FremantleMedia snaps up Working Dog’s new improv comedy format

FremantleMedia, one of the largest international creators and producers of programme brands in the world, today has acquired worldwide format rights, excluding Australia and New Zealand, to a new improvisation-comedy format from renowned Australian television and film producers, Working Dog.
‘Thank God You’re Here’ brings together a group of celebrities whose improvisation skills are tested to the max when they are thrown into an unknown situation which they must ad-lib their way through. Each star walks, clueless, through a doorway and into a scene which might be an operating theatre, a Roman dungeon or a spaceship. Greeted by the catchphrase “Thank God You’re Here…”, the celebrity must think on their feet and quickly figure out who they are and why they are there. Filmed in front of a live studio audience, the show supports the adage that there’s nothing funnier than seeing a great mind in panic.
Thank God You’re Here will premiere on Australia’s Network Ten as an 8 x 1 hour primetime series on April 5. FremantleMedia will launch the show at MIPTV in Cannes.
Thank God You’re Here is the latest offering from renowned Australian producers Working Dog, creators of successful comedy television series including sketch show ‘The D-Generation’, chat show ‘The Panel’, and satirical current affairs programme ‘Frontline’.
The Panel has run for seven years on Network Ten and Frontline achieved critical success in Australia and North America winning the Golden Spire Award for Television at the 1997 San Francisco International Film Festival. Working Dog also produced the international award winning films ‘The Castle’ and ‘The Dish’, two of the highest grossing Australian films ever produced, and has recently branched out into publishing with their bestselling fake travel guides ‘Molvania’ and ‘Phaic Tan’.
Tony Stern, Executive Vice-President, Worldwide Entertainment, FremantleMedia, said: “We are very excited to be partnering with Working Dog to take Thank God You’re Here out into the world. Few companies can rival their 15 year record of continuous success, across radio, television, feature film and publishing, innovating in each medium. We fully expect their first foray into formatted entertainment to continue their winning streak, and are thrilled to be taking such a strong format out through our international production network.”
(GB)