BBC Worldwide Readies New Formats for MIPCOM

LONDON: BBC Worldwide is bringing nine new formats across a range of genres, such as the scripted series Misfits and the comedy panel game show Epic Win, to MIPCOM.

Available to buyers at MIPCOM, Misfits has already sold to more than 90 territories, and the BAFTA-winning series from Clerkenwell Films will be available as a scripted format for the first time. The series is about five rebellious teenagers who get superpowers while doing community service as payback for their crimes.

Epic Win sees people with unusual talents taking on challenges in front of a panel of comedians and celebrities. Also up for sale is Hot Like Us, a reality format about model couples who live together and compete in modeling assignments and challenges. The winners receive a modeling contract at a top agency. Show Me The Funny: Stand-up Showdown features comedians performing in new locations each week, completing themed tasks and performing fresh material in front of a panel of judges.

Two new family formats include Project Parent, which gives kids control over their single parents, who are put to the test as they attempt to change their image and find love. Daddy Daycare sends three men with little experience caring for children to look after dozens of kids in a busy nursery.

Home Is Where the Heart Is features celebrities mentoring homeless people for two weeks, taking them into their homes to help turn their lives around. Chick Fix is a makeover program that sees four successful women confront different problems. Young, Bad and Barking is about dog owners re-evaluating their lives and improving their relationships with their dogs.

Elin Thomas, the VP of format licensing EMEA for BBC Worldwide, said, “We’re incredibly proud of our colorful MIPCOM slate, there’s a real sense that we’ve got something for everyone. Whether you’re looking for studio based madness, social experiments, female empowerment or reality competitions, all human life is here in BBCW’s format catalogue, with the one element in common being that they are all hugely entertaining.”