Banijay’s Cuarzo making Spanish version of The Village

Spanish producer Cuarzo Producciones is making a local version of UK-originated reality show The Village. The Spanish version will air this autumn on free-to-air network Canal 9.

The version produced by Banijay-owned Cuarzo will, like its UK counterpart, run to 8x60mins. In the UK the show was known as Love Thy Neighbour and aired on UK commercial free-to-air broadcaster Channel 4.

The format follows twelve families who compete to win a house in a picturesque village. Each family must convince the locals that they deserve the house, with two going head-to-head each week. The weekly winners then compete in the final.

The show was created by All3Media-backed producer Studio Lambert. Cuarzo inked a deal with All3media International for the Spanish rights.

“The Village is an ideal format for Spain where tight-knit rural communities are very much a way of life and broadcasters are always looking for ways to reflect that in their schedules,” said Pedro Rodriguez, managing director of Cuarzo Producciones. “We can’t wait to see what happens when we try this interesting experiment here.”