HBO Max enters the Time Zone with new competition format from Banijay Iberia

Time Zone is set an abandoned facility known as Time City, where contestants play in a real-life video game

HBO Max in Spain has greenlit “extreme competition show” format Time Zone from Zeppelin, part of Banijay Iberia, which created the format with EndemolShine Nederland, also part of Banijay.

Expected to air this July, Time Zone is set a huge, abandoned facility known as Time City, where 10 contestants play in a real-life video game. In the Spanish show, e-sports presenter and streamer Cristinini will embody the role of the Master of Time and monitor the players’ progress as they race against the clock.

Miguel Martín and Floren Abad are executive producers for Zeppelin with Miguel Salvat and Annelies Sitvast are the executive producers for HBO Max. The series is produced by Zeppelin (Banijay Iberia) for HBO Max parent company Warner Bros Discovery.

While HBO Max has been merged with Discovery+ and rebranded Max in the US, as Meredith Gertler, exec VP of global content strategy, planning and analysis at HBO and Warner Bros Discovery, announced at Content LA last week, the rebrand won’t reach Europe until next year.

“Time Zone immerses you in the universe, aesthetics and technology of a video game, but with real people, carefully selected for their strategic skill and competitiveness,” said Miguel Salvat, VP of original programming and commissioning editor at HBO Max Iberia.

“This happens all under the orders of Cristinini, an expert in the field who acts as Master of Time, both in person and in ‘cyborg’ version. The series stands as a spectacular production, with frenetic rhythm, music and tension, and a unique location.”