The Yacht sets sail as BBC Studios prepares to showcase unscripted in Cannes

The Yacht was developed by Rebel Rebel and commissioned by NRK

Social experiment format The Yacht will head BBC Studios (BBCS)’ unscripted slate at Mipcom, as the company leans further into “next-generation” reality content.

Developed in the UK by former BBC label Rebel Rebel, The Yacht is commissioned by Norway’s NRK and will be made by BBC Studios Norway.

It sees 12 guests board a luxury vessel and compete in daily challenges to avoid elimination and win cash prizes. However, all is not as it seems in a format that asks the question who are you when you think no one is watching?

The Yacht is one of four formats being shopped to global buyers in Cannes next month. All will be previewed at a session titled Reality Check: A New Era of Unscripted Formats, to be held at 14.30 on Monday October 12 in Auditorium A.

The Big Date, produced by Incís for Catalan pubcaster 3Cat, is a dating format that sees 100 singles get together to find their perfect partner. An AI system has tracked their perfect match, but can they find each other?

Dating experiment format Silent Attraction, meanwhile, is produced by BBC Studios Sweden for SVT. It sees young contestants take part in silent dates where conversation is forbidden and they must rely on physical chemistry.

The final show in the unscripted slate is Dancing with The Stars: The Next Pro. A BBC Studios LA production for ABC in the US, the series is a spin-off from competition show Dancing with the Stars. It follows 12 talented dancers as they battle for the opportunity to earn a coveted place as a professional dancer on the primetime parent show.

BBCS said the line-up reflects its focus on reality as a key area of format development. The Reality Check session at Mipcom will be attended by the BBC’s chief content officer Kate Phillips and director of entertainment and factual Ed Havard.

Matt Forde, president of global productions at BBCS, said: “Reality is already a significant part of what we do across global productions, and we see huge potential to grow even further in the genre.

“Our international production network gives us access to incredible creative talent and expertise, and the ability to develop ideas in one market and take them around the world, as we have done with The Yacht.

“The formats we’re bringing to Mipcom demonstrate the ambition and range of our reality pipeline, and we’re excited to put them in front of buyers.”

BBCS scripted formats to be shopped at Mipcom include farcical comedy Mammoth (7×60’). A BBC Studios Comedy production for the BBC, it stars Mike Bubbins as a 1970s PE teacher who awakes from a coma in 2024 and struggles to adapt to modern times.

The roster also includes thriller series Wild Cherry (6×60’, Firebird Pictures for the BBC), Waiting for the Out (6×45’, Sister for the BBC) and Ann Droid (6×30’, Boffola Pictures and Witchcraft Industries for the BBC).