Format

Spanish presenter Christian Gálvez has taken one of Spain’s most recognisable word-game mechanics to Hollywood, recording pilot episodes of El Rosco in Los Angeles for both the US English-language and Latin American markets. The pilots were filmed at Lulu Studios in Los Angeles, marking Gálvez’s return to the game that defined a major part of his television career. This time, however, the presenter has been involved well beyond his on-screen role, contributing to the creative development and adaptation of the format for a very different television culture.

Speaking exclusively to EL MUNDO, Gálvez stressed that the process was never about simply transferring the Spanish version to another territory.
“El Rosco is not translated, El Rosco is adapted.”

The English-language version, developed under the title Run the Ring, has been specifically reworked for the North American market. The alphabet itself required one of the most obvious changes: the Spanish 25-letter wheel loses the Ñ and incorporates K and W, bringing the total to 26 letters. The modification also affects the rhythm of the questions, definitions and overall tension of the final game. 

According to Gálvez, the creative process covered virtually every aspect of the format, including language, pace, structure, duration, storytelling and staging, while preserving the basic identity of the game.

“The United States didn’t need to copy our way of doing El Rosco. It needed to find its own way of doing El Rosco,” Gálvez told EL MUNDO.

The project is being developed by MC&F, the company controlling the rights to El Rosco, and is separate from Pasapalabra as an international format proposition. For the Spanish-speaking American market, the show will continue to use the name El Rosco, while Run the Ring has been developed for English-speaking audiences. 

Gálvez, who hosted Pasapalabra on Telecinco for 12 years between 2007 and 2019, was brought into the project following renewed contact with Andrea Olcese, formerly involved with Italy’s Passaparola, together with Reto Luigi Pianta of MC&F.