Following the recent announcement of its new format titles for MIPCOM, Warner Bros. International Television Production unveils highlights from its slate of finished programming, featuring standout reality, artfully produced documentaries, and engaging factual entertainment, entertainment and scripted series.
Reality
In the first-ever Golden Bachelor Australia (10x60’, WBITVP Australia for Nine Network), 61-year-old widower Barry ‘Bear’ Myrden meets 20 incredible women looking for love later in life. More than a search for romance, this is a celebration of life’s golden years, where opening your heart again can mean rediscovering not only love, but also yourself. MILF Manor (2 seasons: 21x60’, Spun Gold & Lionsgate Television for TLC) sees a group of confident and charismatic older women arrive at a villa looking for love and a fresh start with younger men. However, there’s a shocking twist in store as the men at the villa are not only younger, but they are also each other’s sons. Packed with drama, desire, and unforgettable moments, MILF Manor proves that age is just a number and that true love doesn’t always follow the rules. Inspired by a real experiment in 1973, adventure competition Survive the Raft (9x60’, Critical Content for Discovery US), sees a diverse group of strangers head out into the open water on a raft off the coast of Panama. For 21 days, they will have to navigate the sea, each other and a series of challenges in the ultimate test of teamwork and survival.
Factual Entertainment and Entertainment
24 in 24: Last Chef Standing (2 seasons: 16x60’, Lando Entertainment for Food Network and HBO Max, US) is a cookery competition like no other. Part culinary marathon and part social experiment, this dramatic series pits 24 chefs against each other with 24 challenges over 24 non-stop hours. With twists, curveballs and difficult techniques that border on the impossible once exhaustion sets in, which four chefs will stave off elimination to reach the final, and who will impress the hosts, Michael Symon and Esther Choi, and special guest judges, to win. In Guz Khan’s Custom Cars (8x60’, Ricochet for Quest UK), the comedian and self-confessed ‘petrolhead’ jumps into the world of custom cars, tracking down the boldest and most brilliantly passionate car owners behind these custom creations. With humour and genuine curiosity, Guz pushes the boundaries of customisation and reveals a fresh portrait of the people behind one of the most colourful subcultures of the car community and even takes inspiration for his own custom build. Joining these is Foul Play with Anthony Davis, where the NBA star swaps the basketball court for comedy in this entertaining and mischievous prank show from executive producers The Impractical Jokers. Anthony Davis acts as host, and he’s a man on a mission, challenging his famous sporting pals to score a great prank on their celebrity friends – or foul out trying. Produced by Grandma’s House Entertainment, Bad Woods Entertainment & 4.4.Forty Media for TruTV, US.
Documentaries
Lucy Worsley’s Victorian Murder Club (3x60’, Wall to Wall for BBC Two) is a gripping new historical crime series that follows popular presenter Lucy Worsley and a crack team of experts as they hunt for a Victorian serial killer you will not have heard about: the Thames Torso Murderer. By examining old leads and uncovering new ones, will she be able to solve this historical cold case? The Paranormal strand returns for a third outing in Paranormal III: Britain’s Last Witch (4x30’, Twenty Twenty for BBC Three), with a disturbing new story investigated by Sian Eleri. During World War II, Scottish medium Helen Duncan became the last person in the UK convicted and imprisoned under The Witchcraft Act. Sian is on a mission to reveal the truth: could Helen really bring back spirits in physical form, or was she an extremely clever fraud? The latest season of Who Do You Think You Are? Australia, produced by WBITVP Australia for SBS, returns with a new suite of celebrities seeking to trace their origins through unique personal journeys into their pasts. This adds to the recent launch of the latest UK series of Who Do You Think You Are? (8x60’, Wall to Wall for BBC One) featuring BAFTA-award winner and Oscar-nominated actor Andrew Garfield and First Dates host Fred Sirieix.
Scripted
Leading the scripted programming is Crackhead (8x30’, WBITVP New Zealand for Three and ThreeNow), a comic drama starring Holly Shervey (Shortland Street) about addiction, survival and self-destruction. Party girl Frankie faces the option of jail or rehab after burning everything in her life, including her sister’s house. With four weeks to prove she’s fit to rejoin society, Frankie battles group therapy, withdrawal and her spectacularly bad decisions. Family secrets, old resentments and impulsive mistakes make it clear that survival isn’t just about staying clean: it’s about keeping her sanity, her secrets, and her sense of humour. Dark, messy, and sharply funny, Crackhead is the story of rock bottom, and the ridiculous, dangerous, and unexpectedly human moments you find there. Joining it is the latest series of hit BBC One drama Waterloo Road (8x60’, Wall to Wall). New media studies teacher Darius Donovan (Jon Richardson, Meet the Richardsons) joins Waterloo Road Academy carrying secrets from his past and when a serious mistake threatens to spiral out of control, he must fight to protect his future at the school, even if it costs him allies. Meanwhile, former headteacher Jack Rimmer (Jason Merrells, Happy Valley) returns in a new role, and Headteacher Stella Drake (Lindsey Coulson, Doctor Who) faces challenges closer to home as she takes in her estranged grandchildren.
André Renaud, WBITVP’s GVP of Format and Finished Sales, comments: "From perfect pranks and the paranormal to custom cars, cold cases, and comedy, WBITVP’s finished programming offers a range of titles that invite viewers to learn, to feel, and to be entertained. Our MIPCOM slate once again proudly showcases the best of unscripted and scripted from our global production bases and third-party partners, proving that great storytelling crosses all borders. I’m confident that audiences will find something to suit every taste and mood, and I look forward to sharing all of our finished content with buyers in Cannes.”