Format

Magnify Media, the UK-based distribution and rights-management specialist, has reported the sixth major format deal for RTÉ’s reality hit Fittest Family, produced by Kite Entertainment. The deal with Swedish public broadcaster SVT was brokered by Magnify Media’s manager of format sales, Germany & Nordics, Cecilia Ingebrigtsen.

Jarowskij Productions is poised to go into production on an 8 x 60 mins adaptation of the Irish format, originally commissioned by RTÉ. The show is due to TX on SVT in a weekend primetime slot in the third quarter. As production has now resumed in Sweden, subject to certain protocols, the Swedish iteration of Fittest Family will be recorded on a redevised set and feature specially adapted tasks.

The new SVT series, which will be hosted by Swedish Olympic sprinter Susanna Kallur and top sports host André Pops, will see seven families compete against each other for the title of Sweden's Strongest Family. The action will unfold in a stunning mountain environment, where the competing families will live on a campsite, following strict safety guidelines. Crucially, the families will not be judged exclusively on their physical prowess, but also on how well they work together and support each other.

Haida Jamshidi, executive producer at SVT, said: "We at SVT are very pleased with the order of Fittest Family for Sweden. We believe that the programme has great potential for success. The combination of exciting competitions, strong family relationships and spectacular nature will provide a very popular programme for the family audience."

In related news, RTÉ has committed to an eighth series of Fittest Family, which will be redesigned and modified by Kite Entertainment to ensure that it meets the covid-19 production safety standards. The revisions include transferring the filming to a single location hub, where the action will be filmed outdoors and with no on-set audience. In addition to self-isolating prior to filming, the families involved in the new series will compete in the same challenges, but without mixing physically.

Darren Smith, managing director of Kite Entertainment, said: “In these uncertain times, it’s a joy to be announcing any sort of green light. But to be announcing two green lights for one show — and for that one show to be one of our biggest shows — is simply fantastic. By moving all the action to one location, the Fittest Family format is proving to be a Covidly-robust production model, allowing broadcasters to continue to deliver primetime family entertainment into those slots traditionally inhabited by shinier, studio-based offerings. So as well as looking forward to seeing what our friends at SVT create, we can’t wait to start casting Irish families and preparing them for some gruelling, muddy and incredibly tough Fittest Family fun."

Andrea Jackson, CEO of Magnify Media, added: “Fittest Family was doing brilliantly for us before the pandemic — and I’m not surprised that it continues to perform in our locked-down, family-focused world. Families everywhere are now exercising together, so watching families do the same thing on television feels familiar, authentic and consistent with our new reality. What’s more, Kite, RTÉ, Jarowskij and SVT are proving that, with a bit of ingenuity and a lot of hard work, this is a format that can be adapted for any territory under any circumstances.”

These latest deals confirm Fittest Family’s status as one of the hottest formats to come out of Ireland in recent years. Chilevision aired the first international version of the format in early 2019 followed by a string of European broadcasters, including Germany’s Sat 1, Hungary’s TV2, Croatia’s RTL Croatia and Slovenia’s Planet TV. The last has also optioned the rights to the Balkan region, including Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia.