Andrew Zein

Broadcasters in Holland and Belgium have become the first to order full-season remakes of TruTV hidden-camera pranks format Impractical Jokers.

Dutch net Veronica has commissioned an 8×25’ series, which will air in the spring. BlazHoffski, the Amsterdam-based prodco owned by the format’s distributor Warner Bros ^[1] International Television Production (WBITVP), is attached to produce.

BlazHoffski will also produce the Belgian version for VMMa, which comprises an 8×35’ series and compilation special, for a fall airing.

In the UK, diginet BBC3’s previously announced pilot ^[2] will comprise two online episodes totalling 10 minutes. They will go live in May, produced by another Warner Bros subsidiary, Shed Media-owned Yalli.

Impractical Jokers comes from NorthSouth Productions and debuted in the US on cablenet TruTV in December. The format sees four friends setting each other up for a series of increasingly mortifying challenges recorded by hidden cameras.

“The fact that we have secured these deals whilst the first series is still airing in the US shows that international producers and broadcasters agree with what first attracted us to the format – that it’s a simple and strong concept certain to make audiences laugh around the world,” said WBITVP senior VP of creative, format development and sales Andrew Zein.