Traditional \u201cstand-and-stir\u201d shows with famous chefs may still have pockets of loyal audiences, but in a world where up-and-coming culinary stars are finding fame on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and elsewhere, the old rules for creating a compelling culinary format are due for a rewrite, says hit producer Dave Noll.<\/p>\n
Noll is one half of the dynamic Keller\/Noll indie with Cleve Keller, an outfit that has been behind such hits as the long-running Chopped<\/em>\u00a0franchise, the syndicated game show\u00a0Flip Side<\/em>, GSN\u2019s\u00a0Winsanity<\/em>\u00a0and more. Its latest offering in the crowded culinary formats space is\u00a0Countdown to Delicious<\/em>, which premiered last month on VIZIO WatchFree+, the free streaming service built into VIZIO smart TVs and also available as an app.<\/p>\n In each episode, five social media influencer chefs make their favorite meals in rapid-fire time frames as the show bounces from one city to the next. \u201cIt\u2019s all timed,\u201d Noll tells\u00a0TV Formats<\/em>. \u201cThe first chef will say, \u2018I\u2019m going to make this amazing casserole dish and teach it to everybody in three minutes.\u2019 And then we\u2019re whisked off to another city, and it\u2019s a different chef. We have five main chefs in L.A., San Diego, Atlanta, Miami and London. People are really enjoying that it\u2019s visually a gorgeous show, and they love the clock. It\u2019s snackable, easy-to-get, delicious content.\u201d<\/p>\n The ability to cross platforms was key in Keller and Noll\u2019s creation of\u00a0Countdown to Delicious<\/em>. \u201cHow do we create a show that you could put on VIZIO, as a half-hour, but that you can also easily break apart into segments that these influencers can post?\u201d<\/p>\n The influencers the show enlisted\u2014Chef Lovely, Kelsey Nixon, Chef Tregaye, Eddie Zamora and Eloise Head\u2014all have massive social media followings and, crucially, \u201chave trained themselves to look through the camera and immediately grab you as if you were their best friend. It\u2019s all about that instant connection. They\u2019re all so warm and friendly. And they\u2019ve all excelled on either TikTok, YouTube or Instagram.\u201d<\/p>\n Noll will be heading to MIPCOM to pitch the show for international adaptation, noting that he and Keller have long prioritized catering to the needs of the global market; a lesson instilled in them by their former boss, Barry Diller.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom 2003 to 2010, we were focused on MTV, A&E, VH1, Comedy Central, TLC. In 2009, we started working for Barry Diller. He said, Stop thinking about little things like TLC or VH1; the world is the way to go. You want to create the next\u00a0Survivor<\/em>, the next\u00a0Idols<\/em>; something that can go around the world. That\u2019s what we\u2019ve done since 2010.\u201d<\/p>\n Keller\/Noll has also been focused on broad audience appeal rather than chasing niches, Noll says. \u201cWhat is the show that has the biggest possible tent? The kids are in the room, grandma\u2019s in the room and everybody\u2019s having a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a model that is working for the production company, which is beginning production this week on 160 episodes of the syndicated game show\u00a0Scrambled Up!<\/em>, with its overall output over an 18-month period expected to hit some 570 episodes. \u201cIt\u2019s because we have focused on big tent, global, 8 to 88 shows, as Barry Diller would say.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSnackable\u201d is the other key theme running across the Keller\/Noll slate. \u201cWe never used to say the word \u2018snackable\u2019 and now use it so many times in our pitches!\u201d Noll says. \u201cWhether it\u2019s a game show or a culinary show, whatever it is, it has to make sense in a half-hour version and also as a TikTok that you\u2019re swiping by. On our game show [Scrambled Up!<\/em>], we needed the board to work as great as possible on your TV, but we also wanted a game board that would work vertically on your phone. It\u2019s a totally different way to create shows.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dave Noll discusses the new series Countdown to Delicious and what else Keller\/Noll is cooking up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":15238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,69],"tags":[4402,4403,4404,663],"class_list":["post-15237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","tag-cleve-keller","tag-countdown-to-delicious","tag-dave-noll","tag-kellernoll","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n