Monday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

Monday, 2.58pm: Fremantle snags Scrabble rights

Fremantle is to reboot Scrabble for international buyers after acquiring international production and tape distribution rights to The CW’s US TV gameshow Scrabble from Hasbro Entertainment and Mattel.

Under the new deal, Fremantle will produce the new-look series for audiences around the world. The US show was originally developed and produced by Hasbro Entertainment, Mattel Television Studios and Lionsgate Alternative for The CW, David Garfinkle, Gabriel Marano, and Michelle Mendelovitz served as executive producers.

It launched on The CW in October and sees wordsmiths battle it out by playing a series of Scrabble-inspired word games on a giant board in the centre of the set to win cash prizs.

Fremantle’s acquisition of production rights will enable it “to create a fresh, engaging take on the classic game for international territories”, the RTL Group-owned company said. The company holds distribution rights to the original US format. 

Monday, 2pm: Sky original film chief to exit

Julia Stuart, director of original film at Sky, is leaving the company at the end of March.

Stuart has headed up Sky’s original film division for six years, working across a slate of titles including Lee, Ferrari and The Beekeeper. Alongside a day-and-date model, she also became a keen champion of the theatrical release model for Sky Original films.

The role will not be replaced, with Stuart’s team, including head of original film Andrew Orr and commissioning manager Laura Grange, now set to report into Sky’s Meghan Lyvers, executive director of original scripted, UK & Ireland.

Monday, 11.59am: Opinion on Mip London and London TV Screenings

Check out format expert Siobhan Crawford’s take on last week’s Mip London and London TV Screenings, as she casts a format-skewing eye over proceedings. Read more

Monday, 11.31am: Hearst Networks explores Two Sides of History

Hearst Networks EMEA is linking up with Eline van der Velden’s Particle6 Productions on a five-part show that brings together two people from different backgrounds who are linked by the same event from recent history.

Two Sides of History will feature personal testimony and perspective as the duo discuss their own unique views and reflect on how the subject has shaped their lives.

At the end of each episode, there is a moment of final reflection, when the guests step back to process what they have heard and learned from each other.

The show is expected to deliver in April and topics on the slate include the 1980s’ Miners’ Strike and the Covid-19 Pandemic, which will feature a frontline doctor and an anti-vaxxer. Read more

Monday, 11.01am: ITV orders from Flynn’s Plegazoid 

David Flynn’s nascent label Plegazoid has secured its first commission with ITV1 daytime quiz Time Is Money.

Co-developed and produced with South Shore, with which Plegazoid has a development deal, Time Is Money hinges on contestants being given their prize money before they’ve answered a question, but must race against time to keep it. Dragon’s Den star and entrepreneur Sara Davies will oversee proceedings as contestants must answer questions correctly to retain their prize fund.

They will stand before an hourglass-shaped podium filled with thousands of pounds called the Money Timer and must speedily answer correctly or watch their money disappear in front of them. The final player remaining will take home everything they’ve managed to save.

Monday, 10.10am: Synchronicity options Isabel Dalhousie novels

The Tattooist of Auschwitz producer Synchronicity Films has optioned rights to the Isabel Dalhousie novels from author Alexander McCall Smith.

Screenwriter Andrea Gibb (Mayflies) is attached to adapt for TV and All3Media International is on board to distribute the show, which aims to be a returnable series that tracks Dalhousie, who is neither a detective nor a police officer, but rather a philosopher and the editor of the Journal of Applied Ethics.

The show will be set in Scotland and is in development as a 6 x 60 minute series. Synchronicity’s Claire Mundell and Deanne Cunningham will executive produce, alongside Gibb and McCall Smith. The Isabel Dalhousie series currently consists of fifteen novels, the most recent addition is The Conditions of Unconditional Love. 

Monday, 9.52am: Swedens TV4 lands BBCS format duo

TV4 in Sweden has picked up rights to BBC Studios gameshow format, Nation’s Dumbest, and paranormal format, Uncanny.

The shows will be produced by BBC Studios Nordic Production and are based on Norway-based Montreux Film and Fjernsyn’s gameshow format, Nation’s Dumbest, and BBCS paranormal format, Uncanny.

Both formats will be produced by the Nordic arm of BBCS in Spring and air later this year. BBC Studios has also signed a deal with Swedish national public broadcaster SVT for Curve Media’s format, Our Dementia Choir, which goes into production in August.

Nation’s Dumbest sees 12 celebrities trying to get eliminated in a series of physical and mental rounds to avoid being crowned the winner. The comedy gameshow format originated as Norges Dummeste (Norway’s Dumbest) and began airing on Norway’s public broadcaster TV2 in August 2024.

Uncanny is inspired by BBC Sounds podcast of the same name and delves into investigations into the supernatural world, featuring real-life stories of apparently supernatural encounters.

Our Dementia Choir follows a personality who joins forces with specialists from the fields of medicine, music therapy and performance to explore pioneering techniques and cutting- edge technology that reveal how music can stimulate a brain damaged by dementia. Across the series, a very special choir consisting of people living with dementia share their stories and rehearse together, culminating in a powerful final performance.

Monday, 9.23am: BBC names Stranded on Honeymoon host

Davina McCall is to host BBC1/ CPL’s desert island dating show Stranded On Honeymoon Island.  

Produced by the Married At First Sight and Love Is Blind indie, the show will follow 12 singles as they are matched, get married and start their honeymoon on a tropical island, fending for themselves with few resources.

Monday, 9.10am: WBD hires Binge’s Beohm

Warner Bros Discovery has hired John Beohm from Binge as its senior director of content planning and scheduling in Australia.

The appointment comes ahead of WBD’s streamer Max launching in Australia at the end of this month, a move that will see local streamer Binge losing HBO content.

Beohm had been at Binge since 2021 and was most recently director of content. He has also had stints at BBC Worldwide (now known as BBC Studios), Stan and SBS.

Beohm will work across Max’s content in Australia, and reports into Magdalene Ew, head of content and streaming at WBD APAC.

Monday, 8.58am: Banijay to turn musical chairs into a TV show

Banijay Entertainment’s Spanish label Shine Iberia is to produce a competition format based on the childhood party game of musical chairs.

Game of Chairs sees a group of 10 contestants circle a group of nine chairs until the music stops and whoever is left without a seat is eliminated.

As the seats are gradually removed, the prize pot grows, until the final victor faces The Master Chair in a bid to win the grand prize. If they fail, they will compete again the next day alongside the last four eliminated contestants and a fresh batch of five competitors. Read more