Stone Stanley Entertainment has snapped up the U.S. format rights to the Australian hit series "Single Girls," a "Sex and the City" with an impertinent reality twist.
David Stanley and Scott Stone clinched the deal last week following extensive negotiations with Target Entertainment's Alison Rayson and Screentime's Des Monaghan in late January at the NATPE confab in Las Vegas.
"Single Girls" follows the fortunes of four independent women as they search for their Mr. Right. These successful women know the kind of men they are looking for and are supplied with a team of experts to help them succeed in their quest. The Oz show airs on Network Nine Down Under.
Stanley told
Daily Variety that the company is already setting up meetings with the U.S. networks' reality honchos and hopes to have the show on air in the fall.
"This format is reality television's 'Sex and the City,' " Stone said. " 'Single Girls' will follow four women as they get proactive to find the relationship of their dreams.
"The show has enough elements to be broad in appeal, yet can easily be customized to fit the demo requirements of whichever network buys it," Stanley added.
The acquisition is Stone Stanley's second from Aussie-based producer Screentime and British distrib Target Entertainment.
Last year, the three companies teamed to bring "Popstars" to the U.S.
In the midst of a 13-episode run on the WB, "Popstars" is a ratings success for the netlet. In its premiere episode, the reality series broke nine netlet records; over the past several weeks, it has continued to improve upon the WB's total audience and key target demos in its timeslot.
"Like 'Popstars,' Screentime and Target brought us a format that has all of the elements of success for an American audience," Stanley said.
The William Morris Agency brokered the deal.
Stone Stanley has a long-running relationship with WMA's TV agent Mark Itkin, who introduced the producers to Rayson years ago. No financial details of the deal were available, but it is fairly common now for the foreign format purveyors to participate in the eventual profits from the Stateside show.
Ten-year-old Stone Stanley has seven series on the air in the U.S.: "The Mole" for ABC, "Popstars" for the WB, Comedy Central's "The Man Show," "Shop 'til You Drop" for Pax, MTV's "Loveline," Game Show Network's "Mall Masters at Mall of America" and "Legends of the Hidden Temple" for Nickelodeon's Games and Sports.
Contact the Variety newsroom at
news@variety.com