Major relaunch will see 20 new episodes and multi-category licensing campaign
Bulldog Licensing, one of the UK’s leading licensing agencies, has announced its appointment as UK licensing agent for the relaunched version of one of the 1990s’ most popular TV shows: The Crystal Maze. Bulldog is licensing The Crystal Maze on behalf of producers Fizz TV/RDF and brand owners Banijay, one of the world’s largest independent content creation groups for television and multimedia platforms.
The new series will see teams of five intrepid adventurers on an epic gameshow adventure through four fantastical zones: Aztec, Medieval, Industrial and Futuristic. In each zone the team must tackle Physical, Skill, Mystery and Mental challenges in a bid to win crystals. These elusive crystals each give the team five seconds in iconic The Crystal Dome where they hope to collect gold tokens to win prizes.
The new 20 part series has been filmed out of Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol on an impressive 30,000 square foot set, and will air in spring and autumn 2017, and includes 5 celebrity specials for Stand Up to Cancer. The shows will be hosted by the popular comedian, actor, writer and director Richard Ayoade.
The original show appeared in the 1990s and was a hit for the channel. The show is still fondly remembered over 20 years after it left our screens and was twice (in 2006 and 2010) named Greatest UK Game Show of All Time in polls by the popular information resource UKGameshows.com
Now The Crystal Maze has a life beyond the world of TV, most notably with the The Crystal Maze Live Experience in London and Manchester run by Little Lion Entertainment.
The return of The Crystal Maze is hotly anticipated, which is why Bulldog Licensing, which has a strong track record in entertainment licensing, are thrilled to have been appointed to manage the licensing campaign for the Crystal Maze brand. Bulldog has already targeted a number of early categories for the new show including stationery, gift, apparel and publishing, with many others under consideration. The target markets are likely to be teens, tweens and young adults of both sexes, as well as fans of the original show.
“The Crystal Maze still enjoys fantastically high awareness across many age groups,” says Bulldog Group Managing Director, Rob Corney. “It’s now going to gain a whole new audience with this major relaunch, which, we are certain, will put The Crystal Maze where it belongs: among the great TV shows — and brands — of the 21st century”