(AFP) – TF1 launches Friday night “District Z”, its biggest bet in entertainment for years, a program with a very original atmosphere, which should disorient viewers with its “Walking Dead” zombies and its sets video game style.
The principle of the program presented by Denis Brogniart, the star presenter of “Koh-Lanta”: a small group of personalities (such as Camille Lacourt, Kev Adams, Arnaud Ducret, Maëva Coucke ….) is sent to the ” District Z “, a prohibited area following the experiments gone wrong by a mysterious mad scientist, Professor Z …
Their goal: to win tests combining physical and mental, to hope to accumulate gains in favor of associations, if they manage to survive and to force the room of the coffers of the professor.
But they play all night, in the cold, in an unknown universe, vast and infested with zombies, who seek to eliminate them by seizing their “life”, a small object that they carry on their bags. back. And as the night progresses, the trials become more complicated and it becomes more and more difficult to escape the creatures that haunt the district …
A visually very disruptive show. “Zombies on TF1 is a bit of a crazy bet,” admitted Julien Degroote, director of content development for the TF1 group, during a presentation of this brand new program which will be broadcast in the first part of the evening, in 5 episodes of two hours.
Because the game imagined and produced by host-producer Arthur stands out in the usual universe of PAF, with its characters and sets inspired by cultural phenomena from elsewhere: the zombies are reminiscent of the creatures of the comic book which has become a cult series “The walking dead “, the vault room is a nod to the Netflix series” La casa de papel “, and the sets, graphics and even the game mechanics draw on the codes of video games like” Call of duty “.
– An exportable show –
For parents who fear that “District Z” gives their children nightmares, TF1 and Arthur assure that the game is designed for a family audience.
They also hope to bring together a very large audience, the show being programmed on the same box as “Koh-Lanta”, another XXL entertainment presented by Denis Brogniart, who has also just recorded his best audiences for years.
While French channels are full of adaptations of foreign entertainment, TF1 emphasizes the importance of this project born in France, without revealing its necessarily extraordinary budget.
“On TF1, for three years we have created 23 formats (new shows, editor’s note), but with this one, we are passing a course, it is clearly the most ambitious that we have been able to create in recent years and even if we compare to international formats such as + Mask Singer + or + Ninja Warrior +, it is the same ambition, even more important “, assured Julien Degroote.
At TF1, “they do not do things by halves, they put the package, and me too”, added Arthur. “It’s one of the biggest productions for a few years, since we used cinema means, we built quite gigantic sets, and we created a production hub, the objective being for the whole world to come and shoot. with us “.
Because like “Fort Boyard” (France 2), adapted by dozens of foreign channels, the “District Z” filming site, located in the Oise near the Parc Astérix, will be able to accommodate several production teams. during this year. But also serve as an amusement park, or even host a festival for zombie fans …
“I think it’s a program that will travel well, because it is very ambitious and respects the codes of a universe that has never existed in prime time,” assured Arthur, who says he has already received marks of interest from large American and European channels and streaming platforms.
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