MUMBNAI: From cryptic mansions to cash-fuelled elevators, two of Korea’s most bonkers reality shows are packing their passports and heading to France. Something Special, the Seoul-based format agency known for its boundary-pushing unscripted content, has struck a double-format deal with Studio TF1 via Flanagan Productions, licensing two of its hit Korean shows Still Alive and The Penthouse Game for French adaptation.

It’s a spooky-meets-spendy combo: Still Alive is a clue-hunting, rule-breaking game show set in a mysterious mansion where contestants must stay sharp or face mysterious, instant elimination. With hidden rules, 24-hour gameplay, and comedic curveballs, the show blends suspense with laughs, and has already been picked up in 14 territories, including Germany, Italy, and across the Nordics.

Meanwhile, The Penthouse Game trades ghosts for gold. In this high-stakes, hierarchy-driven format, financially struggling contestants fight for dominance both literal and metaphorical as they ascend (or descend) a vertical playing field controlled by a central elevator. With gold tokens, food rations, and three hosts acting as agents of power, it’s part Monopoly, part Squid Game, part social experiment.

Both formats were snapped up by Flanagan Productions, one of Studio TF1’s flagship labels, known for adapting edgy international hits for prime-time French TV.

“We’re thrilled to bring these high-concept Korean formats to France,” said Flanagan head Florence Boudaud. “They’re bold, unexpected, and packed with creative storytelling exactly what today’s audiences are craving.”

For Something Special, co-founders Jin Woo Hwang and Insoon Kim see this as further proof that Korea’s wildly inventive reality concepts are more than just fleeting trends, they’re becoming global go-tos for fresh unscripted content.

“Our motto is simple create and connect,” said Kim. “And that’s exactly what we’re doing with formats like Still Alive and The Penthouse Game.”

With the global appetite for Korean storytelling at an all-time high, these two eccentric, high-drama formats are ready to give French audiences a taste of K-reality with a side of chaos.