US broadcaster Game Show Network has placed an order of 100 episodes for STV Studios’ quiz show format, Bridge of Lies, to launch in June.
“The series will air under the local title, Beat the Bridge, and will be hosted by actor and presenter, Cameron Mathison (General Hospital, Home & Family),” said STV.
“It will feature an enormous interactive bridge that dares players to cross by stepping on the right answers to challenging trivia questions.
“Each step forward puts money in the team’s bank, with bonus money for each successful crossing.
“However, the team gets to keep the money only if it can ‘beat the bridge’ by returning one of its players back across before time expires in an exciting end game.”
STV said that Bridge of Lies, hosted by Ross Kemp, has proven popular with UK audiences since it was first commissioned by BBC Daytime in 2021 as part of a competitive initiative to find new quiz formats made in Scotland.
“It has since been recommissioned twice, with two primetime series featuring celebrity contestants also commissioned for BBC One,” said STV.
“The programme currently airs in 16 territories, and a local version in Spain – El peunte de las mentiras – was a hit for public broadcaster La 1 in 2023.
“Beat the Bridge is a Game Show Enterprises Studios production with Ed Egan as executive producer and Sabrina Hybel Snow as co-executive producer. Josephine Brassey, Gary Chippington and David Mortimer serve as executive producers for STV Studios.
“The US deal was brokered by STV Studios, which retained the rights to format sales in the US and Australia. International format sales elsewhere are handled by BBC Studios Distribution.”
David Mortimer, Managing Director of STV Studios and executive producer of Beat the Bridge, said: “We’re so excited that our much-loved UK quiz format has found a home across the pond, and delighted that Game Show Network has such faith in the show to place an order of this size.
“Beat the Bridge has all the ingredients that have made the format so popular in other territories: nail-biting gameplay, enthusiastic contestants, and a brilliant host in Cameron Mathison. Bringing Bridge of Lies to America is just the latest step in the format’s international success story, and I’m looking forward to seeing the response to Beat the Bridge from US audiences when it launches in June.”