Sony Pictures Television is offering broadcasters the chance to blast film, TV and sports stars into space with a format called “Milky Way Mission,” which it will launch at Cannes TV mart Mipcom.
SPT has inked an exclusive pact with Space Expedition Corporation, which is launching a space travel program for civilians in 2014, and will provide seats on its space flights to “Mission” broadcasters.
The skein was created by Tuvalu Media and Simpel Media, which have already secured the first commission with Dutch network Nederland 1 for an eight episode, one-hour series.
The format sees 10 celebrities living in a bootcamp where they undergo an intensive training program in preparation to become an astronaut. Each week the stars face a series of extreme physical and mental challenges to avoid elimination, with final rounds taking place at the launch site in Mojave, California.
From G-force simulation to extreme underwater challenges, the aspiring astronauts have to fight to stay in the competition and win the prize of a trip into space.
The XCOR Lynx Mark II spacecraft takes off and lands horizontally, reaching an altitude of more than 338,000 feet and transporting one passenger and one pilot per flight. SXC’s advisory board includes Buzz Aldrin.
Wayne Garvie, chief creative officer, international production at SPT, said: “Testing endurance, agility and bravery, ‘Milky Way Mission’ is a television format that is genuinely out of this world.”
