voice and The Voice Kids for Turkish television.

Ilıcalı said of today’s deal: “Utopia is a great social experiment and the most innovative and prestigious reality programme existing in the international market at this time. We look forward to creating our own Utopia in Turkey.”

Maarten Meijs, managing director of Talpa’s global arm Talpa International, added: “Acun Ilıcalı has a nose for potentially successful formats for the Turkish market. We think it’s fantastic, after the success of The Voice, to once again be able to work with him on a big and ambitious project, this time for his own channel.”

Utopia gives 15 individual the chance to build a new community away from society. More than 100 high tech cameras follow their efforts and apps allow viewers to take control of what they see through subscription ‘Utopia passports’.

The format launched as a daily series in Holland on SBS6, where it has achieved consistently strong ratings, prompting Fox to order its own version in the US.