Non-Fiction
FremantleMedia asks ‘Who Lives Here?’ in new format acquisition
MUMBAI: FremantleMedia is bringing a new format to MIPTV, having acquired the global production rights (excluding North America) to Who Lives Here? – a new competitive property format from Canadian production company, 3Bird Media.
Who Lives Here?combines our love of snooping around other people’s houses and our pre-conceptions about people based on first appearances. In each episode, five strangers tour each other’s homes together and try to work out who lives where. The only information they have at their disposal are their first impressions and their knowledge of each other’s professions.
As they visit each home – which can range from quirky to quaint, uber-modern loft apartment to the extravagant mansion, suburban homes to urban condos – participants have to plot who they think lives in this particular place, matching up design style with their preconceptions of one another. Participants can decide which details about themselves to highlight and which to ‘omit’ so that they don’t give away which home is their own. At the end of the show – once all the guesses have been collated – each homeowner reveals their own place. Whoever makes the most correct home to homeowner matches wins a cash prize, not to mention bragging rights.
Vasha Wallace, SVP, Global Acquisitions and Development at FremantleMedia said, “Who Lives Here? is one of those fantastically simple concepts that has massive potential to travel globally. It taps into two universal notions: our desire to see where – and how – other people live, and the preconceptions we make about people on first meeting them. It is hugely addictive to be both looking at the people’s homes but also to be guessing along with the participants as to who lives in which house. We’re very excited to be working with the creative and talented AndrikaLawren and Jennifer Twamley at 3BirdMedia, to help take their idea to the rest of the world.”
AndrikaLawren, Partner and Executive Producer at 3BirdMedia added: “FremantleMedia’s breadth of experience and impressive reputation with successful formats makes them the perfect partner to take Who Lives Here?into the international marketplace. We are absolutely thrilled to be working with the team at FremantleMedia who share our enthusiasm for the series and our belief that its universal appeal will resonate globally. ”
Ten episodes of Who Lives Here are currently being produced for HGTV Network in the US and W Network in Canada. The series will premiere in April 2014 in Canada and the US Visit FremantleMedia at MIPTV 2014 at Stand No. C11.A1 (Croisette 11, Aisle 1), 7 – 10 April.
MUMBAI: Dharma Cornerstone Agency is turning the page. The talent venture created by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions and Bunty Sajdeh’s Cornerstone Sport and Entertainment is being reshaped as both partners head in different directions, according to media reports.
What began as a bid to bring top-tier celebrity representation under one roof is now winding down its joint structure. With each company pursuing its own strategy in a fast-evolving talent industry, the partnership has reached its final chapter.
Reports suggest that Dharma is buying out Cornerstone’s 45 percent stake in the LLP. Once the transition is complete, Dharma is expected to hold full ownership and steer the operation entirely on its own.
The move comes at a time when celebrity and creator management is splintering into more specialised, independent models. Agencies are sharpening their focus as the entertainment economy grows more crowded and competitive.
DCA has represented a starry roster featuring Tiger Shroff, Ananya Panday, Janhvi Kapoor, Tripti Dimri, Aditya Roy Kapur, Neha Kakkar and Jubin Nautiyal, along with rising names including Ibrahim Ali Khan and Shanaya Kapoor. As the curtain falls on the joint venture, both Dharma and Cornerstone are expected to manage their talent stables separately.
The industry will watch closely as the two now script their next acts.
