British factual company Zink Media Group has been commissioned to reimagine and produce Season 18 of Qatar Foundation’s educational reality show Stars of Science in a $6 million deal that marks Zink’s first major entertainment commission in the Middle East.
Stars of Science, which features Arab innovators and entrepreneurs working with expert guidance to turn their ideas into inventions, is one of the longest-running entertainment formats across the Arab world and diaspora.
“Zink has been brought in to lead a complete creative reset of the format, revamping the storytelling and studio experience through the integration of AI technology and expanding the appeal of entertainment to a new generation of viewers,” according to a statement.
Andrea Hamilton (The Voice, Strictly Come Dancing) will serve as an executive producer on the new season, adding that she “brings extensive entertainment expertise to the revamped format.”
“The Star of Science already has extraordinary heritage and cultural relevance across the region,” Hamilton said in a statement. “The opportunity now is to evolve the format for a new generation of viewers, bringing more sense of scale, emotion, crisis and entertainment storytelling while putting innovation at the heart of our programming. We want our viewers to connect not just with inventions, but with the people behind those inventions,” she continued to point out.
The next season of Stars of Science will be produced in Arabic and English by The Edge, a company of Zinc’s Middle Eastern label Media City Qatar. Zink Distribution is responsible for international sales and also oversees the marketing and communications strategy for the show across 22 Arab countries and Arab diaspora regions around the world.
Faye Jackson, CMO of Zink Media Group, commented: “This is a very important commission for Zink and a major milestone for our Middle East business. Our new operation under MediaCity Qatar brings the full power of Zink to the region, delivering premium production, entertainment expertise, international distribution and strategic communications, all working together on one show.”
Zinc Media is known for its range of products, from the BAFTA-winning BBC premium documentary series Death of Yugoslavia to popular lifestyle and reality formats such as Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour and Police Interceptor. The company operates a wide range of labels including Tern TV, Raw Cut, Brook Lapping, Red Sauce, Supercollider, The Edge, Tomos TV, Rex, Electric Violet, Atomic Television, Bumblebee and its global sales and distribution arm, Zinc Distribution.
