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M6 brings Flatmates forward

As France’s TF1 struggles to get its postponed reality format back on track, network M6 has stolen a march its rival by announcing an early debut for its new Big Brother-style series.

M6 is due to debut its original format Les Colocataires (Flatmates) on April 7, weeks ahead of its original tx date. TF1 had originally planned to premiere its VIP version of Strix’s The Farm on April 2 but has been forced to push back the date due to an administrative oversight and opposition from locals.

Production company So Nice, an Endemol France subsidiary, failed to get planning permission to build the set for La Ferme Célébrités. The production also angered a local environment group and so the set has now been moved from the Alpilles to the Vaucluse region in southern France.

Although TF1 believes the production is now only a couple of weeks behind schedule, M6 is effectively taking the lead in this year’s reality stakes. Les Colocataires will see seven men and seven women live in their first flatshare for two months.

The show has been allocated three timeslots on the M6 grid. In addition to a weekly primetime appointment on Wednesdays, viewers will be able to get a daily fix in access primetime, along with a late night and early morning repeat.

M6 has a strong track record in reality formats, having introduced the nation to the genre in 2001 with Loft Story. Given the delay over at Endemol and last year’s failure to capture viewers with Endemol’s Nice People, TF1 might face a long summer trying to make up for lost time.

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