Format

In previous issues we talked about 'warm shows' (see FE 15 March) and 'vintage shows' (see FE 5 April), reassuring, family-friendly formats based on good feelings. But the opposite trend of 'extreme experiences' is also very popular. These are formats in which participants are put under very high pressure, both physically and mentally, with mechanisms and situations designed to push them to their limits in various ways ("push your limits!" is a kind of mantra repeated throughout the programmes).
The 'adventure/competition reality' in extreme locations (jungle, high mountains, open sea...) is just a declination of this wider trend, but the same goal can be achieved in other ways. For example, in the BBC series Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof, contestants are pushed to their limits by extreme cold; there are also formats and factual programmes where contestants have to spend a certain amount of time behind prison bars and so on.
The German ‘extreme game show’ Wer Schläft, Verliert! (You Sleep, You Loose: broadcast by ProSieben, produced by Fischwillwurm Media and distributed by Red Arrow Studios) takes this trend in a very original way, by putting the contestants through a really tough test: sleep deprivation.
Eight celebrities move into a house and are challenged to stay awake for 60 hours while being filmed 24/7. At the end of the 60 hours, they will immediately take part in a live gameshow, competing in a series of challenges designed to highlight the problems caused by sleep deprivation - such as loss of hand-eye coordination. After each challenge, the two worst performers will face off in a duel, with the loser facing the ultimate test: staying awake while tucked up in a cosy bed. Sleep experts analyse the stars' responses to fatigue and comment on their reactions during the challenges.
Now the format has been commissioned by France's national television channel France 2: the battle against sleep is on again!
To read the other news about a Brazilian “role talent” and a spin-off on Prime Video of a classic quiz go to LINK

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