Talpa reality survival format Million Dollar Island set for MENA remake at MBC

Talpa’s Million Dollar Island

Talpa’s reality survival format Million Dollar Island is being adapted in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by MBC Group.

The local version is being produced by Dubai-based Blue Engine Studios, which recently agreed a partnership with Talpa Concepts, the format development arm of John de Mol’s Netherlands-based company.

The MENA adaptation will air on one of United Arab Emirates-based MBC’s TV channels, although which one has not yet been confirmed, in addition to its Arabic SVoD service Shahid VIP.

Created by de Mol, the original version of the format premiered last month on SBS6 in the Netherlands, with Amazon Prime taking a day-and-date SVoD second window.

The format, which sees 100 people being left on an uninhabited tropical island and tasked with surviving for two months for a chance to win up to US$1m, has already proven to be a hot property internationally, with NBC ordering a US version last month.

The US show is being produced by Studio Lambert. The All3Media-backed company is also developing a UK version through a partnership with Talpa.

The MENA adaptation is set to be produced in Neom, a yet-to-be-built city in the Tabuk Province of north-western Saudi Arabia. The first section of the city is set to be completed in 2025, with the project costing an estimated US$500bn.