Marvista moving into reality series with The Shores

Marvista Entertainment is making its first moves into reality series and is launching The Shores at MIPTV.

The US producer and distributor, which is better known for television movies and series including Beyond The Break, is producing the series with Quinton van der Burgh’s Clifton Shores and South African-based producer Clive Morris Productions.

“Unscripted is an area that we were looking to get into,” Marvista CEO Fernando Szew said. “There is a lot of me-too product out there and yet as you go through the TV landscape everyone says that they want something different and a breakout hit in a cluttered market, so there is a disconnect. We wanted something with some proven ingredients for success as well as something new and we wanted something international.”

It is shot on location in South Africa. “The country is already a production hub for scripted TV and for film so why not take advantage of that infrastructure for a reality show,” he added. “Part of the attraction of the show itself is the glamour, the beach and the drama and we can see those elements in numerous reality shows. It also has a fish-out-of-water scenario with the American women in South Africa and we also see them vying for attention.”