Korean Game Show 'The Genius Game' To Get A French Reboot

On October 17, CJ E&M announced they have sold the social realitiy game show format for "The Genius Game" to Fremantle Media France. Fremantle Media France holds the rights to broadcast in French speaking countries.

The show first aired in 2012 and features 13 players from various backgrounds who go against one another in a battle of wits over 12 episodes. In past seasons, producers have invited varied professionals including a magician, poker champion, billiard player, pro-gamer, hacker, mathematician, news anchor, politician, music producer, and K-Pop idol star to particpate in the program.

For the first season of The Genius Game, Hong Jin-Ho, a professional StarCraft player from South Korea, became the ultimate winner. In season two, Lee Sang-Min, a member of the Korean hip hop and dance group Roo'ra, was the victor.

Currently, Korean cable network tvN is airing its third season with record-high ratings. Ratings for the first two seasons were consistently high. Both seasons ranked number one in its prime time slots among adults aged 20-49, according to CJ E&M.

"We are excited to introduce our content to French-speaking viewers," Alex Oe, the director of acquisitions and sales at CJ E&M said. "The continuing successful deals for our formats reflect CJ E&M's leading the charge of Korean entertainment content beyond Asia where they are already massively popular."

Earlier this year, CJ E&M also sold the formats for its audition program Super Diva, quiz program Crazy Market, revenge drama Ice Adonis, and romantic drama Crazy Love to partners in Europe and Latin America.

As shows produced in South Korea are slowly becoming popular among viewers in other nations, many fans can look forward to more content sharing with broadcasters around the world.

In the meantime, fans can look forward to the upcoming French version of "The Genius Game," as well as one in the Netherlands where the format was also sold this past February.