"Watch Your Back", a psychological reality format and thrilling game of strategy and deception, is currently in production for NPO Start, the Dutch public broadcaster’s streaming platform and is scheduled to launch on NPO Start in early 2026..
The format is co-created by Talpa Studios and U.S. reality powerhouse Kinetic Content ("Love is Blind"), in collaboration with Signal.Stream. It is the first title to emerge from the previously announced creative partnership between Talpa Studios and Kinetic Content.
Chris Coelen, CEO of Kinetic Content: “Seeing 'Watch Your Back' come to life as a full production in the Netherlands is a fantastic milestone – and just the beginning of what we believe will be a powerful international format.”
Maarten Meijs, CEO at Talpa Studios explains: “'Watch Your Back' shows what happens when you combine the format development DNA of Talpa Studios with Kinetic’s worldbuilding and Signal.Stream’s platform-native storytelling. It’s creator-led, streaming-first, and designed to travel — a true result of global collaboration.”
Wouter van der Pauw, founder Signal.Stream, adds: “From day one, we knew this was a concept that would push the boundaries of reality television. With deception, trust, and instinct at the core, 'Watch Your Back' demands as much from the players as it does from the viewer. We can’t wait to share it with audiences on NPO Start.”
In "Watch Your Back", twelve celebrities enter a mansion where they lose their name and fame and become just a number. That number is on their back, visible to everyone, except themselves. No mirrors. No certainties. To stay in the game, the celebrities must uncover their own number – which changes in every episode.
