Discovery falls for dating formats

US factual cablenet Discovery Channel has greenlit three dating formats, including one blending survival and romance.

Nancy Daniels

Produced by Renegade 83, Naked & Afraid of Love challenges 16 singletons to survive the elements on an island paradise to see if they forge connections without the luxuries of modern life and its filters.

Mating Season (working title) sees men and women look to the animal world for love, by stripping away their human habits and setting animalistic challenges, such as limiting speaking opportunities and choregraphing the perfect mating ritual. The series is produced by Boat Rocker Studios through Matador Content.

Mountain Love is produced by Sharp Entertainment and sees five people from cities and suburbs decide to move in with their long-distance partners, who live off-grid in some of the remotest corners of the country, to test their relationship.

Nancy Daniels, chief brand officer at Discovery and factual, said: “We’ve documented people all over the world doing the most extreme things – whether it’s risking their lives out at sea, street racing or travelling to space – but nothing better illustrates what it truly means to be human than our quest for love.

“We are combining core elements of the Discovery brand with the complexities of finding love and companionship, and the results will both thrill and tug at the heartstrings.”

In related news, Discovery has also greenlit an investigative documentary into fallen socialite and alleged sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, for its Discovery+ streaming service.

Chasing Ghislane is from executive producer and international best-selling author James Patterson, producer Blackfin and author and journalist Vicky Ward.

The doc features exclusive access to more than 30 filmed interviews that Ward is currently conducting, as well as archived audio interviews with Maxwell’s former partner Jeffrey Epstein and others within his circle which were recorded for her original reporting in Vanity Fair.