EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is continuing on its unscripted buying spree with a new social experiment series.
The streamer has greenlit Playing with Matches (w/t).
The series follows a group of couples competing in a game of romantic deception: conceal their own relationship while exposing everyone else’s. Deadline understands that the couples, living together in a house, Big Brother-style, must try and figure out who is in a relationship, while keeping their own romantic entanglements secret in order to win.
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Playing with Matches comes from British production company Mettlemouse, which was founded by Sarah Tyekiff, who previously produced the UK version of Love Island and was formerly Head of Unscripted at All3Media’s Lime Pictures, producing series such as The Only Way is Essex, Are You The One? and Dance Monsters, before setting up her own shop. BBC Studios invested in the company for a 25% stake in 2023.
It marks the biggest commission for the company to date. It is also behind The Honesty Box, a dating series that launched on Channel 4 last year. That series sees a group of singles brought to “Truetopia”, where they must face questions from AI-enhanced software that asks them probing questions about their feelings and if they lie, it could impact their newly formed relationship.
Tyekiff and Mettlemouse creative director Shaun Parry exec produce Playing with Matches.
The series is one of a number of new Netflix unscripted greenlights revealed by Deadline.
Jersey Shore producer SallyAnn Salsano and her 495 Productions are making Jersey-set series The Leftovers (w/t), Banijay-owned Bright Spot Content is producing Arizona Hot (w/t), Wheelhouse is heading to a New York maternity ward in Born In The USA (w/t) and IPC landed its first order since its founders exited Sony Pictures Television with Weight to Date.