Fast-paced format produced for the US by 8 Hours Television, hosted by Luke Wilson

Independent international distribution company Lineup Industries has scored a deal with ABC to take its fast-paced, blood pressure-raising documentary format Emergency Call to the US, with an initial 10 x 1 hour episodes order. The show will be produced by 8 Hours Television, with 8 Hours’ Adeline Rooney as EP and showrunner, and hosted by actor Luke Wilson.

Emergency Call follows the ups and downs of regular shifts in an emergency call centre through the ears and eyes of the people who work there. The ABC primetime series will feature call centres in a diverse range of US towns including: Wasilla, Alaska; Austin, Texas; Waukesha County, Wisconsin; Weber County, Utah; and New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Emergency Call format was originally created by De chinezen for Belgium broadcaster VRT Eén, the Flemish public channel. Lineup Industries handles global distribution for the series which has been made locally in Belgium (both Flemish and French), Australia, Germany, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland. It has also been optioned in Italy, Spain, Japan, LatAm, Turkey, Israel, and the UK. Emergency Call was named as the industry’s second highest travelling unscripted TV format from last year by consultancy K7.

Featuring paramedics, police and fire brigade services, the compelling documentary format follows the telephone workers who face critical first minutes of an emergency, inane, unexpected and often dangerous situations requiring immediate responses. Whether it’s handling a distressing call about a suspected intruder or an absurd request for the police to deliver food and cigarettes. This is the story of the extraordinary call centre operators at the front line, who expect the unexpected every time they answer the phone.

Ed Louwerse and Julian Curtis, co-founders of Lineup Industries said: “This is an unprecedented and timely real-life look behind the scenes of frontline services. The operators who field calls to the emergency services literally have no idea what they will face each time they answer but it is their presence of mind that dictates what happens next. We’re looking forward to working with ABC and 8 Hours to capture behind the scenes with US emergency call responders.”