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John de Mol, Stephen Lambert team up to adapt Million Dollar Island for UK, US

Talpa’s Million Dollar Island will air in the Netherlands on SBS6

John de Mol and Stephen Lambert, two of the biggest names in the formats business, are joining forces for the first time on US and UK versions of Dutch format Million Dollar Island.

Studio Lambert will produce both adaptations of the latest adventure reality show from De Mol’s Talpa.

The Dutch original has just completed shooting in the Philippines and will air in the Netherlands on SBS6 in March. Amazon Prime in Holland will have a day-and-date SVoD second window.

The format sees 100 people dropped on an uninhabited tropical island where they need to survive for two months.

Upon arrival, each contestant is given a numbered bracelet worth US$10,000, so the 100 bracelets together are worth US$1m. The contestants gain and lose bracelets by playing duels and challenges and by receiving them from those who quit.

Contestants can quit at any time. When they do, they must give their bracelet, or bracelets, and therefore the value, to one of the remaining contestants.

De Mol, founder and chairman of Talpa, said: “We were confident the format would work but the intrigue, emotion and drama of the first episodes exceeded our expectations.

“We believe audiences in many territories will be compelled by the stories the format generates and we know Stephen and his colleagues will do a brilliant job of making the show for both the American and British audiences.”

“John has created several of the world’s biggest and most successful formats, from Big Brother to The Voice, and we’re hugely excited about the prospect of making the first English-language versions of what we believe will be his next global hit,” said Lambert, founder and CEO of Studio Lambert.

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