Fox picks up celebrity diving special

October 26, 2012 by Barry Walsh

Another U.S. network has taken the plunge and ordered a celebrity diving program.

Fox has announced that it will air an American version of Stars in Danger: High Diving (w/t) in winter of 2013. Banijay-owned Bunim/Murray Productions will produce the two-hour special.

The U.S. version is based on TV Total Turmspringen, which has aired in Germany since 2004 as part of the Stars in Danger franchise. According to Banijay International, distributor of the format, the special will feature stars from the worlds of music, TV, film and pop culture taking a crash course in diving from “America’s most elite professionals” and then showing their stuff before a live audience.

“Americans love competitive reality shows, especially when celebrities are involved, and Stars in Danger: High Diving takes things to an entirely new level, literally raising the stakes higher than ever,” said Jonathan Murray, chairman of Bunim/Murray Productions and one of the exec producers on the show, along with Bunim/Murray’s Gil Goldschein and Scott Freeman.

Viewers worldwide will have their share of celebrity diving shows to choose from in the months ahead, with Eyeworks also shopping a celeb diving format, Celebrity Splash, internationally. In the U.S., ABC will air Celebrity Splash, to be produced by Eyeworks USA (formerly 3 Ball Productions), which is based on Dutch program Sterren Springen. Like the Banijay format, the Eyeworks format has also sold to numerous territories internationally, which prompted Banijay to issue a statement earlier this month saying it would be seeking legal advice regarding what it sees as strong similarities between the two formats.

Tags: Banijay International, Bunim/Murray Productions, Celebrity Splash, Fox, Stars in Danger: High Diving