10 Unscripted Formats Begging for a Reboot
With 'Gladiators' on fire, veteran producers and experts name the game shows, reality competitions and variety formats perfect for reimagining in the U.S. and abroad
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What’s the secret to a hit show format? Some might say scalability and execution, but lately, nostalgia seems to get an unscripted producer pretty far.
This year, the BBC had a slam dunk with its reboot of the 1992 game show Gladiators, in which plucky contestants go up against super-fit “gladiators” in a series of physical challenges. Initially based on American Gladiators, the series had a short-lived reboot on Sky in 2008, and news of its return prompted eye rolls and complaints of lazy commissioning. But in January, the unabashedly campy Gladiators became the BBC’s biggest entertainment launch in seven years when it debuted on a Saturday primetime slot, pulling in 9.8 million viewers.
U.S. network execs noticed, and earlier this week, Prime Video announced its own reboot of American Gladiators, which also last graced American airwaves in 2008.
As we’ve heard countless times in this industry downturn, there’s something reassuring about the familiar — and the maxim certainly extends to formats. The latest edition of British consultancy K7 Media’s annual formats report revealed that in 2023, format revivals were up 67 percent, with such shows as Cash Cab (launched in 2005) and Let’s Make a Deal (launched in 1963) all breaking K7’s list of top formats scoring new launches in 2023. (Check out my colleague Entertainment Strategy Guy’s missive on the performance of IP TV and movies vs. originals.)
That’s not to say there isn’t a place for original IP: The Netherlands-born The Traitors was crowned Format of the Year, with more launches around the world than any other show. But could it be that in these risk-averse times, there are shows out there that are worth another look — good concepts that came at the wrong time?
I asked top British producers and formats experts for some long-forgotten unscripted U.K. shows that they believe deserve a second chance. These are knockout ideas that largely originate from Britain — the country that gave the world Love Island, Strictly Come Dancing and The 1% Club, lest you forget — only to disappear with the annals of time.
Some of these 10 shows already have been rebooted — with varying levels of success — only to once again fade away into TV history. My highly unscientific ranking is based on what I believe has the most legs to return. All of them warrant closer examination.
The shows include:
A Masked Singer-style costumed comedy with “edge-of-your-seat” drama
A driving series perfect for our emerging self-driving era
Money Heist, the game show
A kids show for the FaceTime-Depop set
Celebrities having to make a celebrity media brand