Hot Picks: Undressed

Undressed is a makeover show with a difference, exploring whether changing your clothes can change your life.

Each episode starts with a ‘reading’, where host Kathryn Eisman examines what a participant is wearing and, through their clothes alone, identifies key elements of their personality, as well as their hopes, fears and frustrations.

“Kathryn is really intuitive and warm, and goes behind the clothes to see who these people truly are,” says Liz Tang, executive director of acquisitions at distributor Fifth Season (formerly Endeavor Content).

“Using her gifts, she works out what the participants’ characters are like, what they’re trying to say through their clothes, and how they are actually portraying themselves to others, then suggests ways they can change their wardrobe and their life.”

Tang describes the show as a twist on a familiar genre. “This will speak to an audience with an interest in psychology as well as the mass market, because it touches on so many parts of the psyche and why people behave the way they do and dress in certain ways,” she says.

“It has classic makeover and transformation show elements, where you get the big reveal, but it also goes deeper, looking at the topic in an emotional capacity.”

Undressed will also satisfy the increasing number of people seeking lighter, aspirational content, Tang says.

“This is the type of show that could go to a platform-first window world, or territory by territory”

A co-production between Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories and Mother Media Group, the series will air on Channel 10 in Eisman’s native Australia and Paramount+ in Australia.

Tang says the series is continuing the partnership between Fifth Season and Made Up Stories forged on high-profile scripted shows including Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers and HBO’s The Undoing.

Undressed is Made Up Stories’ first unscripted project and Tang says its experience in drama has been called on to tell the backstories of the participants in a “cinematic and compassionate way”.

Fifth Season has already begun presenting the show to buyers ahead of Mipcom. “This is the type of show that could go to a platform-first window world, or territory by territory,” Tang says. “There’s really broad appeal there.”