SCI FI Greenlights New Reality Competition Pilot

NEW YORK, December 7: SCI FI Channel has given the go-ahead
for a new reality competition pilot, Run For Money, based on a hit Japanese format from Fuji Television.

The pilot is set to
begin production in January in Los Angeles. Run For Money is an action-packed series that pits a group of
contestants against each other in a quest for cash prizes, while being stalked
relentlessly by “hunters.” The show takes place over one hour of real time in
various landmark locations. The competition gets more difficult as the clock
winds down, as more hunters are on the streets, the perimeter gets smaller and
the tasks assigned test fraying nerves. Contestants can choose to opt out at
any time, but for each second they “stay alive,” they earn additional money. If
they get overrun by a hunter while they’re playing the game, they lose
everything. The last person standing takes the prize.

The series is executive produced by Scott Messick and Mess
Media for Disney's Buena Vista Productions and Fujisankei Communications
International.

“Run For Money is a
fun, fast-paced, thriller of a show," explained Mark Stern, SCI FI’s
executive VP of original programming, "and fits nicely with our reality
agenda of putting ordinary people in wild, extraordinary situations. It's
high-adrenaline fun; part sport, part real-life videogame."

—By Kristin Brzoznowski