WBITVP to launch Speed King remake

Warner Bros International Television Production will launch a UK pilot based on Japanese quiz format Speed King at MIPTV next month.

Wall to Wall, part of Warner Bros-owned Shed Media, produced the pilot, which has been adapted for US and European audiences and will known as No Brainer. WBITVP will be in Cannes shopping the format to buyers.

The pilot is the latest production to come out of WBITVP’s co-development agreement with Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi. This sees the pair co-develop TV Asahi’s formats for the international market and last year spawned a remake of another game show, Everything’s a Race.

Work is also underway on a second quiz show, titled The Factory.

No Brainer sees teams of four contestants ranked in terms of intelligence, with one player designated the ‘Brainbox’ and another as the ‘No Brainer’. The latter’s answers are worth five times as much as the former’s, inspiring the team to work together to earn larger cash prizes.

TV Asahi producer Masahiro Katano, who developed the original format, said an underdog element was the key to the game play. “No Brainer gives a clearer output of the concept,” he added.

Andrew Zein, WBITVP’s senior VP of creative, format development and sales told TBI that WBITVP had taken distribution rights for the US, Europe and Latin America. “No Brainer has been a big success in Japan and we expect that success to translate elsewhere,” he added.

WBITVP had identified Speed King as a initial stand-out entertainment format upon initially inspecting TV Asahi’s slate, said Zein. “The pilot for No Brainer showcases this positive game show brilliantly – with its simple structure and potential for the underdog to save the day. We are excited about the potential of No Brainer – international audiences will enjoy watching the teams work together to win the big cash prize”.