Lineup Industries dials Swiss broadcaster SRF for Emergency Call format

Emergency Call from Belgium’s De chinezen

MIPCOM: Amsterdam-based distributor Lineup Industries has partnered with Swiss broadcaster SRF for a local adaptation of documentary format Emergency Call.

Following the highs and lows of regular shifts in an emergency call centre through the eyes and ears of the people who work there, the format was originally created by De chinezen for Belgium broadcaster VRT Eén.

SRF has commissioned and will produce a local version of the fast-paced series, just as NHK in Japan has recommissioned its own adaptation for a fourth season.

Meanwhile, the US version of the format, produced by 8 Hours Television and hosted by actor Luke Wilson, has also sold to Australia’s Nine Network, New Zealand’s TV3 and Talpa TV in the Netherlands. Local versions of the format have also been produced in Belgium (both Flemish and French), Australia, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Turkey, where it formed part of a governmental public service campaign.

Ed Louwerse, co-founder of Lineup Industries, said: “There are numerous ‘blue light’ formats but the people who field the initial call must make critical decisions under pressure as well as managing fraught and sometimes bizarre conversations with calmness, clarity and perception. Emergency Call captures the rollercoaster of their everyday work in tense, sometimes humorous, but consistently compelling television that appeals to a broad audience.”