BBC Studios Licenses Pair of Formats in Italy

BBC Studios has landed deals that will see the competition format The Great Sewing Bee and the guessing game This is MY House being adapted for Discovery in Italy.

The six-part Italian version of The Great Sewing Bee will be produced locally by Blu Yazmine. It is due to air on discovery+ in June 2022, followed by Real Time in the fall. Known locally as Tailor Made—Chi ha la stoffa?, the competition shines a light on ordinary people with a special set of seamstress skills. The local version is hosted by Tommaso Zorzi.

The Great Sewing Bee has previously been licensed to markets such as Spain, Portugal and Norway.

Created by Richard Bacon and Nick Weidenfeld and produced by Expectation for BBC One, This is MY House is set to air next month on Real Time. This is the second international adaptation of the format, following the license to Talpa Network in the Netherlands. A second, ten-part season is set to air on BBC One in the U.K.

André Renaud, senior VP of global format sales for BBC Studios, said: “It is fantastic news that the Discovery Network will be bringing local adaptations of The Great Sewing Bee and This is MY House to an Italian audience. Audience demand for feel-good entertainment series continues apace, and both formats have a proven track record for drawing audiences across all age groups. The Great Sewing Bee’s blend of competition and creative flair has universal audience appeal, whilst This is MY House offers a new twist on the guessing game format playing brilliantly on our natural curiosities by allowing us to snoop into other people’s homes with a huge helping of humor.”

Laura Carafoli, senior VP, chief content officer for Discovery Italy, said: “After the great success of Bake Off, our long-standing partnership with BBC Studios continues to expand, with a shared goal of bringing top-shelf content to the Italian market. We are thrilled to finally bring to Italy, whose sartorial expertise is acknowledged all over the world, a format devoted to fashion and sartorial abilities. The Italian version of Sewing Bee not only will entertain and engage the audience with challenges and dream dresses but will also shed light on the craftsmanship, creativity and innovation that make the ‘Made in Italy’ so unique. With This is My House, we will bring back on Real Time the ‘property,’ one of our audience’s favorite genres, with a new entertaining twist that makes it bolder and funnier for our prime time.”