Veteran Belgian competition show handed 10-part series from Holey Moley outfit Eureka Productions

The Mole - Primitives

Primitives veteran format: The Mole

Netflix is pressing ahead with its unscripted push by commissioning an adaptation of iconic Belgian reality competition The Mole.

Produced by Fremantle outfit Eureka Productions the 10-part reimagined series sees twelve players work together in challenges to add money to a pot that only one of them will win at the end.

Among the players is one individual who has secretly been assigned as ‘the mole’ and will attempt to sabotage the group’s money-making efforts. Participants will strive to outlast their competition and expose the mole to win the prize pot themselves.

Australian-US company Eureka Productions is behind several high-profile streaming unscripted series and is behind reality format Twentysomethings: Austin (fka Roaring Twenties) and HBO Max gardening competition Full Bloom. It is also behind popular US mini-golf gameshow Holey Moley for ABC.

The Mole, part of Flanders-based Primitives’ catalogue, has been sold into over 20 international territories, making it the most-sold format from the country. Since its launch in 1998, series have been produced in the US, Germany and the Nordics (among others) and is currently still running in Belgium, The Netherlands and Sweden.

An Italian adaptation for Mediaset, which is scheduled for 2023 was recently announced as well.

Jan Huyse, Primitives managing director said: “The Mole is one of the best reality formats in the market and is still going strong after more than 20 years. We are very proud of its ongoing success.”

The Netflix deal was brokered by former Primitives sales and acquisitions exec Siobhan Crawford.

Earlier this year, Netflix execs told Broadcast it was plotting an expansion of its unscripted universe with noisy experiments and broad entertainment formats on the wish-list. This coincided with data from both Broadcast Intelligence and Ampere Analysis which showed there had been an uptick in entertainment commissions by the streaming giant in recent years including tentpoles Too Hot To Handle, Love Is Blind and Selling Sunset.

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