CBS joins The Audience

US network CBS has ordered a pilot of UK format The Audience, which has been picked to go to series in France and the Netherlands.

ITV Studios America is producing a pilot of the show for CBS following a deal with distributor ITV Studios Global Entertainment, which holds worldwide rights to the format, which was created by UK production company The Garden.

The Audience sees one individual open their life up to 50 complete strangers, who follow them around for a week before helping them to make a life-changing decision.

French broadcaster TF1 has also commissioned a series from ITV Studios France, while a deal has also been struck with RTL4 in the Netherlands.

UK terrestrial Channel 4 was the first broadcaster to order the series, commissioning seven hour-long episodes. It is exec produced by Jonathan Smith and Tom McDonald.

Paul Buccieri, MD of ITV Studios International and CEO of ITV Studios America, said the idea behind The Audience “very naturally crosses cultural and geographical borders.”