Media Ranch Lands Format Options, Co-Dev Deal

Media Ranch has sealed multiple option deals for its virtual reality dating format Too Shy to Date, in addition to entering into a co-development deal with Korea’s Something Special.

Media Ranch signed a multi-territory option deal with Banijay for Too Shy to Date, covering Initial for the U.K., Adventure Line Productions in France and SimpelZodiak in the Netherlands. The show has also been optioned by Figure 8 in the U.S.

The social experiment takes eight introverted people who experience social anxiety and cannot find love in real life and has them enter a virtual reality world to match with a mate. The show was originally created and produced by DR in Denmark.

Media Ranch closed a new co-development deal on an adventure-challenge format with the Korean format agency Something Special. Media Ranch closed an option in Germany with Tresor TV for Something Special’s factual celebrity healthy lifestyle format Miracle Habits.

Tanja van der Goes, Media Ranch’s senior VP, said: “Media Ranch is thrilled with our latest news including signing formats options in Europe, the U.K. and the U.S. for Too Shy to Date—a fantastic program showcasing how virtual reality can be infused into programming to help overcome social anxiety. Additionally, as Media Ranch is known globally for its creativity, via both our Horsepower incubator and successful paper formats such as Watch!, we are pleased to extend our partnership with Korea’s Something Special to include even more original programming ideation, as well as announcing an option for their format Miracle Habits. These projects showcase Media Ranch’s growing international creative and distribution footprint. And stay tuned for upcoming production announcements.”

Jin Woo Hwang, founder and president of Something Special, said: “We are excited to expand our wonderful partnership with Media Ranch to include format co-development and create exciting new global IP. We also are pleased that Media Ranch has taken our popular healthy lifestyle format, Miracle Habits, to Germany. We look forward to an evolving creative business collaboration with Sophie, Tanja and the team.”