CBS Lines Up Game Show Based on Candy Crush App

NEW YORK: CBS has placed an order for Candy Crush, a new one-hour live-action game show inspired by the hit mobile game franchise Candy Crush Saga.

CBS, Lionsgate and King will collaborate on the new format created and executive produced by Matt Kunitz that will be distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution and internationally by Lionsgate. In the show, teams of two use their intelligence and physical abilities to compete on enormous, interactive game boards featuring next-generation technology. A presenter will be announced at a later time.

Candy Crush will be produced by Pulse Creative in association with Lionsgate Television, King and CBS Television Studios. Kunitz, Peter Levin, Russell Binder, Nicki Sheard (VP of brand at King) and Sebastian Knutsson will serve as executive producers. Knutsson is King’s chief creative officer and is one of the founders of the company. He also created Candy Crush Saga.

“We are huge fans of Candy Crush and, like so many others, we know the ‘rush’ of advancing to the next level of the game,” said Glenn Geller, the president of CBS Entertainment. “We’re excited to work with Lionsgate and King to adapt one of the world’s most popular and entertaining game franchises for television and make it available to its massive, passionate fan base who can watch and play along at home.”

“The Candy Crush franchise is a world-renowned property, so when the head of our interactive and games division, Peter Levin, brought this IP to Lionsgate, we instantly knew it would make an incredibly visual, physical and fun TV program,” said Kevin Beggs, the chairman of Lionsgate Television Group. “CBS is a leader in unscripted television, which makes it the ideal home for Candy Crush, and we’re very happy to have Matt shepherding the production as we partner with the team at King on this series with the tremendous second-screen potential.”

Levin, the president of interactive ventures and games at Lionsgate, noted: “We have a very entrepreneurial culture at Lionsgate, so we look for awesome worldwide IP like Candy Crush and work together across divisions to bring it to fans on every platform possible. Everyone who has played it knows that Candy Crush is an exciting, visual switcher game with great characters, and Matt and our alternative television team are working closely with Sebastian Knutsson and his creative team at King to bring it to life on CBS.”

“The Candy Crush franchise lends itself perfectly to the kind of larger-than-life, physical game shows that I love to produce and CBS is the perfect home for it,” stated Kunitz. “As a Candy Crush Saga player myself, I am excited to amp up the action and visuals in our huge Candy Crush Arena.”

Knutsson added: “The Candy Crush franchise has been loved by players around the world on mobile so it’s very exciting to be working with Matt and the team to bring the fun and challenge of the Candy Crush games to television. We hope our players will be entertained by what is set to be a high-energy, challenging game show.”