The Story Lab Unveils MIPCOM Offering

The Story Lab’s slate for MIPCOM spans reality, game-show and digital-first entertainment formats, including the two new dating shows Undercover Twins and Pulling with My Parents.

Undercover Twins sees identical twins looking for love as one and the same person, while Pulling with My Parents follows as parents take control of their children’s love lives to help them find “the one.” Progressing on the themes of family and relationships, I Want to Have Your Baby charts the emotional journey of couples and singles as they make a final attempt to fulfill their dreams of parenthood.

“All three of these new shows are incredibly engaging and hold mass appeal for a global audience, as these experiences are relatable to all,” said Fotini Paraskakis, executive VP of entertainment for The Story Lab Global.

An entertainment format that puts actors in the spotlight to showcase their mimicry and improvisation skills, The Sound is an original studio-entertainment format from The Story Lab and Hunan TV China. Through a series of themed rounds, two teams of four will try to upstage each other in their talents. A ratings hit in China, The Sound has been re-developed for the global market by The Story Lab.

You Are Not A Loan is the life-changing social-experiment format created by Renowned Films and The Story Lab that gets to the heart of our addiction to debt. Filmed over the course of a year, this ground-breaking experiment charts the highs and lows of 30 people from a single postcode. Inhabited by those with crippling debt and a diverse mix of class and wealth, they band together to tackle their communities’ personal debts together.

Created and produced by Gleam Productions for Viu, the eight-parter No Sleep No FOMO drops two celebrities into an amazing city with just the weekend to complete the ultimate bucket list. With the length of the average holiday falling from eight days to just three days, it’s now more important than ever to make every minute count.

Don’t Say It, Bring It!, a family game-show format in which contestants are forbidden from answering questions with words, was created by Phileas Productions and has already been adapted in five territories, including the U.K. Instead of using their words, contestants are required instead to bring the object that best answers the question in order to win. And they must do so as quickly as possible. There are only two rules: do not buy your response and do not ask anyone for the correct answer.

The international hit format Ninja Warrior continues its strong presence at the market. Leading the revived interest in physical game-show formats, Ninja Warrior is the family entertainment show where hundreds of competitors attempt to complete a four-stage obstacle course to become the last person standing. Created by Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, the format is distributed by Dentsu, and The Story Lab will be continuing to distribute it across Europe (excluding Scandinavian territories).

Michael Iskas, president of The Story Lab, said: “We are very excited to add Pulling with My Parents, Undercover Twins and I Want to Have Your Baby to our MIPCOM slate this year. These shows, alongside other new titles You Are Not A Loan and The Sound, are a perfect combination of boundary-pushing entertainment formats that have the ability to entertain audiences from any demographic. We are fortunate enough to partner and collaborate with some of the world’s best producers and together, deliver the most innovative, creative, and daring ideas that we know audiences across the world will love.”

Paraskakis added: “The Story Lab continues to push boundaries with innovative and engaging content that can be tailored for individual territories to give it real local flavor.”