{"id":5419,"date":"2017-02-27T10:47:28","date_gmt":"2017-02-27T15:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-story-of-my-life-being-told-globally\/"},"modified":"2017-02-28T09:17:52","modified_gmt":"2017-02-28T14:17:52","slug":"the-story-of-my-life-being-told-globally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-story-of-my-life-being-told-globally\/","title":{"rendered":"The Story of My Life\u00a0Being Told Globally"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gepke Nederlof, the head of global sales at Talpa, tells<\/em>\u00a0TV Formats\u00a0about\u00a0<\/em>The Story of My Life, which has been landing commissions across the globe.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Talpa format\u00a0The Story of My Life<\/em>\u00a0puts a spin on the traditional talk show structure, taking celebrity couples and giving them a makeover that serves as a sneak peek of what they will look like in future life phases. The celebs have a chance to see older versions of themselves and their partner, pushing the fast-forward button to 25 or 50 years into the\u00a0\"***Image***\"future. After each reveal, the couples are asked profound questions that challenge them to reflect on themselves and their partner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a big format creation team, so they play around with a lot of stories constantly,\u201d says Gepke Nederlof, the head of global sales at Talpa. \u201cWhat we found is that there are a lot of talk shows out there, and the same stories are being told over and over.\u201d So, while there is an appetite for celebrity interviews the world over, it can sometimes feel as though the same interview is being replayed over again.<\/p>\n

The idea behind\u00a0The Story of My Life<\/em>\u00a0was to conduct interviews that portray celebrities in a light audiences haven\u2019t seen before. \u201cUsing the element of aging is a perfect way to get that done,\u201d Nederlof says.<\/p>\n

It all began in the Netherlands. \u201cWe did a pilot, which was just a test, but RTL saw it and said, \u2018OK, we want to put it out there. It\u2019s so great,\u00a0\"***Image***\"and we want to show the world.\u2019 So we are producing a full series with them now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since its launch at MIPCOM 2016, \u201cWe were able to get a staggering number of countries that have already closed a deal and are already in production, as well as a lot of countries that we are still negotiating with,\u201d Nederlof says. The first country\u00a0The Story of My Life<\/em>\u00a0traveled to is Germany for VOX, which is owned by RTL Group. The format has also been licensed in Bulgaria (bTV Media Group), Russia (Channel One), Latvia (Media 360), Ukraine (Inter Media Group) and Finland (MTV3). The first country to go for the format in Latin America was Brazil (SBT). \u201cThere\u2019s a nice number of countries that are going to do it or are already in production,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

According to Nederlof, \u201cEveryone just loves the purity and how well it resonates. Showing this different side of these people contributes to its success. It\u2019s doing amazingly well, and that is exciting for us. It\u2019s nice when you have an idea, but it\u2019s good if you see that [feedback] coming from the clients as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Broadcasters know that \u201cusing celebrities is a great way to get viewers,\u201d so that is part of the format\u2019s international appeal, Nederlof says. But\u00a0The Story of My Life<\/em>\u00a0goes a step beyond simply putting famous faces in front of the camera. She believes that one of the most appealing elements of the show is the fact that the transformation and interview questions uncover a different side of celebrities, including tidbits or qualities most viewers didn\u2019t know before. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen them in so many interviews already, but now we get to see a completely new side of them talking about what their future might look like, what they will look back on in their lives and what will be their greatest successes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another enticing hook is the chemistry between the couples as they interact and reflect upon their transformations. \u201cWhen you see what happens there, you get so much closer to them than ever before,\u201d Nederlof explains. The emotions that the stars, as well as the viewers at home, feel throughout the interview help the show resonate across borders.<\/p>\n

As the format is remade around the world, there are a few key elements that Nederlof feels must remain consistent. \u201cWe want to make sure that the quality of the makeover is very high standard,\u201d she elaborates. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to put a gray wig on someone and say, \u2018OK, now you\u2019re old,\u2019 because part of the magic [of the format] is that it actually feels like it\u2019s them, that they can transform into another phase of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nederlof also believes that it is important to keep the filming process uniform from one version to the next. \u201cAnother element that makes\u00a0The Story of My Life<\/em>\u00a0very strong is that we record it all in one day, so the celebrities are there for one day, completely secluded from the rest of the world,\u201d Nederlof says. She finds that the filming schedule \u201cgets the stars to slow down and open up. Usually they run from one interview to the next and they know exactly what they\u2019re going to say. But the fact that [the program allows viewers to] see them so vulnerable is one of the reasons the show resonates with broadcasters around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

She adds, \u201cWe\u2019re looking at new elements to make\u00a0The Story of My Life\u00a0<\/em>even more layered, but [seeing the celebrities] at different ages and creating the right mood are very important elements that we will keep in all countries where the show is formatted.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gepke Nederlof, the head of global sales at Talpa, speaks about the format, which has been landing commissions around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":477,"featured_media":5424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,69],"tags":[879,119,716],"class_list":["post-5419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","tag-gepke-nederlof","tag-talpa","tag-the-story-of-my-life","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Story of My Life\u00a0Being Told Globally - 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\/the-story-of-my-life-being-told-globally\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Story of My Life\u00a0Being Told Globally - TVFORMATS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gepke Nederlof, the head of global sales at Talpa, speaks about the format, which has been landing commissions around the world.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-story-of-my-life-being-told-globally\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVFORMATS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-02-27T15:47:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-02-28T14:17:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/02\/The-Story-of-My-Life-Talpa-217-e1488291408889.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"508\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"407\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sara Alessi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sara Alessi\" \/>\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\/the-story-of-my-life-being-told-globally\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-story-of-my-life-being-told-globally\/\",\"name\":\"The Story of My Life\u00a0Being Told Globally - TVFORMATS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-27T15:47:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-02-28T14:17:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#\/schema\/person\/3a30a856ec6d9cc2372bf054d26a0418\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-story-of-my-life-being-told-globally\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-story-of-my-life-being-told-globally\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-story-of-my-life-being-told-globally\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Story of My Life\u00a0Being Told Globally\"}]},{\"@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\/3a30a856ec6d9cc2372bf054d26a0418\",\"name\":\"Sara Alessi\",\"description\":\"Sara Alessi is the associate editor of World Screen. 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