News round-up: Fugitive forges Gil format pact; Globo extends eco drama; Keshet makes bumper MasterChef order

Merrily Ross & Anthony Kimble

Fugitive agrees Gil Format deal in UK

Anthony Kimble’s development & financing outfit Fugitive has struck an exclusive deal in the UK to represent a range of shows from Gil Formats, the Israeli firm behind Pregnant & Platonic and Life On Duty.

The agreement will see Fugitive pick up format rights to Gil shows including comedy gameshow Good Cop Bad Cop, family entertainment series Generation Sensation, and This is England, a factual format that sets out to discover what ordinary people really think about the hot topics of the day – and whether this differs to how stories are covered in the media.

The deal was struck by founder Assaf Gil and Merrily Ross, the former VP of formats at Nordic Entertainment (NENT) Group who joined Fugitive last year.

Gil Formats has been behind IP including: Pregnant & Platonic, which aired on BBC Two and Finland’s; Life On Duty for Channel 10 in Israel and Cuatro in Spain; and Capturing The Moment, which has been picked up by ZDFneo in Germany among others. It is the sister company to Gil Productions, which produces shows including MasterChef, Come Dine With Me and Married At First Sight in Israel.

Aruanas

Globo extends sustainability drama Aruanas

Brazilian broadcaster Globo has ordered a second season of Aruanas, its hit environmental drama that was launched as part of a global direct-to-consumer strategy.

The show was created and written by Estela Renner and Marcos Nisti, with scriptwriting by Carolina Kotscho and direction by André Felipe Binder (Hidden Truths).

The second season will track activists working at the NGO Aruana, who in season one fought against environmental crimes of mining companies in the Amazon. The new run will explore the impacts of the oil industry and although set in a fictional city, will be inspired by true events.

The series is co-produced by Globo and Maria Farinha Filmes exclusively for Globoplay. It was globally launched in 2019 on the direct-to-consumer platform Aruanas.tv, reaching 150 countries and in 11 languages. It has been recently licensed for OTT platforms in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

MasterChef Israel

Keshet makes bumper MasterChef order

Keshet 12 in Israel has ordered six more season of Endemol Shine Group’s MasterChef format, which will take the show into its 14th run.

The culinary format’s eighth season aired in Israel last year with an average rating of 20.5% and share of 33.6%, according to ESG, while the year also marked the most successful to date for the IP, with 53 productions across 35 markets.

The MasterChef format launched in 1990 in the UK and aired for over a decade on the BBC. In 2005 the show was revived for the BBC and four years later Australia became the first country to adapt the format outside of the UK, with MasterChef Australia launching in 2009 as the highest rated show in Australian history.

The Keshet deal was agreed by Endemol Shine International sales director Robin Pollok.