Now, India will see local versions of Suits, Saturday Night Live thanks to this co-production deal

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If you like catching up on American drama series Suits or American late-night live television sketch comedy, Saturday Night Live, there is some good news for you.

NBCUniversal Formats, a division of Universal Studio Group, has signed a co-production deal with Banijay Asia to remake shows including Suits, House, Monk, Saturday Night Live, The Titan Games and Top Chef in India.

Banijay Asia is a content production and distribution company that entered the Indian and Southeast Asian markets in 2018.

The company has associated with Salman Khan’s SK TV that recently brought back The Kapil Sharma Show. It also joined hands with MS Dhoni’s Dhoni Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. that co-produced Roar of the Lion.

Along with this, Banijay Asia has produced various shows like Ruskin Bond’s Ghost tales Parchayee, Hostages on Disney+Hotstar, Myntra Fashion Superstar with Sushmita Sen, ARRived with AR Rehman, Into the Wild with Bear Grylls with Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar, Flipkart's Ladies Vs. Gentlemen with Riteish Deshmukh And Genelia Dsouza.

The co-production agreement for NBCUniversal Formats is its first such deal in India. The company aims to create more local content across Asia.

In fact, Suits has already been adapted for audiences in Japan and Korea. In Japan, China and Korea, Saturday Night Live has seen strong traction and Top Chef continues to perform well in Thailand and Vietnam.

“These stories, characters and formats have proven to have universal appeal," said Enrique Guillen, EVP, Commercial Strategy & International Development, Universal Studio Group.

Banijay which has over 88,000 hours of original programming represents brands including Survivor, Big Brother, MasterChef, The Kardashians, Mr Bean, among others. 

Talking about remaking shows like Suits for the Indian market, Deepak Dhar, CEO and Founder, Banijay Asia, said, “These titles are proven hits. Entertaining, story-driven and hugely adaptable, there is no doubt, with the right talent and partners, we can get India talking about these shows too.”