Louis Morissette and the KOTV team have never hidden their ambition to make Zenith a format that would become popular around the world, much like Star Academy and of The voice. A crucial step has just been taken in this direction: a first European adaptation of the musical competition has just been confirmed in Spain.
The Spanish version of the variety show imagined here and hosted here by Véronique Cloutier will therefore be filmed in October, then broadcast on a channel kept secret for the moment. Producer Rubén Mayoral, from Lavinia Audiovisual (Alaska and Mario, The Sagrada Familia on HBO Max), and the director Jordi Rosell, director of Spanish variety shows, also attended the presentation of Zenith in the studio in Montreal last week, to formalize the sale of the format, while Joe Bocan was crowned finalist of the boomer clan.
“They spent the day of Wednesday, then Thursday, with us in rehearsals, asking a thousand questions,” explains Louis-Philippe Drolet, general director and partner at KOTV, in an interview with The Press.
A sign that the game between generations could give rise to other children elsewhere on the planet, sales options have also been concluded in four countries, namely France, Germany, England and Australia. Producers from these territories hold exclusive rights to develop the format if they wish to materialize it on screen. Negotiations are even underway with a key industry player in the United States.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY KOTV, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Louis-Philippe Drolet, general director and partner at KOTV
The announcement from Spain, which gives a go in production, will help us in sales. Often, countries look at each other and wait to see who will stand up…
Louis-Philippe Drolet, general director and partner at KOTV
Special features
A television format is defined as such thanks to its distinctive signs, recognizable no matter where in the world it is watched: the red seats of The voicethe suitcases of Banker, etc. On the side of Zenith, it is the central platform, the arrangement of the public in columns and the representation of generations, among others, which will constitute the notable particularities. These elements will be non-negotiable in the sale of the concept.
Lavinia Audiovisual, manufacturer of Zenith Spanish, is used to filming two-hour television appointments, without commercial breaks, which could lead to changes in shots. For the rest, “even the musical signature will be recognizable”, indicates Louis-Philippe Drolet.
The producer KOTV wants to impose its brand abroad in the world of television varieties by using Zenith as a vehicle, after having warmed up by distributing It’s my tune And Verdictas well as fiction like Plan B, elsewhere on the globe. World leaders were consulted in various international television markets to identify needs in this regard.
In Quebec, we really have extremely talented creators and artists. The Voice And Star Academy still work really well, but these formats have been around for a long time. Everyone is looking for what the next big thing will be. We pretend to say that we could try it!
Louis-Philippe Drolet, general director and partner at KOTV
As soon as the Zenith in Quebec, in January 2023, KOTV revealed that the French group Mediawan Prod had acquired the format to possibly propel it into French-speaking Europe, based solely on the recording of the pilot, while no episode had yet been released. was relayed on the airwaves.
Zenith is broadcast on ICI Télé live on Thursday evenings at 8 p.m., and has attracted an average of 817,000 viewers since the start of its second season, which began on January 11.
A concept finally understood
Questioned last year, the mechanics of rounds of Zenith (individual performances, confrontation of the candidates with the lowest scores, generation final, then final meeting between the four finalists) seems better understood today. “In the first season, we wanted to explain it so much that it ended up looking complicated! But it’s quite simple. We decided to focus less on the details…” says Dominic Anctil, vice-president of entertainment at KOTV.