News round-up: Italy’s TV8 extends ‘Lindt’ format; ABC Commercial unveils rom-com

Maître Chocolatier – Talenti In Sfida (Source: Banijay)

Italy’s TV8 extends ‘Lindt’ format

Sky Italia’s TV8 in Italy has extended its brand-funded competition show Maître Chocolatier – Talenti In Sfida into a second season.

The show, produced by Banijay’s prodco Nonpanic, tracks a group of chocolate and pastry experts as they attempt to impress judges including MasterChef Italia’s Giorgio Locatelli with their creations.

The five-episode show is a brand-funded format that is co-owned by Banijay Italia and Lindt & Sprüngli Spa, averaging nearly 200,000 viewers per episode across its first season.

Banijay has been looking to expand its brand-funded portfolio by launching Banijay Branded Entertainment (BBE), led by Carlotta Rossi Spencer.

ABC Commercial unveils rom-com

Australia’s ABC Commercial is taking rom-com White Fever and Miriam Margolyes’ new series Impossibly Australian to MIPTV next month.

White Fever (6 x 30 minutes) is about a Korean-Australian adoptee who finds hairy men attractive and who goes on a journey to reprogram her libido.

It stars series creator Ra Chapman alongside Chris Pang (Crazy Rich Asians) and will premiere on the ABC network in April.

Impossibly Australian (3 x 60 minutes) tracks Margolyes following a heart procedure and explores how it has left her anxious about the future and her place in it.

Other shows on the ABC slate include Living With Devils, which sees filmmaker Simon Plowright spend a year in the wild with the endangered Tasmanian Devil.

Other factual content includes Blackfella Films’ social experiment, Meet The Neighbours, while Chemical Media’s Who The Bloody Hell Are We? uncovers the stories that the history books left out. Format rights are available for both programs.