EXCLUSIVE: John De Mol is bringing his latest entertainment format to the U.S.
The Big Brother and The Voice creator has teamed up with Holey Moley producer Eureka Productions for a U.S. version of The Floor, which is described as a Risk-esque entertainment show.
The Floor is a physical quiz show that sees 100 contestants face-off in quiz duels on a giant LED floor divided into one hundred equal squares, each representing its own field of knowledge.
The goal is to conquer the entire floor and take home a huge cash prize. A contestant challenges an opponent in an adjoining square. The winner of a duel takes over the opponent’s square, and the loser leaves the game. After 10 episodes, the last person on The Floor wins $1,000,000.
Distributed by John de Mol’s Talpa, The Floor is the latest format from arguably one of the most successful format creators in the world. He previously had a deal with ITV Studios after it acquired his previous company Talpa Media, but left in 2019.
Fremantle-backed Eureka and Talpa will take The Floor out to buyers starting this week. The show has already been sold to RTL4 in the Netherlands.
The two companies have previously partnered on an Australian version of Talpa’s Million Dollar Island, which is being produced for Seven Network.
Eureka is on a roll recently, producing The Real Love Boat for CBS and scoring a Fox order for Farmer Wants a Wife and a reboot of The Mole at Netflix. ABC recently aired the fourth season of Holey Moley and it was also behind series such as Frogger for Peacock, Finding Magic Mike for HBO Max and The Real Dirty Dancing for Fox as well as Twenty Somethings: Austin and Dating Around for Netflix.
“John de Mol and the team at Talpa have developed a brilliant format, that we’re confident will hook US audiences,” said Chris Culvenor, Co-CEO of Eureka Productions. “The Floor is a battle of brains on an epic scale. It’s reminded me of the classic board game Risk, but here, it’s your smarts and strategy that will enable you to gain ground and conquer the floor.”
“The Floor is a unique and instantly recognizable, arced gameshow,” added Sebastian van Barneveld, Talpa’s Director International Distribution. “Who better to bring this format to the USA with than Eureka, one of the most prolific production companies today, in both the USA and Australia.”