Big Brother to make Turkish debut

Turkey’s Star TV has ordered a local version of Big Brother, marking the first ever Turkish version of the classic reality format.

Endemol Shine International distributes the show and struck the Star deal.

Endemol Shine Turkey will produce the local series, which will run for 15 weeks and launch on Star this summer. There will be daily one-hour Big Brother Türkiye episodes through the week and a three-hour long eviction show in Star’s weekend schedule.

“Big Brother is the original reality format and we’re thrilled that Endemol Shine Turkey will be using their expertise to bring this global phenomenon to Star TV,” said Marina Williams, CEO of central and eastern Europe and MENA at Endemol Shine Group.

She added: “This latest commission is testament to the ongoing success of Big Brother across the region and we’re extremely pleased to announce the deal as we head to NAPTE Europe in Prague.”

Elsewhere in the region, Big Brother will return to Nova TV in Bulgaria later this year after three year gap since its last airing. It is also returning to five Balkan territories – Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Montenegro – with production taking place from a hub in Serbia.

Read an interview with Marina Williams in TBI’s June / July issue, which publishes next week