truTV mixes ITV Studios bar format into slate

US cable channel truTV has ordered a competition format from ITV Studios in which bar owners go head to head to reveal which has the better recipe for success.

The Shake Up is being billed as a fun series in which Comedy Central comic Mo Mandel travels to different US cities to pit tow bar managers against each other. The winner is the whoever makes the most money running the other’s establishment.

ITVS’s US production arm is coproducing the eight-episode series along with Gaspin Media.

truTV has is also lining up three more new series, Sharp Entertainment-produced 10x30mins ‘life shortcuts’ show Hack My Life, Bodega Pictures’ kart-racing format Kart Life, and 12x30mins reality musical Branson Famous (WT) from Road To Ave.

Meanwhile, truTV has increased the order for Rogue Atlas Productions and Lionsgate Television coproduction Way Out West by 13 episodes. The reality series debuts on July 21.

“truTV is working with an outstanding group of creators who are providing each of our series with a unique and surprising point of view,” said Chris Linn, president and head of programming for truTV. “We are creating innovative and clever programming with a goal to make truTV a fun ride for grownups and a refreshing alternative in a landscape where so many shows look and feel the same.”

Former MTV reality chief Linn (pictured) joined truTV in May last year.