Formats Trending This Summer

A host of format adaptations have been making waves on social media this summer, with the trend-trackers at The WIT charting those with the greatest followings on Instagram. Reality competitions performed particularly well over the last few months, with adaptations of Big Brother, Drag Race and Got Talent, especially those in Latin America, generating lots of buzz.

Las Estrellas’ La Casa de los Famosos México, an adaptation of Telemundo’s show of the same name, which is itself an iteration of Celebrity Big Brother, shone after its premiere in June, garnering a whopping 938,000 followers. Hosted by actor and comedian Galilea Montijo and actor Diego de Erice, who have sizable followings of 10.3 million and 405,000, respectively, the show’s contestants included big names such as Sofia Rivera Torres, María Fernanda Quiroz, Emilio Osorio, Nicola Porcella and many more, adding to its appeal with viewers.

Another adaptation from the Big Brother franchise sparked interest this summer, with the first Chilean iteration of Big Brother, Gran Hermano, bowing on Chilevisión in June and amassing 113,000 followers on Instagram. The hosts, journalist Diana Bolocco and TV presenter Julio César Rodríguez, brought their own notable followings to the show, with each counting 1.7 million and 1.4 million followers, respectively. The first edition of Chile’s show was filmed at the Argentinean Gran Hermano house.

Multiple South American iterations of Drag Race proved to be hits over the last few months, with Drag Race México picking up 109,000 followers and Drag Race Brasil racking up 82,000 after their premieres on MTV and Paramount+. The Mexican version is hosted by drag queens Valentina and Lolita Banana. Valentina, who has 1.4 million followers, was a contestant on season nine of RuPaul’s Drag Race, while Lolita Banana, who has 88,300 followers, competed on the first season of Drag Race France. The Brazilian adaptation is hosted by Grag Queen (537,000 followers), winner of the first season of Queen of the Universe, who also serves as head judge, alongside Dudu Bertholini (242,000) and Bruna Braga (125,000).

Among the other top-performing competition formats this summer, Got Talent Argentina was revived on Telefe after 12 years. It originally aired from 2008 to 2011 as Talento Argentino. The rebooted version, hosted by actor and comedian Lizy Tagliani, bowed on August 21 and garnered 149,000 followers, aided by Tagliani’s own 6.5 million.

LOL: Last One Laughing Colombia, a Colombian remake of the entertainment format based on Hitoshi Matsumoto Presents Documental, amassed its own fair share of followers after premiering on Prime Video. The comedy format pits comedians against each other as they are locked in a room and must do their best to make each other laugh while trying not to laugh themselves. Hosted by actor Jorge Enrique Abello, who has 1.7 million followers, the Colombian show counted 115,000 followers after its debut in August.

Mexico’s Hotel VIP, adapted from the Argentinean reality competition of the same name, also picked up a sizable following—32,000—after its launch on Canal 5 (Televisa) mid-August. In the show, 16 celebrities are confined for four months in a five-star hotel. As they are treated to luxurious service, they must complete challenges or risk becoming the hotel employees themselves. The Mexican iteration is hosted by actor Roberto Palazuelos, who has 1.1 million followers, and TV presenter Karina Banda, who has 592,000.

Though Latin American adaptations took the spotlight this summer, there were two in Spain that also garnered plenty of attention. This includes ¡Vaya vacaciones! (Holy Holidays), in which celebrity pairings are lured to a luxurious resort in the Dominican Republic, where they are informed they must actually work at the hotel. From acting as guides for visiting tourists, to serving as waiters and cleaning hotel rooms, they take on a slew of responsibilities and are then evaluated by professionals. The Spanish competition racked up 16,000 followers, boosted by host Luján Argüelles’ 107,000.

Though not quite a reality competition, a new version of the Grand Prix game show picked up 43,000 followers after its debut on Spain’s La 1. Returning after 14 years with radio and TV presenter Ramón García as host, it sees teams from small Spanish towns go head-to-head in physical games and knowledge quizzes to score the most points. It is based on the French game show Intervilles, itself adapted from the Italian program Campanile sera.