EXCLUSIVE: Content creators posing as mastermind thieves: That’s the concept behind Banijay Entertainment’s latest format acquisition.
The Infiltrators is a gameshow in which contestants seek to infiltrate an eccentric billionaire’s home and navigate its complex security system through a series a weird and wild challenges. The series first launched on Channel 4 social media network Channel 4.0.
“Mystery gameplay remains hot,” said Banijay Entertainment Head of Acquisitions Helen Greatorex. “It started when we all started doing escape rooms years ago, and it has become a way of life to people who want different game play, and that moved into entertainment and television. We are always looking for what’s going to happen next, but for now we know there is still an appetite for the mystery genre and it doesn’t seem to be changing.”
Banijay has acquired the format rights from Cowshed Studios, the production arm of creative agency Cowshed Collective. Brokering the deal was 53 Degrees North Media’s Luci Sanan, a veteran of the formats game who worked in sales for Banijay back in the early 2010s.
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For Banijay, Infiltrators is a latest third-party acquisition following the likes of The Fortune Hotel from Tuesday’s Child, which was for ITV; Genius Game from CJ ENM, adapted for ITV by Banijay UK’s Remarkable Television, with David Tennant hosting; and Bloody Game, which originated on Korea’s MBC and has since landed a recommission in Norway on TV2. The company’s in-house formats include Love Triangle, MasterChef, Big Brother and Survivor, and upcoming Netflix shows Bear Hunt and Building a Band (working title).
“We’re always looking to discover new content from all sources, and this unique deal showcases the brilliant creativity we seek to complement our own IP portfolio,” said Greatorex. “With its high viewership and retention, and strong potential for recommissions, this budget-friendly format is well-suited for production companies across Banijay Entertainment looking to pitch series with elements of escape rooms, strategic gameplay, and popular game shows.”
Cowshed Creative co-founder and CEO George Cowin called the format “highly adaptable” and predicted that while it had launched on a digital-first channel in the UK, it could “easily sit on linear or streaming platforms.”
In an interview with Deadline, Greatorex noted that thanks to shows such as The Traitors, The Anonymous and Destination X, “buyers are looking for formats with strategic gameplay.”
Beside The Infiltrators, Banijay is also shopping ITV ‘whogotit’ series The Fortune Hotel, in which contestants at a luxury Caribbean resort have to uncover who is in possession of a briefcase full of cash; and Korean show Bloody Games, in which contestants avoid elimination from a house by forming alliances and engaging in player-to-player conspiracies whilst competing in a series of games.
“The Infiltrators adds to the spectrum of shows we’ve got at different price points, with different broadcasters in mind,” she added. “It needs to be localized very cleverly, but at the nuts and bolts, it is a really good game. It’s great to have something that offers a route to a younger audience and provides channels with different cost points.”
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