Watch out USA – “Wanna Bet….?” is coming at you!
American television viewers will soon be able to enjoy the same event that is drawing millions of Germans to their TV screen on Saturdays.
The popular show “Wetten dass…?”, that has been running for an incredible 26 years, is coming to U.S. homes as well. TV station ABC has bought the format rights from German ZDF in March of this year, and has started producing a pilot, Variety has reported. Since script writers have gone on strike recently, networks are glad for every show they can produce that doesn’t require dialogue writing. Six episodes are planned to be aired in 2007/ 2008.
“Wetten dass…?” is known as a family- friendly show that attracts viewers of all ages. This sometimes leads to a strange mix of guests, because the grey- haired gentleman actor that Grandma is fond of seems misplaced next to the 17- year- old pop starlet with the eccentric hairdo who has the girls in the audience screaming. The show is a mix of musical performances and game show. Next to the celebrity guests that perform or drop by for a chat, contestants bet that they can achieve extraordinary or plain stupid tasks. In the latest episode, one man nailed 20 eggs to a wall without breaking them, while another bet that he could drink a bowl of water faster than a dog. He was voted “Bet King” by the audience.
Yet Americans will be spared of one of the most noted features of the show- Thomas Gottschalk will not be hosting it. It definitely won’t be the same without his over- the- top wardrobe choices and notorious exceeding of the time limit!
But ABC seems to have found adequate replacement for Gottschalk- the popular British duo Ant and Dec (aka Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly) will be hosting the show. They certainly are experienced in dealing with celebrity neuroses or starlight- searching guests, as they have hosted “I’m a Celebrity- Get me out of here!” and “Pop Idol” in the UK.
Despite all criticism concerning the format, “Wanna Bet…?” has a successful example to live up to: The German original has an average market share of almost 50 percent of viewers.
By Jessica Binsch
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2 Comments, Comment or Ping
Kolja
Finally, American TV producers discover Europe’s most successful show of the past twenty years.
Maybe they considered the concept to be too European for an American audience, or maybe all the American superstars told them about the knee grabbing, badly dressed, unfunny host and how they would never again appear on such a show.
Wanna bet it’s the second reason?
Nov 13th, 2007
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