During last Mipcom, Udea Media presented “Celebrity Teacher,” an edutainment series created by director and producer Mr. Cetin Yılmaz, founder of Be Content. The company later brought the show to its second market in NATPE Budapest. Umay Ayaz, founder of Udea Media and The Format TV based in Türkiye, talked with Señal News about the new format.
Under the motto of “Teach Like a Star!”, the program gives iconic figures a chance to challenge themselves by teaching three children a task related to their profession in just a few hours. It offers a child’s perspective on that profession, creating fun and sympathetic moments in the teacher-student relationship. "There are a lot of elements inside it that make it really a fun working format, traveling all the world, that has the capacity, because it has education, yes, but combined with celebrities," said Ayaz. “It is an innovative and heartwarming show that combines the glamor of celebrity life with the importance of education,” she added.
Udea Media’s next step is to find the best production project in the right territory or client for the show. “When kids are involved, there is something else. The policies of that territory are so important. The channel is so important. If they are going to use the kids, or if they are going to highlight the beneficial side of this, if they are going to make fun of this, or if they are going to put the competition side in front. I believe every professional producer and channel will be careful about this,” explained Ayaz. “This is going to be the first criteria. And then we are going to, of course, talk and see, and maybe develop together. Of course, if we sit with a producer and channel with this point of view and add value, we are always open to making other small changes or developments because it will find its perfect way in the end. We want it to be done perfectly according to the territory's culture.” she stated.
The executive explained that, to make it more appealing to kids, the show does not present a competition system with winners and losers: “There is not going to be anything insulting to kids or damaging their self-esteem. There are going to be three categories to win, such as best body language, best capability, or best eye contact, such as this. So, every kid will be the winner of something. It’s a format that entertains, inspires, and educates, capturing hearts and minds!”
Although the show targets a more general audience, Ayaz explained that it can also appeal more to certain subgroups within the education system: “From the audience perspective, it's targeting the general audience. But when we go one by one, when we go deeply checking the audiences, it can interact even for a school, educators, or the decision makers that make the education policies in the countries, because they can watch. They can say that, OK, this generation or this age group.” She then added: "Because of this, the audience also covers the adults as well, not only kids, because as a person, as an adult person, maybe I don't know the tricks of a basketball player. And I will learn this as well."
The show participated and resulted in the winner of the “Pitch & Play LIVE!” competition in NATPE Budapest, of which Ayaz highlighted its relevance for the unscripted production in the region, especially Türkiye: "This is a special case. This means a lot to me. And thanks to Pitch and Play, they really supported and encouraged us and the other applications as well. So, that's great, of course. It created a great boost for us, of course,” she concluded.
By Diego Alfagemez and Federico Martinez