Friday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

Love on the Road lands in Lithuania

Lithuania’s Telia Play has become the latest company to order a local version of reality dating format Love on the Road.

The Lithuanian version will be known as Meile Ant Ratu and features single people travelling across Europe in their vans, tracking who will stay on the road to love and who will say goodbye.

The format was created by Tuvalu Media and was recently extended into a 30-episode second season for NPO in The Netherlands, which will air in November 2025.

The Lithuanian remake consists of 8 x 60-monute eps and comes after Tuvalu got the greenlight to produce a second season for NPO in The Netherlands, which will air in November 2025.

Sony buys 2.5% stake in Bandai Namco

Sony has taken a 2.5% stake in Pac-Man maker Bandai Namco, building on a strategic partnership between the companies first struck in 2022.

The 2.5% cost Sony 68bn yen (£341m) and will see the Japanese companies working more closely together on meeting global demands for local content and anime.

Bandai and Sony said they would be “expanding the fan community for IP such as anime and manga around the world and strengthening engagement, particularly in the anime field where rapid market growth is anticipated, while merging their strengths to create new and emotionally moving experiences for fans, and as a result of these efforts maximise the value of IP.”

Peacock doubles down on Days Of Our Lives

US streamer Peacock has extended soap Days Of Our Lives into its 62nd and 63rd seasons.

The show, which Peacock says has ranked among the top 15 entertainment series on the platform consistently since September 2022, is produced by Corday Productions Inc. in association with Sony Pictures Television.

It debuted in 1965 and follows the lives, loves, and conflicts of the Horton, Brady, DiMera, Kiriakis, and Hernandez families and their many friends and colleagues.

Netflix names European country for Physical 100

Netflix in Italy is remaking South Korean reality format Physical 100, it has confirmed.

The streamer said earlier this month that a European version of the show was in the works and it has now confirmed that Physical 100: Italy will land on the streamer “soon”.

Editorial curator is Roberta Briguglia, with Tommaso Marazza as project lead. The writing team includes Lorenzo Campagnari, Valerio Trapasso, Christian Monaco, Federica Riva, Antonio Moreno, and Barbara Strambi.

The format, which was created by MBC producer Jang Ho-gi and debuted in 2023, sees elite athletes, bodybuilders, and military professionals face off in grueling quests that test raw strength and endurance. It is also being remade for Netflix in the US.

USA axes Resident Alien

US comedy-drama Resident Alien has been cancelled by USA, with its upcoming fourth season final set to be its final ep.

The show nearly ended after the third season when Syfy axed the series, but NBCUniversal sibling network USA stepped in.

However, the show - USA’s only scripted series at present - did not perform sufficiently to secure a fifth outing. Amblin Television, Universal Content Productions and Dark Horse Entertainment were producers.

BBCS set for ‘broken turnaround’ union meeting

BBC Studios is to attend a roundtable discussion to discuss the issue of ‘broken turnaround’ with Pact and Bectu, Broadcast understands.

Broken turnaround is when crew are required by their employer to return to work less than 11 hours after finishing a shift – thereby losing out on sufficient rest time.

BBC Studios declined to comment on the meeting, which is provisionally scheduled to take place later this month.

Pact and Bectu have jointly pledged to work to eliminate the issue of broken turnaround in scripted and unscripted productions after meeting over the issue last month, and called on BBCS, ITV and the Production Managers Association (PMA) to attend their next meet to address the problem. Read more