Dreamspark partners with creator Michou to turn YouTube show into global format

Michou in YouTube hit Terminal, which also screened in cinemas in France

Paris-based unscripted prodco Dreamspark is partnering with MichouCorp, the company launched by French creator Michou, to turn his YouTube show Terminal into a format for international adaptation.

Moe Bennani

Launched in September last year, season one of Terminal centres on a game in which 16 creators are grouped into eight pairs and locked inside a sealed airport-turned-arena for 48 hours with no food and no way out.

Each pair is hunted and must find resources, eliminate the others and survive until the final countdown. As well as streaming on YouTube, it premiered in cinemas across Europe and North Africa.

Dreamspark is joining forces with MichouCorp to coproduce the second season of Terminal, which will move from an airport to a port area built from scratch, with shooting starting next month.

Dreamspark will handle creative production of season two and international distribution of the format rights. Two versions will be available for adaptation: a creator version and a celebrity version for linear TV. The French set can host international versions, with each territory financing its episodes rather than the infrastructure, said Dreamspark.

Terminal joins Dreamspark’s Mipcom slate, which also includes Werewolves (Canal+), The Power (W9, Joyn, soon on Disney+) and That’s My Chair! (France 2).

Moe Bennani, CEO and co-founder of Dreamspark, said: “Season one proved that a creator show could fill cinemas. We bring our expertise in creative production, editing and distribution to make that success repeatable, in France and internationally.

“Many creator hits are a personality and nothing more. Terminal is a game engine: take the name off the poster and it still runs. This is exactly the kind of partnership Dreamspark was built for,” he added.

Michou said: “Season one was a personal bet: more than a year of work, a seven-figure investment and 500 sold-out cinemas for a YouTube programme. We proved our audience deserves that level of ambition.

“With season two, we are building a brand that belongs to us and that must live beyond my channel, in other countries and on other screens. I become game master, the map changes, everything gets bigger,” he continued.

“I am partnering with Dreamspark because I need a team that knows how to turn a show into a format and take it around the world, without ever touching what my community loves about Terminal.”