New year, new formats for the market.
Seefood TV’s entertainment reality show The Box, a paper format that launched at MIPCOM in Cannes last October, is rolling out on a pair of European countries ahead of its local launch on TV2 in Norway.
RTL Nederlands and TV2 in Denmark have both commissioned local versions ahead of The Box‘s debut on TV2 on Thursday (January 9). The Danish version will launch later this year, no word on RTL’s plan yet.
The show has steadily been building a head of steam, as Europe’s TV networks search for the next Traitors or Destination X.
“We greatly appreciate the international interest in The Box,” said Aleksander Herresthal, creator and producer at Seefood TV, which is known for Norwegian show Kompani Lauritzen among others. “Discussions are ongoing with more than 20 territories considering the format, and we’ve already finalized deals in five additional countries, which will be announced at a later stage, as they are not yet official.”
Over 10 episodes, the show sees 12 celebrity contestants placed in separate boxes. When the box opens, they immediately find themselves in the middle of a challenge and must work out what to do. Each ep ends with a pair of contestants engaging in a duel to stay in the game. “The Box is an entirely new and original reality format of high quality,” said TV2’s Program Director in Norway, Trygve Rønningen.
Unusually for modern format dealmaking, the show has secured international remakes before launching locally. Generally, networks have avoided paper formats and focused on shows that have proven track records.
“We are incredibly proud to have the opportunity to bring such a large and spectacular reality concept to life, especially one based on a paper format we’ve developed ourselves,” said Herresthal. “It’s rare to see this happen today, but Seefood TV and TV2 are showing that it’s possible when the concept is both strong and original.”
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