Seven commissions US format Ultimate Tag for 2021
Seven has commissioned a season of US reality format Ultimate Tag from Endemol Shine Australia to air in 2021.
The format sees two simultaneous competitions of tag between three men and three women take place on three-dimensional moving courses. Seven has described it as “the fastest game on Earth”.
Since the appointment of CEO James Warburton in August last year, Seven has been revamping its programming in an effort to engage more with the key advertising demographic of those aged 25 to 54.
Ultimate Tag was created by Znak & Co and first went to air in the US on Fox in May this year. Its launch was broadcast’s highest-rated unscripted summer debut in three years, Seven said.
Seven’s network programming director, Angus Ross, said the show will form part of its tent pole strategy that “delivers epic entertainment to all audiences”.
“We’re excited to be partnering with Endemol Shine Australia to bring Ultimate Tag, a dynamic new format, to Australia next year. Endemol Shine are the masters of supercharging shows to massive success in Australia, and with Ultimate Tag we know they will deliver a great show that our viewers will love, just as they have done with Big Brother this year,” Ross said.
“We can’t wait to bring Ultimate Tag to our audience next year and continue our content-led growth story that has reestablished Seven as the place for brands to reach key demographics.”
Mark Fennessy, CEO of Endemol Shine Australia, said: “It’s the fastest and most intense competition ever seen – a super-sized family game that just became a sport. Everyday Runners must avoid our professional Taggers – a mischievous group of highly skilled free runners, parkour artists and elite athletes. It moves at a frightening speed that delivers momentary thrills, surprising victories and startling defeats. Ultimate Tag is blockbuster family entertainment at its pulsating best – the Ultimate Test on the Ultimate Playground.”
A casting call for Ultimate Tag is now open.
Other programs forming part of Warburton’s Seven revamp include the Rebel Wilson-fronted dog grooming competition Pooch Perfect, quasi-military training television program SAS: Who Dares Wins, American mini golf format Holey Moley, and Plate of Origin, a cooking competition hosted by My Kitchen Rules judge Manu Fidel and former Masterchef hosts Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston.
Pooch Perfect went to air earlier this year. It premiered to 624,000 metro viewers, according to OzTAM’s overnight figures, and ratings slipped to almost half that for its finale, pulling 316,000 metro viewers.
This week, Warburton declared Big Brother a resounding success and said it had changed the game for Seven. Farmer Wants a Wife will premiere on Sunday.
Production on Holey Moley has paused due to COVID-19 as it is filmed in the US. SAS: Who Dares Wins also stopped filming. Holey Moley is now not expected to arrive in Australia until 2021.
Promotion for Plate of Origin has already begun.
Smells like Australian Spartan all over again.
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