Show of the week My Mom Cooks Better Than Yours

FremantleMedia’s senior VP of global acquisitions and development Vasha Wallace says there were initially three reasons why should work as an international format: “Cooking, mothers and the fact it’s high volume.”

Then, after watching a batch of episodes, she says another facet came to light: “When I dug deeper, I realised it was absolutely hilarious. It plays into family dynamics that we can all relate to.”

Interestingly, the show comes from Spain, which may not be the first place buyers think of when considering format creation.

However, Wallace says the show’s provenance highlights a shift in the formats business: “We’re seeing a shift that people don’t care where a show comes from as long as it is a good show. Spain is managing to produce a very cost-effective model where they’re producing multiple shows a day and we’ve already had interest from Eastern European buyers.”

She says local buyers had been contacting the Spanish producer, Mandarina, directly before FM snapped up the global rights, and that these conversations are now continuing.

The format sees two teams of mothers and their grown-up children competing to create the best dish. Multiple episodes are shot a day, which Wallace says makes it a very cost-effective option for cash-conscious buyers.

“I know that our buyers are always looking for cost-effective programming,” she adds.

In Spain, Mom runs as a daily show, with a celebrity version every Friday. “That’s great, because you’re seeing celebrities under pressure with their parents,” says Wallace.

Another element the Spanish original has employed is that presenter also gives cooking tips to camera, which offers the viewer some all-important take-away. “Overall, you get a really lovely combination of cooking, comedy and family,” says Wallace. “That’s why there’s been more buzz than we were expecting.”

FremantleMedia has production rights in the territories where it has production bases, while FremantleMedia International sells the format elsewhere.

The show: My Mom Cooks Better Than Yours
The producer: Mandarina
The distributor: FremantleMedia (ex. Spain and Italy)
The broadcaster: Mediaset España
The concept: Parents team with their adult children in a studio-based daily cook-off show