Virgin Media Television has ordered an Irish version of French interview format The A Talks, Broadcast can reveal.
The 4 x 60-minute series hails from by Dublin-based Kite Entertainment and will feature prominent Irish personalities being quizzed by a group of neurodivergent interviewers, with no question or topic out of bounds.
The format has been buzzing around the industry following the positive critical response to Rockerdale Studios’ BBC1 pilot version of the format The Assembly, which aired earlier this month.
The A Talks is known for its mix of mischievous prodding, left-field questions and exchanges that catch the interviewees off-guard.
Kite is well-versed in adapting international formats for the Irish market; it produces Gogglebox Ireland for Virgin and is behind Amazon Prime Video’s first Irish original LOL: Last One Laughing. It is currently developing a local version of The Traitors.
Titled Les Rencontres du Papotin in its native France, it has featured the likes of French president Emmanuel Macron and Call My Agent actor Camille Catton facing a slew of questions from neurodivergent journalists.
The Irish iteration marks the sixth territory to order a local edition of The A Talks, following launches in Denmark (DR1), Poland (TVN) and Spain (Telecinco) and with production underway in Sweden (SVT1) and two further undisclosed territories.
The show launched in 2022 and became France 2’s most-watched unscripted show of that year; it has been reordered for a third 10-part run for 2024/25. The format is sold internationally as The A Talks by Can’t Stop Media.
The A Talks was commissioned for Virgin Media Television by Sinéad Stimpfig, commissioning editor, and will be exec produced for Kite by Darren Smith and Mairead Whelan. It will TX in 2025.
Anthony Nilan, director of programming at Virgin Media Television, said: “As a public service broadcaster, we have always ensured that inclusivity and representation is at the core of our commissioning strategy.
“The A Talks is a television show that empowers and celebrates its participants and challenges viewers’ perceptions in a positive way. It also gives us a chance to discuss topics and stories through a different lens that we hope will spark further conversations and debate.”
Smith added: “Every now and then, you come across a show that has both a proper entertainment punch and a real purpose. From the moment Can’t Stop Media showed us The A Talks, we knew it was one of those shows and instantly wanted to make it.”
Matthieu Porte, co-founder of format creator Can’t Stop Media, said: “We are convinced Irish viewers will immediately fall in love with the show as in every other country, changing forever the perception many viewers still have about people on the spectrum.”
