Boss goes undercover in China

Workplace reality show Undercover Boss is being remade in China after distributor All3Media International secured a deal with Dragon TV, part of the Shanghai Media Group.

The show, originally produced by Studio Lambert for Channel 4 in 2009, sees executive bosses go undercover as an employee in their own company.

Dragon TV will produce the Chinese version and has signed for an initial 13×60′ season.

The deal brings the number of territories where the format has been licensed to 18, including Canada, France and on CBS in the US, where the show is now in its fifth season of filming.

Stephanie Hartog, executive VP of international formats at All3, which acted on behalf of Studio Lambert, inked the deal with media consultancy CMM-I and Dragon TV.

Florian Fettweis, consulting director at CMM-I, said the Chinese version of Undercover Boss had the potential to “open up a new formats era in China” where more non-studio formats could find their way into the country.

Undercover Boss now plays in over 200 countries across the world.