'gags' Doesn't Crack Up U.s. Nets
By Etan Vlessing
Wednesday, July 2 2003
Wednesday, July 2 2003
Published on AllBusiness.com
Silence is not so golden for Montreal's Just for Laughs comedy festival when it comes to selling its successful hidden-camera TV prank series to the U.S. market.
Despite "Just for Laughs Gags," described as a "nonverbal" prank program, being sold into 75 countries and airing on 70 airlines as in-flight entertainment, David Heurtel, vp TV sales and development at Montreal's Just for Laughs festival, has been unable to crack the U.S. market with the TV stunt series.
The series also airs on TF1 in France and Mediaset in Italy, among other major Euro broadcasters. And in Britain, where "Gags" debuted last month on BBC1, a local version of the series grabbed a 35% share, or 5.4 million viewers, when it aired in mid-June in a prestigious Saturday night slot.
The BBC initially acquired six half-hour episodes of "Gags" and has just optioned another six episodes. The BBC1 edition of "Gags" is a Canadian/U.K. co-production and is shot mainly in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Leeds, England. The series airs across the entire BBC network, including Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England.
But U.S. networks have yet to bite, to the frustration of Just for Laughs distribution executives. Offering one possible reason for the cold shoulder in the United States, Heurtel says: "Some people might think a half-hour of nonverbal comedy in primetime is not something you see often on the U.S. TV landscape. We have to address those concerns."
The "Gags" concept is simple: offering TV audiences the opportunity to watch unsuspecting people caught on camera by prankster actors in uncomfortable stunt situations. For example, in one episode of "Gags," an actor playing a policeman appears to fall asleep while ticketing a dumbfounded car driver. In another, an actor hidden by camouflage grabs and tickles the ankles of surprised people on a park bench.
The visual prank series is extremely popular in Canada, where the CTV network is pulling in 1.5 million viewers per episode, impressive by Canadian standards. The Canadian version of "Gags," now in its fourth season, is shot mainly in Montreal, with some unsuspecting gag victims having been caught on camera in Mexico.
Of course, the hidden-camera, practical joke concept is not unique to "Gags." Allen Funt's original "Candid Camera" series was an early forerunner of reality TV. The "Candid Camera" franchise was resurrected in 1998 by co-hosts Peter Funt and Dina Eastwood before going off the air in 2000.
And MTV is airing "Punk'd," in which Ashton Kutcher plays elaborate pranks on his celebrity friends. Elsewhere, the WB Network's "JKX: The Jamie Kennedy Experiment" similarly features a hipper version of "Candid Camera," with Kennedy pulling pranks on unsuspecting folks.
Heurtel is eyeing the success of both shows with a view to expanding the festival's international franchise into the United States. "Some people (in the U.S.) are looking at a host wraparound for a U.S. series. That may be possible. But our priority is to sell the show as is," he insists. Rather than have the series adapted for American audiences with a U.S. host and new footage produced domestically — as is the case with the British version — Heurtel says he is looking to sell the existing "Gags" series to a U.S. network without customizing it for the American market.
Despite "Just for Laughs Gags," described as a "nonverbal" prank program, being sold into 75 countries and airing on 70 airlines as in-flight entertainment, David Heurtel, vp TV sales and development at Montreal's Just for Laughs festival, has been unable to crack the U.S. market with the TV stunt series.
The series also airs on TF1 in France and Mediaset in Italy, among other major Euro broadcasters. And in Britain, where "Gags" debuted last month on BBC1, a local version of the series grabbed a 35% share, or 5.4 million viewers, when it aired in mid-June in a prestigious Saturday night slot.
The BBC initially acquired six half-hour episodes of "Gags" and has just optioned another six episodes. The BBC1 edition of "Gags" is a Canadian/U.K. co-production and is shot mainly in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Leeds, England. The series airs across the entire BBC network, including Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England.
But U.S. networks have yet to bite, to the frustration of Just for Laughs distribution executives. Offering one possible reason for the cold shoulder in the United States, Heurtel says: "Some people might think a half-hour of nonverbal comedy in primetime is not something you see often on the U.S. TV landscape. We have to address those concerns."
The "Gags" concept is simple: offering TV audiences the opportunity to watch unsuspecting people caught on camera by prankster actors in uncomfortable stunt situations. For example, in one episode of "Gags," an actor playing a policeman appears to fall asleep while ticketing a dumbfounded car driver. In another, an actor hidden by camouflage grabs and tickles the ankles of surprised people on a park bench.
The visual prank series is extremely popular in Canada, where the CTV network is pulling in 1.5 million viewers per episode, impressive by Canadian standards. The Canadian version of "Gags," now in its fourth season, is shot mainly in Montreal, with some unsuspecting gag victims having been caught on camera in Mexico.
Of course, the hidden-camera, practical joke concept is not unique to "Gags." Allen Funt's original "Candid Camera" series was an early forerunner of reality TV. The "Candid Camera" franchise was resurrected in 1998 by co-hosts Peter Funt and Dina Eastwood before going off the air in 2000.
And MTV is airing "Punk'd," in which Ashton Kutcher plays elaborate pranks on his celebrity friends. Elsewhere, the WB Network's "JKX: The Jamie Kennedy Experiment" similarly features a hipper version of "Candid Camera," with Kennedy pulling pranks on unsuspecting folks.
Heurtel is eyeing the success of both shows with a view to expanding the festival's international franchise into the United States. "Some people (in the U.S.) are looking at a host wraparound for a U.S. series. That may be possible. But our priority is to sell the show as is," he insists. Rather than have the series adapted for American audiences with a U.S. host and new footage produced domestically — as is the case with the British version — Heurtel says he is looking to sell the existing "Gags" series to a U.S. network without customizing it for the American market.
