Steve Harvey has landed a major deal to bring his popular Family Feud to Africa.
According to Shadow and Act, Harvey’s Steve Harvey Global has won the licensing rights to Fremantle’s syndicated game show for airing in Ghana and South Africa.
In an unprecedented deal with Fremantle, Harvey’s media company Steve Harvey Global has obtained the rights to license the format for the African versions of Family Feud. The local versions will be produced by Fremantle’s local production partner in the region, Rapid Blue.
The new shows, both of which Harvey will host, are expected to begin airing next year.
“Bringing Family Feud to Africa has long been a dream of mine,” Harvey said. “I believe Family Feud will become a household name for local South African and Ghanaian families. And this is just the beginning in Africa. I expect this show to lead to multiple media and business projects in and throughout the continent.”
Fremantle, which has worked with Harvey since at least 2010 when he began hosting Family Feud for U.S. audiences, said it was eager to make Family Feud in Africa a reality.
“We have a longstanding relationship with Steve Harvey and once we heard about his dream of taking our iconic format to Africa, we partnered to make it a reality,” said Anahita Kheder, Fremantle’s senior vice president of sales and distribution for the Middle East, Africa and South-Eastern Europe, according to Shadow and Act. “Rapid Blue has been our trusted producers across the region for many years, so it made sense to join them up with Steve Harvey Global to make the local African versions of Family Feud.”
Family Feud is already seen in more than 70 countries, but the deal with Harvey will mark the first time that the veteran comedian will serve as host of an international version. In the U.S., the show’s ratings have increased each year that Harvey’s been the host, Shadow and Act reports.
Things were kind of rocky for Harvey earlier this year when he suffered dual-career blows: NBC canceled his eponymous talk show and gave his hosting duties for its Little Big Shots kids variety show to comedian Melissa McCarthy.
But Harvey maintained with Family Feud, and now it looks like he is going global with it to Mother Africa.
Stay tuned!