Exclusive: Fox is getting the ball rolling on its own dating format aspirations.
The network is piloting Masquerade Ball, a non-scripted entertainment format from Natalka Znak’s ZnakTV and Fox Alternative Entertainment.
The one-hour dating competition gives singles the opportunity to escape their regular lives and enter a period when romance was formal, dressing up was compulsory and the search for love was a serious affair.
In Masquerade Ball, there is no swiping or liking, rather singles must rely on their own wit and charm. Because, in this world, it’s who you are and not what you look like that really matters. It’s all about chemistry, body language and conversation. The centerpiece of every episode is the decadent Masquerade Ball, where our singles have just a few fleeting moments on the dance floor to impress. Can they make these brief conversations count in their efforts to find the...
The network is piloting Masquerade Ball, a non-scripted entertainment format from Natalka Znak’s ZnakTV and Fox Alternative Entertainment.
The one-hour dating competition gives singles the opportunity to escape their regular lives and enter a period when romance was formal, dressing up was compulsory and the search for love was a serious affair.
In Masquerade Ball, there is no swiping or liking, rather singles must rely on their own wit and charm. Because, in this world, it’s who you are and not what you look like that really matters. It’s all about chemistry, body language and conversation. The centerpiece of every episode is the decadent Masquerade Ball, where our singles have just a few fleeting moments on the dance floor to impress. Can they make these brief conversations count in their efforts to find the...
- 4/19/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Natalka Znak, who recently produced Fox competition series Ultimate Tag, is setting up a new venture.
She has set up Znak TV after leaving her previous Sky-backed production company Znak & Co.
Deadline understands she is in the early stages of putting together the company, which will have boots on the ground in LA, where she is based, and London, where she has produced a number of series.
It comes after she parted ways with the Comcast-backed Sky Studios, which last week, launched Transistor Films with Danny Tipping, who was previously head of factual at Znak & Co.
Znak, who separately continues to serve as showrunner for Fox entertainment series MasterChef and MasterChef Jr., has also retained her Znak & Co. IP following the move. She is currently working on an unannounced series with YouTube.
Under Znak & Co., she produced three series for Fox including Ultimate Tag, which launched last May,...
She has set up Znak TV after leaving her previous Sky-backed production company Znak & Co.
Deadline understands she is in the early stages of putting together the company, which will have boots on the ground in LA, where she is based, and London, where she has produced a number of series.
It comes after she parted ways with the Comcast-backed Sky Studios, which last week, launched Transistor Films with Danny Tipping, who was previously head of factual at Znak & Co.
Znak, who separately continues to serve as showrunner for Fox entertainment series MasterChef and MasterChef Jr., has also retained her Znak & Co. IP following the move. She is currently working on an unannounced series with YouTube.
Under Znak & Co., she produced three series for Fox including Ultimate Tag, which launched last May,...
- 3/22/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Blackfin will focus on producing original, character-driven docu-series and sports related content for cable and digital networks, Geno McDermott and Joanne Inglott said today. McDermott will serve as CEO with Inglott as Partner and Executive Producer for current programming. Alexa Conway also is on board as partner and Executive in Charge of Production. McDermott most recently served as creator and executive producer of Cold River Cash for Animal Planet. Previously, he had an overall deal with Zodiak New York where he created, developed and sold straight-to-series a yet to be announced NatGeo docu-series. McDermott has produced character-driven programming for History, Discovery, Nat Geo, Esquire, and Food Network. Inglott was formerly an in-house executive producer at Zodiak New York where she started as a director for ABC’s Wife Swap. She went on to executive produce and serve as showrunner for three seasons of truTV’s All Worked Up and Lizard Lick Towing,...
- 1/23/2014
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
Last year around this time, I was newly engaged and looking for ways to cut costs in order to save for a wedding. One of the first things I decided to do was terminate my DirecTV service. It was tough to give up a DVR full of "Modern Marvels" and "Tom & Jerry" episodes, but we needed money for mason jars…and also the candles to put in those mason jars. And so, for all of our television viewing needs, we relied on Netflix, streamed through the Nintendo Wii in [shudder] standard definition. When you cut the cord, it's not that you watch less TV, your habits just change. You can't keep up with the latest shows or anything on HBO, but you also don't waste two hours watching "Lizard Lick Towing" on Tru TV, and you never have to see a commercial for "The Olive Garden." You become ruthlessly efficient, working...
