Keshet 12 has ordered a second season of Who Wants to Start?, the new celebrity entertainment format created and hosted by Assi Azar, following accelerating ratings and a strong response from Israeli audiences.
Created by Assi Azar, Anat Stalinsky and Keshet Broadcasting, and produced by Baron Productions for Keshet 12, Who Wants to Start? launched as Friday night’s number one show, rating 68% above the slot average for the previous month. The age-themed second episode performed even better, increasing its rating by 24% to 12.4%, with a 27.3% share—Israel’s highest Friday-night share in over a year. It won the night for a second consecutive week and ranked as Keshet 12’s fourth highest-rated show of the week (10-16 October 2026). The weight-themed episode three premieres this Friday 23 October on Keshet 12.
Adi Garti, SVP of Current Affairs, Documentary and Docu-Reality Content at Keshet 12, says, “Seeing familiar faces share experiences and challenges that mirror our own can make people feel understood and less alone. That gives Who Wants to Start? real purpose—but it is also warm, funny and genuinely entertaining. Its growing audience proves that meaningful television can also be compelling, primetime commercial television.”
This season two order follows significant international interest at MIPCOM, where Keshet International launched the format to market and Who Wants to Start? was selected by leading research consultancy The Wit for its influential Fresh TV Formats showcase to international buyers, commissioners and producers on Monday 12 October.
Salomé Peillon, Acting Managing Director of Distribution at Keshet International, says: “We’ve had fantastic feedback from clients to this format at MIPCOM. The performance so far on Keshet 12 now gives us a powerful proof of concept: this is a premium-looking, simple, and returnable format that delivers major talent, genuine revelations, warmth, and humor, as well as moments that can travel far beyond the broadcast across social media. I expect we will start seeing deals for this format in the coming weeks.”
The format’s balance of emotion and entertainment has drawn compliments from across Israeli media, described by Ice Magazine as “combining moving moments with humor,” and praised by Mako for featuring “an intriguing discussion that led to moving revelations from the stars.” The second episode also generated multiple standalone stories, driven by the guests’ candid, funny, and sometimes emotional revelations about ageing—demonstrating the format’s ability to create headline-making moments and highly shareable short-form content.
Each self-contained episode of Who Wants to Start? brings together five well-known personalities connected by one defining life experience—from anxiety and aging to weight, parenthood or a major personal crisis. While the guests know the episode’s theme, they do not know who else will be joining them.
Filmed in the round before an intimate studio audience, the conversation is driven by five sealed envelopes containing unexpected questions, with each guest opening and answering one. Two fast-paced mini-games break the tension and reveal further stories, allowing the celebrities—and viewers—to discover what happens when everyone in the room genuinely understands.
Hosted by Azar, whose own experience with anxiety inspired the format, the result is a warm, funny and revealing encounter filled with unexpected connections and stories audiences have never heard before.
Produced by veteran producer Ido Baron (Off Road, The Amazing Race Israel, Ninja Israel) and directed by Anat Stalinsky (The A-Talks, Married at First Sight Israel), Who Wants to Start? is distributed internationally by Keshet International.
