Turkish talent show “Show Must Go On” was named the winner of the MipFormats International Pitch on Monday, receiving a cash prize of $5,000 and the opportunity to be part of Fox’s International Unscripted Format Fund.
Developed by FormatWorkshop, “Show Must Go On” will allow its participants to “turn their talent into cash.” But they have to make sure that the jury, and the audience, falls in love with them first as after 30 seconds others will decide if they can continue or not. With the prize increasing as time goes by.
“The audience gets all the necessary tools to be a part of the game, having the fate of the participants at the tip of the fingertip thanks to the QR code they can scan to vote for their favorite performers,” said Maya Loiselle during the pitch, interpreting for Mustafa Basural and Fatih Ergul.
Although the jury will be able to provide them with extra 30 seconds (“influencing, or not, the audience”), the viewers will be the ones deciding their destinies.
“We have a lot of talent shows on our screens. Some people became popular because of them, some didn’t. But don’t you think all talented people should be rewarded? That’s what ‘Show Must Go On’ is going to do. It’s going to get rid of injustice.”
“Isn’t it what we all want: a real fair play game? Good talents = good money.”
The audience gathered at Cannes’ Debussy Theatre also warmly welcomed Ukraine’s “Weekend Without Parents,” in which kids will be able to finally act like adults.
“Imagine they have the power to affect the everyday routine of their parents,” said Pavel Cherepin, co-founder of Heroes Creative Studio.
“When I was young, my mother was traveling a lot because of work and I had to stay with my grandparents. I preferred to stay home alone, but I wasn’t allowed to do this. I decided to earn my parents’ trust and I passed that‘exam.’I cooked, I cleaned, I did well at school. If my actions could affect my mother’s trip, I would try 100 times harder.”
In the show, kids will earn points by completing tasks, either providing their parents with a pleasant break or putting them “in a dodgy tent with hungry mosquitos.”
“If their parents weren’t nice to them before, it’s time for revenge. But they should remember that on Monday, they will be back,” joked Cherepin, adding: “I have a dream: After a successful international journey to bring this format to Ukraine and entertain families, especially those for whom weekends without parents will now last forever.”
U.K.’s “The Love Pitch” from SelectTVFormats, while absent in Cannes, was also among the finalists, as well as gameshow “Eyes on the Prize” by The Connected Set, based on a simple question: Can you follow the cup containing the ball?
Inspired by the shell game, it will now see a “supersized” studio and huge mechanical cups deciding winners and losers, with each round starting with a general knowledge test and grand finale including “death balls.”
“Shows like ‘Moneyball’ or ‘Tipping Point’ rely on a big element of luck. Ours is skill-based. It’s about using your eyes,” said creative director Jason Mitchell, with researcher Holly Rowlands-Hempel adding that as the contestants will play in pairs, “we can expect a lot of fun bickering.”
Finally, in another gameshow, “Gold,” this time hailing from Italy (Format Espresso), the contestants would try to win as many gold coins as possible. The problem is, they don’t have the same value.
“[The contestant] can see the coins, he can even smell them. But he can’t determine the purity of the gold,” said founder Axel Fiacco, envisioning it as a primetime show. “Gold is good for every occasion!”
As noticed by RX France’s Robert Marking, the MipFormats International Pitch has proven to be a “gamechanger” for its finalists, with a record 89 projects from 27 countries applying only this year.
Taking a break from her jury duties alongside John Hesling, Yasmin Rawji and Nathalie Wogue, Fox Alternative Entertainment’s president of unscripted programming Allison Wallach also opened up about the company’s plans, including new shows “Beat My Mini-Mes” for TF1 in France and “Marriage Market” for Germany’s ProSieben, a social experiment about parents finding spouses for their children.
“There is more to come,” she observed,sharing some advice for future creators hoping to develop strong formats which, as she noted, are “coming back.”
“It will probably sound contradictory, but keep it simple and find something unexpected. The most successful formats are pretty straightforward, but there needs to be an element of surprise.”
