MIPCOM Spotlight: Paramount Global Content Distribution

The classic game show Wheel of Fortune, on offer from Paramount Global Content Distribution, ranks as the second highest-rated series in U.S. syndication, reaching more than 9 million viewers nightly.

“Wheel of Fortune is classic, iconic, current and hugely successful,” says Paul Gilbert, senior VP of international formats. “We currently have it optioned or licensed in more than 20 countries. Not bad for a 42-year-old show that just never stops giving.”

There’s also Pictionary, based on the classic board game. “In today’s environment of smaller production budgets, it’s an extremely low-cost production, with as many as seven episodes recorded in a day,” Gilbert says. “Pictionary is family viewing at its finest.”

The hoax reality series The Joe Schmo Show is returning in 2024. The show originally debuted in 2003 and “quickly became a cult classic,” says Gilbert.

Part of Paramount Global Content Distribution’s factual slate, Crush retells the events of the tragic Korean Halloween stampede in 2022 through eye-witness accounts of a group of international friends.

“It is a powerful two-part docuseries that gets up close to the terrifying scenes while also exploring themes of governmental negligence that led to the disaster,” says Lauren Marriott, senior VP of content partnerships and brand strategy.

Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court examines the role the Supreme Court plays in the ongoing fight for civil liberties in the context of America’s shifting political landscape, “a topic that intrigues viewers from around the world and is never far from global headlines,” Marriott says.

All Up in the Biz shines a spotlight on the life and rhymes of Biz Markie.

“We are bringing a diverse slate of unscripted titles to MIPCOM and have everything from award-winning feature documentaries to outrageous reality series—with a whole range in between,” Marriott adds.

The bilingual heroine Dora the Explorer returns in Dora, a featured kids’ series from the company. The title “encompasses all the adventure of the previous series and takes it to another level, with faster, more epic action,” says Lauren Marriott, senior VP of content partnerships and brand strategy. Objectives found in the prior iteration, such as solving problems and overcoming obstacles, remain present.

More top titles include Bossy Bear and Rock, Paper, Scissors. Bossy Bear, a brand-new preschool show, centers on the unlikely companionship between the extroverted Bossy Bear and the introverted Turtle, leaving friendship at the core of the show. Rock, Paper, Scissors follows three best friends (a rock, a paper and a pair of scissors) who share an apartment and compete over just about everything.

Marriott adds, “We are very much open for business in distributing our kids’ and family franchises to partners in all parts of the globe.”

Elsbeth, from Robert and Michelle King and produced by CBS Studios, is featured among Paramount’s drama slate. Carrie Preston stars as Elsbeth Tascioni from The Good Wife and The Good Fight. The character is an astute but unconventional attorney who, after her successful career in Chicago, utilizes her skills to corner criminals alongside the NYPD.

Matlock, starring Kathy Bates, is inspired by the classic television series of the same name. “With Kathy Bates at the helm, we believe the series will resonate with viewers across the globe,” says Lisa Kramer, president of international licensing.

Also a featured title, The Turkish Detective is a drama set in Istanbul following Inspector Cetin Ikmen and Detective Mehmet Suleyman as they solve each unique case across sets of two episodes.

“The slate we have to present encompasses gripping storytelling and incredible talent in front of and behind the cameras and is relatable to viewers across the globe,” says Kramer.