“UpDating” is gaining traction. The creators of the live comedy dating show, which became wildly popular through social media sites like YouTube, partnered with ITV America (“Love Island USA”) to adapt the format into a television and streaming series.
UpDating creators Brandon Berman and Harrison Forman will develop the new series with ITV America Nashville, led by executive producer Adam Reid. “UpDating” is a live event where multiple singles go on blind dates blindfolded on stage and in front of a live audience. The event, hosted by Berman and Forman, will be unscripted and unexpected, and will be “filled with laughs and include engaging, sometimes bizarre, sometimes awkward, and sometimes exciting interactions between potential dates,” producers say.
The new television format is modeled after that live experience. Episodes will be released in real-time, so viewers at home can participate as well as the cast themselves.
“‘UpDating’ is a format we’ve built and fine-tuned for years in front of live audiences around the world every night. Every show is completely unpredictable, and at this point we know exactly how to navigate disruption and turn it into magic,” Berman and Forman said in a joint statement. “We have recently received a lot of interest from potential creative partners and are excited to work with ITV America to take this mayhem to an even bigger stage.”
UpDating has just started a national winter tour that includes two performances in Los Angeles next month. The show has been performed in over 140 cities around the world. More recent locations have included Boston’s Wilbur Theater and New York City’s Town Hall.
“UpDating” live shows are uploaded weekly to our YouTube channel, which currently has over 1 million subscribers. The show has 1.6 million followers on Instagram, 1.5 million followers on TikTok, and 500,000 subscribers on Snapchat. According to its producers, “UpDating” currently has more than 5 billion total views across platforms.
“Brandon and Harrison have created a hilarious and thrilling live show experience that is also ridiculously addictive on YouTube,” Reed said. “We’re working together to significantly expand the show, amplifying the creative elements that have made this show a hit, from its authentic spontaneity to its interactive nature, while adding new twists that will appeal to die-hard fans and newcomers alike.”
ITV America, part of ITV Studios, produces Peacock’s “Love Island USA” and related shows, as well as NBC’s “The Voice,” Netflix’s “Queer Eye” and Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen.” Reed’s Nashville division produced NBC’s “Toby Keith: American Icon” and Lifetime’s “Thank You God: Christmas at the Keller Ranch.”
Berman and Forman are repped by Brillstein Entertainment Partners, WME, and Jorn Levin Burns Klinzmann Rubenstein Corner Endlich & Gellman.
