YLE goes senior speed-dating

Kaiho Republic acquired rights to the Autumn Tingles format

MIPCOM: Finnish pubcaster YLE has landed an improv drama format featuring speed-dating senior citizens from WDR Mediagroup, the commercial arm of regional German pubcaster WDR.

Finnish prodco Kaiho Republic, which picked up the remake rights to Autumn Tingles in the lead up to this year’s Mipcom, will produce a 6×25’ local version for YLE.

The German version of Autumn Tingles has aired on ARD, as both a six-part series and a feature film, as well as scooping a number of awards, including Germany’s prestigious Grimme Preis TV prize in 2015.

Jarmo Lampela, head of Drama at YLE, called the upcoming Finnish version “a challenging and character-driven comedy,” while Kaiho Republic producer Liisa Penttilä-Asikainen said the adaptation would “bring up both humorous and important issues that wide audiences can relate to.”

WDR, which is seeking to grow its international format sales, has a range of unscripted and scripted formats on its books, such as German hit The Human Quiz and ensemble comedy The Unlikely Events in the Life Of… It also coproduces children’s shows.