At Fresh TV’s MIPFormats session this afternoon, Virginia Mouseler, CEO of TV observatory The WIT, gave a roundup of what popular factual and reality formats would invade our screens this year.
Shared themes include glimpses of life from different perspectives (including four-year-olds’!), a culture clash of food formats, and a unique exploration of crafts.
Find her selection, culled from The WIT’s extensive database, right here:
The Secret Life of 4-Year-Olds (Zodiak Rights, UK)
10 four-year-olds are followed when they meet for the first time in a specially-equipped nursery. Scientists periodically test their reactions to everyday dilemmas. Who knows what hijinks, and profound human moments, they’ll encounter?
Point of You (Createit Studio, Israel)
This is a mix between today’s ‘secret life’ and ‘Go-Pro’ trends: experience life from the perspective of three mystery characters via their HD spy glasses. Will you guess whom each of them is by the last episode?
Secret Chef (Ohm.tv, Spain)
A foreign chef tries out traditional dishes and has 48 hours to work out how they were prepared. Then he prepares it in front of the local chef. A jury decides his success.
A Little Taste of Home (Small World, USA)
A celeb cooks his or her favourite recipe, then revisits the family tree to learn where that recipe came from.
Dinner Times (WBITV, UK)
What if your own kitchen was a time machine? A family travels back in time to experience how people cooked and ate from the ’50s to the present. Every episode focuses on them struggling with the appliances, clothing and ingredients of one decade.
Eat Well For Less (Zodiak, UK)
Two experts show a family how to shop, cook and eat for less by swapping their kitchen products out with de-branded alternatives. When, at the end, families choose what they liked most, will they discover their tastes have changed… or that their favourite goodies have been swapped for a less-costly alternative?
Real Men (Red Arrow, Denmark)
Five regular guys get five months to prep for one of the toughest triathlons in the world. A personal coach and celebrity guests help them prep… but will they be able to ditch the beer and cigarettes and change their lives?
Make Me Over (La Fabrica de Tele, Spain)
Contestants stand on a moving 15-metre catwalk and have 90 seconds to persuade at least one of the three stylists of the show to give them a makeover. Will they make it to the end of the catwalk and get the revamp they’re dreaming of?
The Unemployables (DRG, Ireland)
Struggling young people are helped off the dole by engaging in challenging tasks and style makeovers, and dealing with personal truths from friends, over the course of a month. Hosts do everything they can to get these unemployables a job. You may pick up a few success skills, too.
Made in Denmark (Zodiak Rights, Denmark)
Seven craftspeople compete to be crowned the nation’s best craftsperson. In the last ep, each must produce a final item by combining their craft with something they’ve learnt from others.
The Crimewriters (Zodiak Rights, Sweden)
Think of this as the ‘secret life’ trend for crime authors — or even Cluedo! Six famous crime writers move into a secluded inn together to solve a mystery murder. Of course, the murderer is among them — providing a unique spotlight into what provides a given writer with their inspiration, and with their style.
Check out MIPTV, MIP Digital Fronts, MIPDoc & MIPFormats 2015 full live coverage
