Pop Monkey Turns Up Heatter Formats
By Ed Waller Published: April 13, 2011 LA indie Pop Monkey Productions is stepping up its international drive by acquiring global rights to two formats from Hollywood Squares creator Merrill Heatter. Pop Monkey has acquired international rights to Heatter's gameshow format Catch 21 and will also represent his upcoming gameshow format Hollywood Teasers. Catch 21 is currently in its fourth season on US cable network GSN and mixes the popular card game 21 (aka Pontoon, aka Blackjack) with pop culture questions. Alfonso Ribeiro hosts the GSN show. "Pop Monkey impressed me with a vision to not only bring this format to TV audiences around the world but to also create multi-platform elements," said Heatter. Heatter's Hollywood Teasers, an update on classic gameshow Hollywood Squares, will also be repped globally by Pop Monkey. The new twist is that home audiences can play along with the studio contestants. Pop Monkey was set up last year by UK multi-platform producers Chuck Thomas and Simone Thorogood with US television veteran Syd Vinnedge (The Price Is Right) and former director of development at FremantleMedia Hugh Wright. The deal with Heatter comes soon after Pop Monkey picked up US rights to UK format In the Dark, Canadian format Gutter Ball Alley and Indonesian format Pilihan Mama. It has also sealed a deal to shoot pilots at the UK's AdVision TV Studios. © C21 Media 2011 |