Fox and Endemol Shine North America are partnering to create a scripted adaptation of ‘Fear Factor’ tailored for vertical media consumption. The project will consist of 30 episodes, each running approximately three minutes, and will be distributed through Holywater Tech’s My Drama microdrama platform. The production represents an expansion of Fox’s vertical media strategy, building on an existing partnership between Fox Corp. and Holywater established the previous year.
The untitled series will take the ‘Fear Factor’ brand in a new narrative direction, departing from the reality competition format. The story centers on a week of pre-production on a horror movie set. The creative team includes producers Ian Nsenga and Yuliia Vyshnevska, writers Thom Woodley and Andrew Beck, and director Gabriel Caste. This marks the first time the long-running franchise has been adapted as original scripted content.
‘Fear Factor’ originated as an NBC reality series during the 2000s and was later revived by Fox as ‘Fear Factor: House of Fear’ featuring host Johnny Knoxville. The microdrama version exemplifies how established media companies are leveraging their intellectual property archives to create multiple iterations across different platforms and formats. Endemol Shine, part of the Banijay group, has developed approximately 32 international adaptations of the franchise.
Fox Entertainment Studios executives highlighted the franchise’s thematic appeal, noting its exploration of fear and human psychology as a foundation for horror storytelling. Michael Heyerman, executive vice president of unscripted series for Endemol Shine North America, characterized vertical storytelling as establishing new entertainment language based on immediacy and serialized narrative discovery. While the series will debut on My Drama, Fox will manage worldwide distribution and windowing strategy, reflecting the company’s broader push to develop vertical properties for multi-platform release.
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