WDRmg Touting “Innovative German Formats” for MIPTV

COLOGNE: Original TV formats from Germany are the focus of WDR mediagroup’s (WDRmg) MIPTV activities, in line with this year’s Focus on Germany.

The scripted format Moral Springs looks on as a man from the big city returns to his small-town roots. “Its subliminal and slightly morbid kind of humor makes the format truly special,” says Stefanie Fischer, the head of content at WDR mediagroup, which is promoting the title at MIPTV.

In the format The Laugh of Others, the hosts immerse themselves in some of society’s niches and less-known environments to make the people who live there laugh about themselves. “The format offers a genuine and exceptional way to deal with serious matters by means of humor, which makes it relevant for societies all over the world,” Fischer says.

The universal topics of romance and aging are at the center of Autumn Tingles, in which senior citizens meet at a speed-dating event.

Another addition to WDRmg’s format catalogue is Couples’ Retreat, a WDR production commissioned by ARD. In this improvisation format from the creators of the award-winning TV event Autumn Tingles, a group of actors spends a weekend in a spa hotel. Equipped only with the biographies of their characters, but without any script, the spontaneous interactions between the fictional couples are captured on film.

“As WDR’s commercial subsidiary, we have exclusive access to the high-quality programs produced by Germany’s biggest regional public broadcaster,” Fischer says.