Format

Leading independent distributor Hat Trick International (HTI) has sold 50 episodes of the successful US version of the award-winning, improvisational comedy series Whose Line Is It Anyway? exclusively to UKTV in the UK.

The deal was brokered by HTI’s Cassandra Toller and UKTV’s Global Acquisitions Manager, Daniel Thomas. The series will launch on the network’s Dave channel this February in a prime-time evening slot, stripped across the week. Hosted by popular US talk show host, actress and comedian Aisha Tyler, the series features Wayne Brady, Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie as well as celebrity guests including Mel B, Kevin McHale, Nolan Gould and Jack Osbourne, and is produced by Angst Productions and Hat Trick Productions for The CW.

13 international adaptations of the long-running comedy format have been produced around the world, including Australia (Foxtel), Finland (MTV3), Holland (BNN-Vara), Vietnam (Dong Tay Promotion) and Egypt (TeN TV).

HTI has also secured sales deals for comedy show Hypothetical, now in its third series on Dave in the UK. Produced by Hat Trick Productions, the series has sold and aired on BBC Studios’ Global channels in Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and also SBS Australia and TVNZ in New Zealand.

Sarah Tong, Director of Sales at Hat Trick International, comments: “Hat Trick International has established an incredible pedigree of highly successful comedy series in its catalogue and we’re delighted to be able to spread some laughs to many parts of the world through the sales of these two entertainment formats. We all need cheering up right now and they certainly deliver a mix of intelligent wit and silly comedy.”

The Whose Line is it Anyway? format was created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson and is an unscripted comedy show in which four guest performers improvise their way through a series of games, including using celebrity guests as human props, acting out scenes in which audience members provide the sound effects or the contents of their handbags, improvised songs in many and varied styles, quick-fire hilarious one liners and acting out news stories in front of a green screen assisted, or hindered, by questions from their fellow performers. Performers are awarded points by the host on an entirely arbitrary basis. The "prize" for the "winner" is to read out the closing credits in a style demanded by the host. The US version has been running since 2013 on The CW.

Hypothetical (22 x 1 hour) is a popular comedy panel show hosted by Josh Widdicombe (The Last Leg) and James Acaster (Repertoire). Over four hilarious rounds, top comedians are posed increasingly absurd hypothetical situations and scored on how well they would deal with them.