What formats will define 2017 At MIPTV this afternoon, The Wit CEO Virginia Mouseler showcased the most buzz-worthy ones they’ve identified, and the wider TV trends that they fit within.
In prior years, dating shows boomed … and now there’s the bust, with a main theme being rekindling the flame.
The shows she spotlighted follow:
Sex Tape (Amaze formats) follows three couples as they try spicing up their lives … by filming a sex tape and revealing it to other couples and a sexologist.
On Top with Goedele (Talpa Global): A famous female TV sexologist helps couples improve their sex lives.
Double Temptation (Telemundo): Seven couples, including celebs, are subjected to physical challenges… including the “double temptation”: resisting their attraction to 14 attractive singletons.
Sexy Reality (Telefe): 12 fiancéd couples must separate for 5 months with members of other couples. They compete weekly to avoid elimination, with the last couple standing scoring a dream wedding ceremony and a house. It’s the ultimate stag and hen party!
Do You Want to Marry Us? (Talpa Global) It’s reality TV meets the Brady Bunch: Two couples, with kids from previous relationships, battle to win a dream wedding. Watch these patchwork families take on hilarious challenges!
Mirror of Truth (NBCU): Sick of those socks on the floor? Eight couples in crisis go through intensive therapy before deciding to stay together or call it quits before a “mirror of truth.” Notably, couples are shown what they’ll look like, or where they’ll be, in eight years if they don’t change bad habits. (One woman, who overeats, explodes in her simulation. The woman then begins to cry.)
Rewind Love (DRG): A couple in crisis goes on a journey to reestablish contact in symbolic destinations from their past that mean something, accompanied by a counselor. They must leave their rings behind, casting them symbolically out of their existing dynamic. The show calls itself a “well-meaning social experiment, and as in Mirror of Truth, the couple must ultimately decide whether or not to remain together.
One Night With My Ex (TwoFour Rights): Long-lost exes reunite for 24 hours in an apartment, left to confront their past, ask burning questions and discuss why their relationship ended in the first place. Who might rekindle an old flame? And is anyone ready for the harsh truths that may come to light?
Wild Therapy (Banijay Rights): Couples at breaking point try a radical form of therapy: A journey into the wilderness, accompanied by an ex-Special Forces soldier (and life coach!). Will they survive (literally)?
A Whole New Beginning (Talpa Global): Three families leave it all behind to move to a remote location in South America, each gifted a piece of land and some cash. In one year, they must create a whole new life. Will they return to their old lives, or remain in the new one? (Oh, yeah: Also, their accounts are frozen and they have to sell everything.)
Hotel Römantiek (TNFP): A group of seniors seeking love set off on a trip to a peaceful Swiss hotel. It’s essentially the plot to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, coupled with fun challenges made to cultivate romantic pairing and rekindle a lust for life … including pushups and sky-gliding.
Spring Break with Grandad (VIMN): “That is not the grandson that I brought up!” Eight party animals must survive spring break… with their grandparents by their side.
The Game of Dating (Passion Distribution): In this lovechild of dating games and trivia, groups of friends, family, cast members and teammates watch real dates on video and answer questions about the couples. Each question puts more money on the line until one team proves themselves the master for $10,000.
Game of Clones (The Story Lab): A singleton builds an avatar of the ideal partner, then meets eight real dates who are perfect clones of what they want. Each night, one clone will be dropped! At the end of eight nights, will the last clone standing score love … or get stood up via video message?
Handyman Wanted (Banijay Rights): 3 single women renovate their homes—and perhaps find true love— when 18 craftsmen compete for their hearts (and business).
Naked (Tuvalu Media): Two people are dropped on the outskirts of an unknown city, in a foreign country where they don’t speak the language. They have 24 hours to find each other. While totally naked.
The Bridge (ESG): 15 strangers meet in the wild, tasked with building a bridge using only their bare hands, within 30 days. The prize: A treasure of 100.000€, hidden 300 meters away from them on a remote island (hence the need for the bridge). Once the bridge is built, the team must vote to decide who gets it. The winner can also choose to share the money.
The Bravest (Banijay Rights): In this test of mettle, two teams of eight contestants must face their most extreme physical and mental fears. At some point, a contestant will enter “The Vault of Secrets,” where they’ll learn the greatest fears of one fellow competitor—knowledge that may well change the odds entirely. Losers are eliminated.
Stranded with a Million Dollars (VIMN): 10 contestants are stranded on an island with nothing but $1 million. The goal is to survive the next 40 days, after which they can split the money. The challenge: They can buy whatever they need, but everything is prohibitively expensive … and comes out of the prize money.
Cash Island (Vivendi Entertaiment): 10 candidates are charged with finding treasure on an island, which takes literally minutes. The one who succeeds must hide her success for the duration of the format, because others can take it from her. It’s a bit like assassin. The manhunt starts now!
Lost in Time (FremantleMedia): Three contestants, transported to VR worlds, compete in challenges against the clock. Viewers can also compete, using an app that sets them against the contestants and other players in real-time.
Cheap Cheap Cheap (Hat Trick International): In a fictional general store, contestants must compete to determine which item is cheapest in a given set. The better they are at guessing what’s cheap, the more money they win. Winners could make up to £25.000 … and losers get nothing (appropriately cheap)
Funderdome (MGM): Entrepreneurs pitch ideas to a live studio audience, which decides who gets funding.
The Final Four (Armoza Formats): Four superstar-caliber singers are chosen for the finals in every episode of this curiously musical chairs-ish show—where, also in each episode, challengers must compete to steal a seat from one of them.
Prank Star (Gil Formats): Quite simply, this is a search for the country’s best prankster, and a modern take on the “hidden camera” genre. Each week is themed, obliging them to create characters and plan complex pranks on chosen targets. Pranksters are judged by a panel of comedians.
I Know What Your Pet Did (Stepping Stone): Does the dog prefer steak, sushi or a healthy salad? More to the point—how well do you know your pet? Contestants must guess how their pets will react in hidden-camera situations.
