Courtesy of YouTube/Jimmy Kimmel Live
Andy Richter will host 'Big Fan,' a half-hour weekly series produced by Banijay and Kimmel.
Late-night is becoming the reality TV incubator, as ABC is taking a page from Jimmy Kimmel Live for its next game show.
The Disney-owned network is teaming with late-night host Kimmel and Banijay Studios North America for game show Big Fan, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The straight-to-series game show is based on popular Jimmy Kimmel Live segment "Who Knows…?" during which a celebrity and a super fan go head-to-head to see who knows the most about the star competing. Andy Richter will host the half-hour series.
The segment became a viral video success after singer Katy Perry went up against a diehard fan in the challenge. The clip, below, has amassed more than 8.1 million views.
Each of the six episodes of the studio-based game show will feature one celebrity and three of their biggest super fans. The fans will go head-to-head with the winner facing their idol in the final round. If the super fan wins, their prize is an experience with the celebrity they admire most. A premiere date has not yet been determined.
Kimmel will executive produce Big Fan alongside Banijay Group president David Goldberg and Banijay Studios North America chief creative officer Caroline Baumgard.
"Night after night, Jimmy Kimmel Live delivers a slew of great comic bits. There were many to choose from, but 'Who Knows…?' featuring Katy Perry stood out as one that could be expanded into a really unique comedic game show concept that gives fans at home a chance to be part of the experience," Goldberg said. “Thankfully, Jimmy and ABC agree. Collaborating with Jimmy and Andy, two of the funniest people on television, on our first game-show format under the new Banijay Studios North America banner, is very exciting."
Big Fan becomes the second viral video bit from a late-night talk show to spawn its own breakout series. Spike TV hit ratings gold with Lip Sync Battle, based on the regular segment from The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon after NBC famously passed on the series. Perhaps looking to build on the success of James Cordon's Late Late Show bit Carpool Karaoke on CBS, Viacom-owned Spike recently ordered a special for Caraoke Showdown, hosted by Craig Robinson.
The ABC series pickup is Banijay Studios North America's first since launching the stateside banner. The company, which took control of Stephen David Entertainment last year as part of the Paris-based group's strategy to target the English-language market. The company also has a controlling interest in reality TV powerhouse Bunim/Murray Productions, among others across the globe.
Kimmel is repped by Dixon Talent.
ABC
