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Youngest Media´s Small Fortune gets ​CJ ENM treatment in South Korea

DRG is pleased to confirm that youngest Media’s innovative, primetime entertainment format, Small Fortune, is going into production in South Korea this week after concluding a deal with CJ ENM. The resulting four-part pilot series will premiere on CJ ENM’s tvN channel in February.

Small Fortune was devised by youngest Media and initially commissioned as a 6 x 60 series by ITV. It aired in the UK in a Saturday primetime slot in 2019 and is due to launch in the US on NBC in 2020. Billed as the world’s smallest physical gameshow, Small Fortune sees teams of friends and family members compete in tiny games set in perfectly miniaturised worlds, often replicating well-known landmarks or historical sites, in order to win big money.

Emmanuel Grinda from DRG was responsible for negotiating the deal with CJ ENM. He comments: “The team at CJ ENM has a brilliant reputation for finding great formats for its channels, so we are pleased that Small Fortune has made it on air with them and await the results of this pilot series with interest. At a time when most physical gameshows are getting bigger and bigger, Small Fortune bucks the trend and delivers a unique look and feel of its own. It successfully supplies lots of jeopardy and emotion and as it can be so readily tailored, with miniature versions of local landmarks or famous places, we are confident that it will be a big success”.

Jooyeon Park, producer from CJ ENM adds: “We have enjoyed working with DRG and youngest Media to develop Small Fortune for tvN and its sister channels and are delighted to be piloting it with our audiences in South Korea. We are always on the look-out for new and different ideas, and think Small Fortune is a truly innovative new gameshow that provides a wonderful mix of fun, unusual visuals and high-stakes tension – making for a great all-round primetime family entertainment show”.

CJ ENM is one of South Korea’s biggest and most influential entertainment companies and in addition to acquiring hit international formats such as Top Gear and Saturday Night Live, also has an enviable reputation for developing its own formats, such as Love at First Song. This new dating and singing hybrid show has been acquired in a number of territories, including in the US by John Legend’s Get Lifted Film Co, Simon Lythgoe’s Legacy Productions and Critical Content.

In related news, DRG is also delighted to confirm that Small Fortune has just been optioned by Sony Pictures Television for a pan-regional deal in Latin America, and also by NENT Group, which has optioned the rights for the Nordic region.

Lucas Church, co-founder of youngest Media adds: “It’s wonderful to see Small Fortune make its way around the world. DRG has done a fantastic job helping secure such wonderful partners and we are excited to work closely with both Sony Pictures Television and CJ ENM to create their own versions of the show.”



About DRG

DRG is an innovative, creative and fast moving business with content at its core. Starting life as a conventional programme distributor in 2007, the company has evolved into a 360-degree content business that today is involved with programme origination and development, financing, talent, production, production services and distribution.

Covering scripted and unscripted content, as well as formats, DRG has built its reputation by working closely with, and investing in, a wide range of internationally recognised production companies, as well as by using its expertise in the domestic and international markets to help incubate promising start-ups. DRG has an extensive catalogue of more than 13,000 hours and 150 formats: the business has taken Doc Martin to more than 100 territories, including 7 international remakes, was a driving force in bringing Scandi Noir to the world and has nurtured The Farm to become one of the world’s most established competitive reality formats, with versions airing in more 50 territories over a 10-year period.

DRG is part of NENT Studios UK, itself part of Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group). Headquartered in Stockholm, NENT Group is a leading international digital entertainment group listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (‘NENT A’ and ‘NENT B’).

About Youngest Media

youngest Media is a new breed of independent studio delivering television, video and digital products. The company, founded by David Flynn and Lucas Church, currently has offices in London and Munich. It’s been behind shows such as primetime hit Small Fortune, which launched on ITV and has sold to NBC in the US, innovative dating show Game of Clones, BBC3 docu reality show HouseShare, daytime quiz Hardball for BBC1, Battle of the Bands for RTLII and Unilad’s first dating show, Date or Dump, amongst others.

The company is an independent creator and producer of big ideas, delivering ambitious content to broadcasters, digital platforms, commercial partners and directly to fans.

For further information, please contact:

Michelle Waldron, Beyond the Box

michelle@beyond-the-box.tv

+44 (0) 7768 568970

Topics

  • Art, Culture, Entertainment

Contacts

Yvonne Thomsen

Press contact Development and Communications Manager NENT Studios Communication +45 22356035

Nicholas Smith

Press contact Senior Communications Manager +46 73 699 17 00