BBC Worldwide Format to Receive Moroccan Treatment

CANNES: BBC Worldwide has licensed the reality format The Week the Women Went to Made in Morocco Films for Moroccan state broadcaster 2M TV.

The Moroccan Arabic title of the local version translates to Madam Goes Travelling, which will air starting tomorrow to coincide with a national holiday that celebrates Moroccan women, Journée nationale de la femme Marocaine. The Week the Women Went shows what happens when women leave their community for a week and how the men cope with domestic life. There is already a local French version, and other licensees include VRT in Belgium, CBC in Canada, TV2 in Denmark, YLE in Finland, RTL2 in Germany, SBS in Holland, Star Plus in India, TV2 in Norway, SVT in Sweden, Studio 1+1 in Ukraine and Lifetime in the U.S.

Matt Paice, the executive VP of international production at BBC Worldwide, said, “In television we often talk about shows as ‘social experiments.’ The Moroccan version of The Week the Women Went—the first ever in a Muslim country—will be one of the biggest social experiments ever initiated by BBC Worldwide. The series has real purpose and real warmth, and the fact that it will be broadcast on National Women’s Day makes us very proud to be part of it.”

Zakia Tahiri, the producer and director at Made in Morocco Films, commented, “Questions about the role of women in society are at the forefront of the national consciousness in Morocco, especially during this time of upheaval in the Arab world. This format tackles these questions in an entertaining way, and Moroccan viewers are sure to find it fascinating.”