BBC Worldwide orders original series for international channels

BBC Worldwide has ordered Million Dollar Intern, an original fact-ent series for its international channels. Worldwide, the commercial arm of the UK public broadcaster, will fully fund the 10x48mins series.

Tracy Forsyth

The show will be made by UK indie Outline Productions and air on the international feeds of  Worldwide’s BBC Knowledge, BBC Entertainment and BBC HD channels.

The show will see business whizzkids from around the world go to work for a week at the bottom rung of a range of failing businesses. Disguised as ordinary interns, they will monitor the companies from the inside before revealing their true credentials

Million Dollar Intern will premiere globally in summer 2013 on BBC Knowledge in Africa, Asia, Australia, Cyprus, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, the Nordic Region, Poland and Romania, BBC Entertainment in Latin America and BBC HD in Latin America, the Nordic Region, Poland and Turkey.

The show was ordered by Worldwide’s vice president of commissioning Tracy Forsyth. She said: “Outline Productions pitched a fantastic format, with huge potential to run and run – exactly the type of high quality, returnable series that I’m seeking for BBC Worldwide’s channel portfolio.”

Worldwide is aiming to have 100 hours of original programming on its international networks by 2014.