Mediaset Distribution, the sales arm of Mediaset Group, has announced the international launch of Back to School, a new prime time entertainment format broadcast by Italia 1 with breaking record results, at the upcoming MIPTV (Cannes, 3-6 April 2022).

Back To School (5 episodes) is a game show aired by Italia 1 on January 4 in prime time, produced by Blu Yazmine for RTI. The first episode reached almost 2 million viewers with an audience share of 9.8% above the average share of the channel, while the commercial target group reached a very good audience share of 13.62%.

In each episode, a group of children aged 7 help celebrities to pass the much-feared and first real test we all have experienced in our lives: the fifth-grade exam at elementary school. The host, Nicola Savino presents twenty-five celebrities from the world of entertainment, music and sports and invite them to go back to school to attend classes given by 12 children. In each episode, the six candidates take the final exam in front of an examination commission formed by five real teachers who will decide either to promote or hold them back to the next episode. Before taking the exam, they will receive help from a team of twelve whiz kids, aged 8 to 10 years, who will be their teachers.  

Massimo Porta, Head of Entertainment at Mediaset, said, “The format was devised internally and proved to be a great success: the launch overperformed the channel average and the overall reception was so good that it has been immediately confirmed for a second season.”

Claudia Marra who handles the format’s rights for Mediaset Distribution is very happy to add this title to the catalogue, “After two years of lockdown, I am very excited to pitch this incredible format to my clients as I really believe in the good results of a show that is fun and entertaining with kids and celebrities having great time together.”