Studio Lambert & The Garden for Netflix
As one judge pointed out, the decision to turn the deadly fictional gameshow from the Korean drama Squid Game into a real-life competition was “an incredibly brave commission that could have gone horribly wrong – but delivered a truly unique reality entertainment show that found both loyal and new audiences”.
In keeping with the original concept, the show kicked off with a whopping 456 players playing Red Light Green Light, necessitating the use of the largest indoor space in Britain – Carrington Studios, a 100,000 square foot former air hangar.
The surviving players were then moved into a complex of six interconnected sound stages to continue their bid to win a life-changing $4.56m. There, amid faithful recreations of the show’s iconic sets, they lived and competed for the next 16 days, taking part in playground-inspired games – some from the original drama and some completely new.
Some elements of the set for example, the famous piggy bank which fills up with cash as players are eliminated, were CGI in the original drama, meaning Studio Lambert had to build practical versions for the first time. By the final episode, the cash-filled piggybank weighed more than 800 kgs.
The result of all this work, one judge said, was “a show that’s rewritten the rules of reality”, showcasing “outstanding storytelling, production design and execution”.
Another described it as “the apex of entertainment shows – an addictive spectacle that combines nail-biting competition with astounding scale to invent a whole new genre of prestige entertainment”.
SHORTLISTED
A League of Their Own
CPL Productions for Sky Max
With brand new team captain Jill Scott and series regular Mo Gilligan joining Romesh Ranganathan, Jamie Redknapp and Micah Richards, series 18 of A League of Their Own brings together high profile comedians and global sporting superstars for big laughs, revealing anecdotes and huge scale games.
Gladiators
Hungry Bear Media and MGM Television for BBC
The return of one of British TV’s most iconic shows exceeded all expectations, with the launch episode watched by 9.8 million people, making it the BBC’s biggest entertainment launch in seven years. Its blend of classic nostalgic elements from the original series and exciting new additions also helped to deliver five times the benchmark for younger audience.
Love Is Blind: UK
CPL Productions for Netflix
Following versions in the US, Brazil, Japan, and Sweden, CPL Productions took on the challenge of putting a distinctly British spin on the Netflix hit where men and women looking for soulmates meet in pods which allow them to talk but not see each other.
The 1% Club
Magnum Media for ITV1
This logic-based quiz format offers a fun family entertainment show with primetime production values. The third season kicked off its extended 16-episode run by achieving a 28-day viewership of 6m for its launch – the show’s highest-ever figure. Episode two promptly broke this record with 6.1m, which was then in turn surpassed by episode six’s 6.2m viewers.
The Traitors
Studio Lambert for BBC
Following the word-of-mouth success of the first series of The Traitors, expectations around the second series were high, and with just two and half months to turn the edit around – half the time taken for series one – the pressure was on. Fortunately, the series’ diverse cast stole the show and, along with some exciting tweaks to the format, secured a 7-day audience of 8 million for the finale.
AWARD SPONSORED BY BBC Studioworks
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