TGC Global Entertainment (TGC GE), the international distribution company launched by format veteran Phil Gurin, has acquired the international rights to a slate of digital-first dating formats from Elixir, a new Los Angeles-based digital media company that sets out to create “network-quality reality shows for YouTube”.
TGC GE has acquired four Elixir YouTube dating shows: Date on a Plate, First Dates in Bed Red Flag Green Flag and Talent Crush. The deal was brokered by Gurin, and Elixir’s founding partners, unscripted TV veterans Jeff Kmiotek and Michael Zinman.
Date on a Plate features four singletons — but only from the neck up. The contestants’ heads emerge from under giant silver cloches, whereupon they compete in a series of surreal compatibility challenges. There are a few more body parts on view in First Dates in Bed, which starts where a successful date might end — in bed.
Taking “no filters, no fakers and no shame” as its guiding principles, Red Flag Green Flag challenges contestants to reveal their best and worst qualities to potential partners. Talent Crush, meanwhile, fuses dating and talent in a social experiment that asks how much a gift — be it artistic, musical or athletic — increases your sex appeal.
Phil Gurin said: “We are now truly in the era where formats can come from anywhere, but right now a fertile ground for the need to be experimental and find audiences quickly is YouTube. There’s a distinct difference with what Elixir is doing however – these ideas are not just segments, they are fully realised formats crafted by TV professionals. This is the future of where great formats will spring from but it’s the originality of these shows that sets them apart. We believe they have the structure, creativity and eyeball stickiness to be replicated around the world in any territory and on any platform, from traditional to digital — just like great formats always have been.”
Elixir launched in February to create dating & reality shows for YouTube. Kmiotek, an Emmy-nominated producer whose network hits include The Masked Singer, said: “At Elixir, we create bold, unfiltered and innovative formats that capture the chaos, comedy and cringe of modern dating. Our mission is to spark true connection in the most outrageous way to help singles find their perfect match. Partnering with TGC GE in taking our original concepts worldwide feels like we’ve found our perfect match.”
Zinman added: “As Elixir pushes the boundaries of dating entertainment, TGC GE is the ultimate partner to take our hilarious insanity international. We couldn’t be more excited to unleash our wildly addictive dating experiments across the globe.”
