News round-up: Germany’s BR asks ‘Fact Or Fake’; Disney rebooting ‘Zorro’; NBC preps Shakira dance format

Fakt Oder Fake

Germany’s BR asks ‘Fact Or Fake’

German broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), ARD’s free-to-air channel for Bavaria, has acquired the rights to adapt a local version of BBC Studios’ entertainment format Fact Or Fake.

This marks the first international sale of the format for BBC Studios since it launched at Showcase earlier this year.

The 6 x 45-minute version for BR will be titled Fakt Oder Fake and started production last month for a 2022 premiere.

Fact Or Fake, created by Sandrats Media Company and originally broadcast on ORF 1 in Austria, sees celebrities filter out facts from fake news.

Three guest comedians are shown viral videos and social media posts, sensational newspaper headlines and urban legends by the show’s poker-faced host. After some entertaining debate and discussion, they must determine: are these videos fact or fake?

André Renaud, SVP of global format sales at BBC Studios, said: “I’m thrilled that having just launched the Fact Or Fake format at BBC Studios Showcase in February we have already secured our first licence of the format with BR.

“Fake news is such a hot topic in recent years and this series demonstrates, in a hilarious and entertaining way, just how difficult it is to separate fact from fiction. I’m sure the German audience will be just as entertained by this unique show as their Austrian neighbours have been.”

Disney rebooting ‘Zorro’

Disney Brand Television is in development on a reinvention of action-adventure-western series Zorro, with Wilmer Valderrama attached to star and executive produce.

The series will also be executive produced by Gary Marsh, outgoing president and chief creative officer, Disney Branded Television, as part of his new multiyear production banner at Disney General Entertainment. John Gertz of Zorro Productions, Inc., is also an executive producer.

Valderrama will play the masked avenger Zorro, the alter ego of the mild-mannered Don Diego de la Vega, who in the original show, which ran from 1957-59, defended the poor and acted as the scourge of military tyrants on his black stallion, Tornado.

Ayo Davis, president, Disney Branded Television, said, “We’re reimagining this Disney classic as a compelling period piece, set in Pueblo de Los Angeles, but told in a very modern telenovela style – with richly drawn contemporary characters and relationships set against the action, drama, suspense and humor of the original, iconic Zorro.”

Shakira

NBC preps Shakira dance format

NBC in the US has partnered with music sensation Shakira, who will front Dancing With Myself, a new dance challenge series.

Universal Television Alternative Studio, a division of Universal Studio group, and Irwin Entertainment will produce the series, which is licensed by NBCUniversal Formats.

John Irwin, Dave Kuba, Eli Frankel and Ben Thursby-Palmer are executive producing for Irwin Entertainment, while Jaime Levine executive produces the series alongside Shakira.

Each week will see a new group of fun-loving dancers from all walks of life and of all ages compete in a series of high-energy dance challenges that are designed and demonstrated by the show’s celebrity creators, including Shakira.

Isolated in their own pods, contestants have a short time to learn the new routines, add their unique flare and then perform their hearts out in front of a live audience.  As each round of the competition progresses, Shakira and her judging panel provide instant feedback and encouragement, but, ultimately, it’s the studio audience that decides who wins Best Dancer of the Night and gets to take home the cash prize.

“I’m excited to be a part of a dance competition that places such a high value on creative movement and how it translates into personal expression, not to mention how it contributes to a sense of community,” said Shakira.