Fremantle’s is scaling “Hitster,” scoring its first format sales on recent music TV game show of the identical title, based on the party game which has burst onto the scene, proving a top seller in Northern Europe, Spain and Canada.
The sport also ranked in retailer charts over Christmas within the U.S. and U.K.
In the primary global territory commissions, Amsterdam-based Blue Circle, a Fremantle company, and NewBe will produce eight episodes for RTL4 within the Netherlands.
NewBe and historic German production powerhouse UFA, also a part of Fremantle, are set to provide six episodes for RTL Deutschland. Meanwhile, in Canada, Attraction and Productions Déferlantes will produce two seasons in collaboration with Quebecor Content.
After Fremantle Australia and Amsterdam-based NewBe teamed to create the Netflix hit “Heartbreak High” reboot, Fremantle Netherlands and NewBe led the creative development of the “Hitster” TV format along with Jumbo Group.
Holding international production and distribution rights, beyond announcing its first three territory orders, Fremantle has shared in exclusivity with Variety a brand recent image from the set of “Hitster.”
Invented by Stockholm-based Markus Carleson, “Hitster” was first played by Carleson at a feast in his kitchen on June 24, 2019. “I had some colleagues over and I figured I needed some form of dinner entertainment,” Carleson has recalled.
“This was a really competitive crowd so I figured I needed some form of competitive element and why not mix that with music. But I needed it to be lightweight and really inclusive so as a substitute of getting to guess some facts in regards to the song I made a decision to go together with timeline mechanics,” he added.
This spirit plays out within the studio-based TV show where two teams, pairing people from different generations, compete hearing hit after hit to position the tracks in a chronological order. The primary team with 10 tracks placed appropriately on their timeline progresses to a prize money final.
The format plays off the “addictive simplicity” and “quick playability” of the unique game, “rewarding players’ instinct over expertise,” Fremantle said Thursday. “Transforming music trivia and popular culture nostalgia right into a high-energy game show,” “viewers are invited to hitch an irresistibly feel-good, play-along party, full of legendary tracks and full of life performances,” “designed to create big, shared reactions and joyful moments that spark personal stories and anecdotes.”
The brand new “Hitster” set photo indeed shows a studio bathed by warm orange lights, three presenters behind consoles clapping or dancing to a song, accompanied by two packed levels of contestants or audience members, who look to be doing very much the identical.
“‘Hitster’ has already proven it could actually spark conversation and convey people together of their living rooms – and that’s exactly what great entertainment does. It’s a brilliantly social, immediately playable format that taps into nostalgia and music passion across generations,” said Fremantle Director of Global Entertainment, Andrew Llinares.
“Constructing on our partnership with NewBe and Jumbo Group, with these first broadcast partners on board, there’s real excitement around scaling the format internationally and bringing an quick party into homes world wide,” he added.
“What began as a straightforward idea, bringing generations together through music, has grown into a world brand with real cultural impact. The TV adaptation captures the instinctive, feel-good energy that made the sport successful, while amplifying the emotion and shared moments that music uniquely creates,” noted Isa Lana, CMO on the Jumbo Group.
“With Jumbo Group, ‘Hitster’ became a worldwide hit, and that gave us a robust foundation to construct from along with Fremantle,” added Jeroen Koopman, NewBe founder & CEO. “From the beginning, our creative focus was clear: preserve the guts and DNA of the brand, while translating it right into a television format that feels true to the unique game experience.”