Lionsgate has invested in Primal Media, the new prodco from Mat Steiner and Adam Wood, the execs behind Gogglebox Entertainment. Steiner and Wood left Sony-backed Gogglebox earlier this year, leading to the closure of the prodco. Their biggest success to date has been horror gameshow Release the Hounds, which plays on ITV2 in the UK. They […]
The co-creators of horror-gameshow Release the Hounds have formed Dr Pluto, a new UK prodco that is backed by FremantleMedia. Sam Pollard (top) and James Abadi (below) developed Release the Hounds while at Gogglebox, the Sony-backed prodco that was recently wound up. Announcing the new company, the Dr Pluto founders said they want to reinvigorate […]
US broadcaster Fox has ordered an eight-hour unscripted series, Superhuman, based on Endemol Shine Germany format The Brain. This comes after Fox aired a two-hour special of the format on January 4. The format sees contestants with extraordinary skills competing for a cash prize. In Germany, the series is in its sixth season, while distributor […]
Sony-backed Gogglebox Entertainment has hired Paul Evans as its new head of development. The new recruit replaces the outgoing Sam Pollard at the Release the Hounds prodco. Gogglebox said Pollard is leaving to pursue other projects, and TBI understands he plans to set up his own indie content company. Evans joins from All3Media-owned producer Lime […]
US cable channel GSN has commissioned an eight part, horror-themed game show from Paranormal Activity guru Jason Blum. Hellavator will see teams of three ride a haunted elevator to various levels of an abandoned warehouse. One player per floor must complete a frightening challenge within a set time, or they are locked out of the […]
Name: Vanda Rapti Title: VP of acquisitions, pay TV, VOD and new media, and acting VP, free TV, Nordics, MTG Vanda Rapti buys programming for a variety of Modern Times Group channels across Europe. Here she takes TBI through the needs of the free, pay and VOD platforms operating under MTG’s Viasat broadcasting brand. […]
The Fox channel in the Netherlands has ordered a Release the Hounds special, which will be made by local indie Tuvalu Media. Separately, Paprika Latino, part of the MTG-owned Nice Entertainment Group, has built a Release the Hounds production hub in Lithuania to make regional versions of the format. It has already made Danish and […]
Fox has greenlit I Wanna Marry ‘Harry’, a new reality show in which US women compete for the attention of a man they believe is Britain’s Prince Harry. That person is in fact a lookalike of the British royal. The idea for the show came from Danny Fenton (pictured), CEO of Zig Zag Productions. The […]
US broadcaster Fox is set to air a local version of horror gameshow format Release the Hounds, TBI has learned. The US Release the Hounds commission has not been officially announced by Fox, but the US network is expected to confirm it shortly. The order will be a major coup for Gogglebox Entertainment, the UK […]
ITV horror gameshow Release the Hounds has scored its first international format deal, with German broadcaster ProSieben producing a special, TBI has learned. The German version will be called Scream! If You Can and be produced by Sony Pictures Television Productions Germany, which is a sister company of formats rights holder Sony Pictures Television. The […]
