Armoza Sends The Surprise Teacher to France, Spain

Armoza Formats has licensed the factual-entertainment format The Surprise Teacher to Banijay Productions in France and Atresmedia’s Verte in Spain.

Made by Palomar Productions, The Surprise Teacher looks on as a celebrity surprises a class of high school students as their substitute teacher. The original version, locally titled Il Supplente, began airing last week on Italy’s RAI2.

Florence Fayard, the head of management at Banijay Productions France, remarked: “We immediately loved The Surprise Teacher because of its emotional capacity, intelligence and its strong ability to bring generations together and back to their screens. Thanks to the emotional encounters between the students and celebrities, this format gives our viewers the opportunity to discuss the societal themes it deals with and that concern them all. This exchange provides the basis for the strength of this format, and that is why we believe in its success and are so happy to be bringing it to France.”

Jorge Perez, executive producer at Verte, noted: “The Surprise Teacher is a format in which we have a lot of belief, for two main reasons. The first is that it presents a rewarding dialogue between young people who are on the cusp of many important decisions and a celebrity who gives them a vital lesson based on his experience. The second point is the insight into our country’s younger generation’s thoughts, interests and inspirations that is not currently represented in television enough.”

Avi Armoza, the CEO of Armoza Formats, added: “The Surprise Teacher creates unforgettable experiences for both the students involved and the viewers, while providing broadcasters with the rare chance to bring both entertainment and strong values back to TV viewing. We are thrilled that Banijay Productions France and Verte will be working on this show in their countries to bring these unique stories to their audiences.”