{"id":15375,"date":"2025-10-06T07:30:29","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T11:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/tvformats\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T12:59:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T16:59:16","slug":"inside-the-inner-circle-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/inside-the-inner-circle-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside The Inner Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the iconic The Weakest Link<\/em> to the fast-growing The 1% Club<\/em>, BBC Studios is already home to a bevy of successful game-show formats. Adding to its slate this MIPCOM, the content powerhouse arrives in Cannes with The Inner Circle<\/em>, a new contender in the increasingly popular strategic gameplay space.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe genuinely feel this is a bold new entry in that strategic game-show area,\u201d says Rose Hughes, senior VP of global format sales at BBC Studios. \u201cIt taps into global appetites for social manipulation, social psychology and high-stakes decision-making.\u201d<\/p>\n

The concept originated at Scottish indie Tern TV, a part of the Zinc Media Group, in response to a BBC call for a daytime and prime-time quiz show.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgainst all the odds, Tern fought off all the big quiz players and landed our very first double commission in the quiz space,\u201d David Marshall, head of entertainment at Tern, tells TV Formats<\/em>. The order\u2014for 25 daytime\/early-peak episodes and six celebrity editions for Saturday prime time\u2014served as proof that an indie like Tern, with no prior game-show experience, \u201ccould win with a really strong idea, a passionate team and a lot of belief in the format. We say it\u2019s like a David versus Goliath story. And in our case, it was actually two Davids, because David Kerr was the development producer on it. Everyone at Tern has put their heart and soul into the format over the past few years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshall notes that developing for two slots from the outset has been hugely beneficial to the format, which was commissioned by Rob Unsworth, head of daytime and early peak at the BBC, and Kalpna Patel-Knight, head of entertainment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew that the format had to work for both audiences\u2014they could flex it for daytime and then also have it be glossy enough for that big Saturday night slot,\u201d Marshall says. \u201cThe process itself was so collaborative. We also had BBC Studios come on early as our distribution partners. Sumi [Connock, executive VP for the global creative network and formats] and her team have such a wealth of quiz experience and knowledge. They all championed the format. It also meant that we tested the format within an inch of its life, making it as strong as it possibly could be with every eventuality. It was all worked out in advance of the studio. By the time we actually got to recording, we were confident in the format.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hughes says that the BBC Studios team spotted the potential of the property very early. \u201cIt\u2019s so adaptable and such a globally appealing format because it\u2019s built on universally relatable themes. It\u2019s trust, betrayal, strategy. Trust is the currency. That\u2019s what you\u2019re playing for. A final betrayal is only ever one step away. It\u2019s not only about what you know, it\u2019s about who you can trust. And that premise is so human at its core, so fascinating to watch and so addictive. It has flexible casting. We have the daily strippable version with the recurring contestants and the prime-time glossy version. It\u2019s amazing to have that already set in stone. And the set looks beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Game remains one of BBC Studios\u2019 strongest format sellers, Hughes notes, with sustained demand from buyers for reboots, returners and brand-new concepts. \u201cWe believe The Inner Circle<\/em> is going to connect because viewers want what it offers\u2014addictive, compelling, play-along TV that can be scaled up or down,\u201d Hughes says.<\/p>\n

Each episode culminates in contestants having to make a choice\u2014shaft or split\u2014as they decide whether to share their winnings with the opponent they worked with to get to the end.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has that added twist of a psychological cat-and-mouse element,\u201d Hughes says. \u201cIt can spark conversations on social media. That is quite unusual for a game show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fleshing out the engagement beyond the linear transmission was a key element in the format\u2019s development process, Marshall explains. \u201cWe wanted it to work not just as a TV show,\u201d he says. \u201cThe format lends itself well to having a life outside the linear broadcast. We\u2019ve been working with BBC Studios to explore what extensions we can put in place\u2014a board game, an app, a live experience. It can connect with the audience well beyond the TV screen.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BBC Studios’ Rose Hughes and Tern’s David Marshall talk about the new game-show format The Inner Circle, which features prime-time and daytime versions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":15374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,69],"tags":[1337,4513,4126,2644,1664],"class_list":["post-15375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","tag-bbc-studios","tag-david-marshall","tag-rose-hughes","tag-tern-tv","tag-the-inner-circle","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nInside The Inner Circle - TVFORMATS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/inside-the-inner-circle-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inside The Inner Circle - TVFORMATS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BBC Studios' Rose Hughes and Tern's David Marshall talk about the new game-show format The Inner Circle, which features prime-time and daytime versions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/inside-the-inner-circle-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVFORMATS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-06T11:30:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-07T16:59:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/10\/Tern_InnerCircle_BBCS-1025.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"394\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/inside-the-inner-circle-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/inside-the-inner-circle-2\/\",\"name\":\"Inside The Inner Circle - TVFORMATS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-06T11:30:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-07T16:59:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/inside-the-inner-circle-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/inside-the-inner-circle-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/inside-the-inner-circle-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Inside The Inner Circle\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/\",\"name\":\"TVFORMATS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\",\"name\":\"Mansha Daswani\",\"description\":\"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. 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