- 2/26/2013
- backstage.com
Mike Gamson has been upped to Chief Creative Officer of Zodiak Americas and Sheila Cabano to Chief Operating Officer, Zodiak New York. They will oversee the NY office of the reality TV producer, the outfit behind such series as truTV’s Hardcore Pawn and Lizard Lick Towing. The plan is to expand Zodiak’s development and production teams to double profits at the Americas division by the end of 2014, the company said. Gamson had been Svp and executive producer and has been a longtime Ep on the company’s Wife Swap for ABC; Cabano was Svp Production. Related: Zodiak Media Unit Sets U.S. Division Headed By Stefanie Gélinas...
- 1/23/2013
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
truTV's hit series Lizard Lick Towing is back on Jan. 21. The third season of the hit show Lizard Lick Towing is back. Named after the Shirleys. Wendell, N.C., company, the series follows Ron and Amy Shirley, along with Ron.s best buddy, Bobby Brantley, as they brave the world of towing, recovery and repossession. Season 3 of Lizard Lick Towing is slated to premiere Monday, Jan. 21, on truTV. Lizard Lick Towing has drawn more than 2.8 million viewers in its second season. It has also ranked among basic cable's Top 5 programs in its timeslot with total viewers and key adult and male demos, including adults 18-49 (1.7 million); adults 18-34 (881,000); men 18-49 (870,000); and men...
- 11/27/2012
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
Zodiak Media is consolidating its production businesses in North, Central and South America to mirror its structure at its 45 other production outfits in 20 territories worldwide. The newly formed Zodiak Americas, announced today, is is part of a longer-term plan to increase the production company’s focus and investments in the region and will be spearheaded by Zodiak Media COO Jonny Slow, who will relocate from London to La to become Zodiak Americas CEO. He will work closely with new Zodiak USA CEO Natalka Znak, who was promoted to the post last month and oversees a U.S. programming slate that includes ABC series Secret Millionaire and Celebrity Wife Swap and truTV’s two highest-rated series, Hardcore Pawn and Lizard Lick Towing. He also will work alongside Zodiak Latino CEO Harris Whitbeck and Zodiak Brazil CEO Carla Affonso. “This move is a demonstration of the importance of these geographic markets to...
- 7/12/2012
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
Zodiak USA’s Chief Creative Office Natalka Znak has been promoted to CEO. She succeeds Zodiak USA CEO Grant Mansfield who is leaving the company this month to return to his native U.K. after two years at the helm of Rdf USA and then Zodiak USA, following Zodiak Media’s June 2010 acquisition of Rdf. In her new position, Znak will oversee Zodiak USA’s production offices in New York and Los Angeles and will manage a programming slate that includes Secret Millionaire (ABC), Celebrity Wife Swap (ABC) and truTV’s two highest rated series, Hardcore Pawn and Lizard Lick Towing. “Natalka is a force of nature and an inspiring creative – she thinks big and isn’t afraid to take a risk,”Zodiak Media CEO David Frank said. Znak’s appointment as Evp of then-Rdf USA was announced in late 2009. She moved to the U.S. from her native...
- 6/21/2012
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
Talking with Ron Shirley is, to borrow one of his phrases (a.k.a. “Ronisms”), is more fun than a possum in a persimmon tree. The burly Southerner is back for another season of truTV’s Lizard Lick Towing, which the network bills as an “actuality” series about the goings-on at a repossession business in rural North Carolina. The series returns for a brand new season at 10pm June 11. 1. You’re at a magazine rack and can only pick three titles. Which ones do you choose? Mad Magazine, Field & Stream and People. 2. Aside from Lizard Lick Towing, of course, if [...]...
- 6/8/2012
- by Stacey Harrison
- ChannelGuideMag
Exclusive: TruTV has picked up Killer Karaoke, a U.S. version of British game show Sing If You Can. Comedian and Jackass co-star Steve-o will host the new series, which has been given an 8-episode order for a launch in early 2012. Zodiak USA is producing. Described as the Wipeout of singing competitions, Killer Karaoke will feature contestants trying to sing a hit song while being put through extreme, wild and unexpected physical challenges. Examples of distractions used on the original British series, which has celebrities as contestants, have included performing a song from a specially designed erupting volcano and doing a solo while having one’s chest waxed. “Killer Karaoke is a music competition show as only truTV would do it – hilarious, outrageous and wild,” said Marc Juris, Evp and general manager of truTV. There was immediate interest in the format by the U.S. networks after Sing If You...
- 10/3/2011
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
Amy Shirley -- one of the stars of TruTV 's " Lizard Lick Towing & Recovery " -- is recovering from Emergency Surgery to remove a blood clot in her leg that doctors say could have been fatal. 31-year-old Shirley tells us she went to the doc after noticing a knot in the back of her right leg that was tender to the touch. Once docs took a look, they determined it was clot -- and feared it could travel to her heart,...
- 5/4/2011
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
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