Scripted series to consist of 30 x 3-minute episodes and touted as first major unscripted TV franchise to be adapted into a drama
Fox Entertainment Studios and Endemol Shine North America are turning unscripted show Fear Factor: House Of Fear into a vertical video drama series.
The as-yet untitled scripted horror is “inspired” by Fox’s Johnny Knoxville-hosted show and will debut on Holywater Tech’s My Drama platform, which is backed by the US broadcaster.
The drama takes place during prep week on a remote horror television set, where a practical-effects artist and her crew unleash a haunted fortune-telling machine that forces them into personalised death trials.
Survivors are left to uncover its tragic origins before it claims everyone they love.
Distribution of the drama will be managed by Fox Entertainment Global. Ian Nsenga and Yuliia Vyshnevska produce, Gabriel Caste directs, and Thom Woodley and Andrew Beck write.
The series will consist of 30 three-minute episodes and is being billed as the first established unscripted TV franchise to be remade as an original scripted series.
The show also marks the first move into scripted horror for My Drama, whose parent company Holywater was backed by Fox in 2025.
Hannah Pillemer, head of scripted at FES, said: “Michael Thorn and his network team saw the opportunity to bring this iconic franchise to Fox in a bold new way, successfully introducing House of Fear and the outrageous Johnny Knoxville to a whole new generation of fans.
“That tremendous response has opened the door to take Fear Factor somewhere it has never gone before: becoming the first unscripted television franchise to make the leap into original scripted storytelling.
“Our friends at Endemol Shine came to us with an inspired way to do exactly that, turning everything audiences love about Fear Factor into the foundation for a completely original horror story.”
Michael Heyerman, exec vice president of unscripted series at Endemol Shine North America, said: “Few franchises are as naturally built for vertical as Fear Factor.
“Vertical storytelling is creating a new language for entertainment, one built on immediacy, intimacy, and serialised discovery, and Fear Factor already speaks it fluently.”
Anatolii Kasianov and Bogdan Nesvit, co-founders and co-chief execs at Holywater Tech, described the show as “another step towards expanding the audience and helping vertical TV evolve into mainstream entertainment.”
Fear Factor: House of Fear debuted on Fox and Hulu earlier this year to 17.5 million multiplatform viewers, and has already been renewed for a second season. The format is owned by Banijay Entertainment and has 32 adaptations worldwide to its name.
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