Beta Film and Red Bull Media House are launching high-end scripted project The Net. Inspired by true events, the ambitious series is planned as five standalone seasons of eight episodes each. It uses the world of soccer as a backdrop for the characters who experience the beautiful game not only as a dream factory, but also one of the largest organized crime enterprises in history. Based on a concept from Matthias Hartmann and Plinio Bachmann, the series aims to demonstrate a new avenue for international drama production whereby individual seasons can be watched alone or can be discovered as part of the 40-hour interwoven narrative. Each of the five seasons will be developed with local partners and produced in their respective home markets. Negotiations with producers and broadcasters are under way with shooting scheduled to commence in 2019/2020.
Global Road Entertainment has acquired world rights to gameshow format Idiotest, and has taken all the original episodes which aired in the U.S. on GSN. Sales start at this week’s MipTV in Cannes. Idiotest is based on the popular app game which gives two pairs of contestants the opportunity to face off in several rounds of visual brain teasers that look deceptively simple, but whose answers require a keen eye, quick mind and heightened sense of logic. Every question involves a fun, colorful and often whimsical scene that tests observation and attention to detail as much as general knowledge. Contestants vying for a cash prize play the game on giant touch screens in the center of the set. Since launching on GSN in 2014, the show has been viewed by over 31.6M total unique viewers over four seasons. Hosted by comedian Ben Gleib, the original version is produced by Little Wooden Boat Productions.
