RICKY GERVAIS AND BANIJAY STUDIOS NORTH AMERICA ORIGINAL PRIMETIME GAME-SHOW SERIES ORDERED BY ABC

'Five to Survive' Series Features Interactions With Gervais and Kids Who Say the Most Unpredictable Things

ABC has given a series order to "Five to Survive." The one-hour game show will feature priceless interactions between funnyman Ricky Gervais and kids who will assist grown-up contestants with answering questions for a chance to win a large cash prize. Gervais teams with Banijay Studios North America to produce. A search for a host is underway.

"Five to Survive" is an original studio-based game show that features one adult contestant who must answer 10 questions correctly to earn the top prize. If they answer incorrectly, the contestant has a chance to be saved by a group of five kids who have been asked the same question.

"When Ricky presented his idea for 'Five to Survive,' we immediately knew this was a project that needed to land here at ABC," said Robert Mills, senior vice president, Alternative Series, Specials, & Late Night Programming, ABC Entertainment. "It has spirit, it's fun and it will have the unforgettable comedic moniker that is Ricky Gervais."

For Gervais, all of the elements of this game show made the series worth fitting into his busy schedule. Gervais comments, "I've never understood the saying 'never work with animals or children.' As a producer and director, I prefer either to Hollywood actors. They're cheaper, they do as they're told, and the filming hours are better."

David Goldberg, Banijay Group president and CEO, Banijay Studios North America, said, "At its core, 'Five to Survive' is a high-stakes Q&A game show with the unpredictable twist of contestants putting their earning potential in the hands of children. You never know what's going to come out of a kid's mouth, and with Ricky Gervais, one of the funniest comedians in the world wrangling and asking the questions, it's certain to be a rollercoaster ride. This should be the type of show that appeals to audiences all over the world."

Ricky Gervais, David Goldberg and Caroline Baumgard, chief creative officer, Banijay Studios North America, will serve as executive producers.

Banijay Studios North America are the producers of Jimmy Kimmel's upcoming primetime game show "Big Fan" and "What Happens at the Abbey."

A winner of seven BAFTA Awards, three Golden Globes and two Emmys, Gervais remains one of the most beloved and respected talents working today. He created and stars in "Derek." Gervais first introduced himself to global audiences with his 2001 British TV hit "The Office," which became a globally successful format, including an Emmy-winning nine-seasons on U.S. television and a movie, "David Brent: Life on the Road." Gervais starred in and created "Extras," "Life's Too Short" and "The Ricky Gervais Show," which was based on his record-breaking podcast that has been downloaded more than 500 million times. He has also guest-starred on many popular television series, including "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Louie," "Sesame Street," "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy." His film credits include the "Night at the Museum" franchise, "Muppets Most Wanted," "Ghost Town," "The Invention of Lying," and "Special Correspondents," which he wrote and co-directed. As a stand-up comedian, Gervais has sold over 2 million tickets in arenas around the world. He is also the author of the popular children's book series "Flanimals."

About the Disney|ABC Television Group

Disney|ABC Television Group is comprised of The Walt Disney Company's global entertainment and news television properties, owned television stations group, and radio business. This includes ABC Studios, the ABC Owned Television Stations Group, and the ABC Television Network, which provides entertainment and news programming to viewers via more than 200 affiliated stations across the U.S. It also includes Disney Channels Worldwide, a portfolio of 116 kid-driven, family-inclusive entertainment channels, including Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior, Disney Cinemagic, Hungama, and Radio Disney brands, as well as cable network Freeform, which targets Millennials. Disney|ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution and Disney Media Distribution round out the portfolio. Disney|ABC Television Group also has equity interests in A+E Networks and Hulu.

About Banijay Studios

Banijay Studios North America launched in April, 2014. David Goldberg, Banijay Group President, serves as CEO, Banijay Studios North America. Caroline Baumgard is Chief Creative Officer. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Banijay Studios North America creates original network, syndicated and cable programming and develops successful Banijay formats for the U.S. market. They are part of Banijay Group, a content creation company with leading production entities in more than a dozen territories, including Banijay Productions France, H2O and Air Productions (France), Cuarzo and DLO Producciones (Spain), Brainpool (Germany), Ambra Multimedia (Italy), Nordisk Film TV (Denmark, Norway, Sweden); Respirator (Denmark), Banijay Finland (Finland), Screentime (Australia, New Zealand) and Bunim/Murray Productions (US). Banijay Group's lead shareholder is LOV Group, the family holding company of Stéphane Courbit, alongside GroupeArnault, Exor, De Agostini and AMS Industries.

About Banijay Group:

Banijay Group is the world's largest independent content creation Group for television and multimedia platforms. With leading production entities in seventeen territories, the Group is engaged in strategic partnerships with innovative creative talent around the world. The Group's growing library of formats and programming, as well as acquired third-party content, totals more than 20,000 hours spanning entertainment, factual, drama, factual entertainment, kids and reality; and is licensed internationally by its global distribution arm Zodiak Rights.