Corus takes Detour with United Artists

Canada’s Corus Entertainment has linked up with veteran producer Mark Burnett and United Artists Media Group (UAMG) to develop a travel reality format for the international market.

Mark Burnett

Corus’s W Network is prepping a one-hour pilot of Destination Detour (working title) for the Canadian market, with UAMG and Burnett developing the show with Omnicom Canada’s Highway Entertainment and Insight Productions.

John MacDonald, VP of television, head of Corus Women & Family, Corus Entertainment, said the project “continues our strategy to develop new unscripted-reality series and strengthen our relationships with other best-in-class producers to develop content that engages audiences in Canada and viewers around the world.”

The proposed series follows three couples on what they expect to be a well-planned, once in a lifetime holiday, with a series of complications then introduced to disrupt the planned vacation.

UAMG, which yesterday appointed a banking executive to oversee acquisition and investment opportunities for the studio, was revived last year when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer took a 55% holding in production outfits owned by Burnett, Roma Downey and Hearst Entertainment.

The United Artists banner was first launched in 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and DW Griffith.