Bebo, Endemol prepare for Gap Year

Social media network Bebo has confirmed May 21 as the date it will launch The Gap Year!, its round-the-world reality web series, developed in partnership with Endemol.

Bebo and Endemol UK joined forces last October to reach out to the Bebo community to audition for the new series, and having received more than 400 applications, have whittled the final list down to six travellers.

The show will follow the travellers’ “trials and tribulations” on a daily basis, in real time across six different – and constantly changing – locations around the world.

Each traveller will set off on an individual six-month journey to circle the globe on their dream gap year with a producer in tow, and will post at least one weekly video blog on the show’s dedicated Bebo mini-site.

Pasa Mustafa, Endemol UK’s head of digital studios, said: “The Gap Year is a groundbreaking project for several reasons. It’s the first time a reality show of this scale has been entirely funded by sponsors. Being a global show it also truly connects an internet audience through entertainment in a way that blogs, forums and news has done for years.

“The way we are producing and delivering the show in a tight turnaround from six different places around the world also looks to new production techniques.”