Talpa & Studio Lambert Team for Million Dollar Island Editions

Talpa and Studio Lambert have formed a partnership for the production of U.S. and U.K. treatments of the adventure reality show Million Dollar Island.

Studio Lambert will produce the U.S. and U.K. editions of the format. The original Dutch version has just completed shooting in the Philippines and will air in the Netherlands on SBS6 in March. Amazon Prime in Holland will have a day-and-date SVOD second window.

In Million Dollar Island, one hundred people are dropped on an uninhabited tropical island, where they need to survive for two months. Each contestant is given a numbered bracelet worth $10,000, so the 100 bracelets together are worth $1 million. The contestants gain and lose bracelets by playing duels and challenges—and by receiving them from those who quit. Friendship and competitive skills will determine who ends up with the most bracelets and the chance to win most of the prize money.

“Million Dollar Island is a fascinating game of alliances, close friendships, secret pacts and other social strategies,” said John de Mol, founder and chairman of Talpa. “We were confident the format would work, but the intrigue, emotion and drama of the first episodes exceeded our expectations. We believe audiences in many territories will be compelled by the stories the format generates, and we know Stephen and his colleagues will do a brilliant job of making the show for both the American and British audiences.”

“John has created several of the world’s biggest and most successful formats, from Big Brother to The Voice, and we’re hugely excited about the prospect of making the first English-language versions of what we believe will be his next global hit,” said Stephen Lambert, founder and CEO of Studio Lambert.