A reality TV format created by Mint Pictures aired on a major network in America on the back of the national soccer team winning the Women’s World Cup.
Soccer Superstar, co-owned by Mint Pictures & Foxtel Australia, was sold to the US independent production company Magic Pictures International, who in turn did the deal for a four-part series with Nickelodeon.
It is based on Football Superstar, which aired on Foxtel in Australia for three seasons between 2009 and 2011, featuring Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar.
In each series, the top young players were put through their paces under the eye of the team’s coach, with the winner earning a contract with the A-League club.
Mint’s Adam Kay, who executive produced the Australian series, was a consultant and executive producer of the American version.
Hosted by three-time Olympic soccer gold medalist Heather Mitts, Soccer Superstar follows the paths of 15 players vying for the title of Soccer Superstar with some encouragement from a trio of U.S. women’s national-team members.
“On Sunday night, the U.S. wins the Women’s World Cup before 25 million people on Fox. Three days later, Soccer Superstar makes its premiere,” says veteran sports producer Michael Cohen, an EP alongside Kay and Kris Lythgoe.
