Banijay France is teeing up a new twist on celebrity reality for W9, greenlighting mystery competition format The Detective Club, a whodunit-style series that drops 18 celebrities into a tongue-in-cheek hunt for a missing dog—and a €20,000 prize.
Commissioned by French commercial net W9 and produced by Banijay-owned B Prod—the label behind Good Luck Guys—the format blends strategy, interrogation, and sabotage as star contestants race to find out who snatched Kiki, the host’s canine companion. Clues are planted, alibis tested, and alliances constantly shift.
The format, built to travel, is being positioned by Banijay as a buzzy, genre-crossing reality concept aimed at global buyers. It pairs the tension and deduction of classic mystery games with the glossy production values and celebrity antics audiences expect from primetime reality.
Florence Fayard, CEO of B Prod, likens the tone to “a classic game” with a dose of parody and sharp gameplay, while James Townley, Chief Content Officer for Development at Banijay, is already pushing the format into international pitch sessions.
The Detective Club marks a strategic play for W9 in the highly competitive French reality market, and gives Banijay another flexible format to plug into global schedules.
