NEWS
Pixel debuts with “MasterChef Pakistan”; deal comes on the heels of first Netflix Pakistan original
05 May 2025
Banijay Rights returns "MasterChef" to Pakistan after an 11-year break in a deal with the Pixel Entertainment, the new Karachi-based outfit launched in February this year by Rizwan Siddiqui, Raheel Usman and Tariq Qazi, with former FOX Networks Group exec, Sanjay Raina as head of international business.
The broadcast partner for the new show is being secured by Pixel Entertainment – launched in Feb this year.
The broadcast platform has not yet been disclosed.
The deal, brokered by Rashmi Bajpai, Banijay Rights’ EVP Asia, is part of what looks like a slowly expanding profile for Pakistan’s video production industry.
In November last year, the first local version of Shark Tank went to air and a second season is said to be in the works.
In June, Netflix said to be premiering its first Pakistani original, "Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo" by Momina Duraid Productions, which was also behind "Meem Se Mohabbat" (2024) and "Ehd-e-Wafa" (2019), as well as the 2018 TV series, "Aangan" for Hum TV.
Social media sites are all over the rumours based on a comment from writer Farhat Ishtiaq, who wrote the novel upon which the series is based. Netflix has not made its plans for the series public but is listed on IMDB as the distributor.
Directed by Momina Duraid, "Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo" is about a Harvard law student who experiences a life-changing incident that makes him keep others at bay and a talented artist who is bursting with life but has had a troubled past. The drama series is based on Farhat Ishtiaq’s 2013 novel. The series was filmed in 2023 in Italy, the U.K. and Pakistan.
Pakistan has not exactly been a hotbed for format adaptations, but, when it does commit to an international property, it clearly prefers high-profile top-tier titles.
In 2024, Grenlit Studios produced a local version of Sony Pictures Television-distributed "Shark Tank". The show – the only format adaptation on air in Pakistan in 2024 – aired on Green TV Entertainment and streamed on YouTube and on th...
Banijay Rights returns "MasterChef" to Pakistan after an 11-year break in a deal with the Pixel Entertainment, the new Karachi-based outfit launched in February this year by Rizwan Siddiqui, Raheel Usman and Tariq Qazi, with former FOX Networks Group exec, Sanjay Raina as head of international business.
The broadcast partner for the new show is being secured by Pixel Entertainment – launched in Feb this year.
The broadcast platform has not yet been disclosed.
The deal, brokered by Rashmi Bajpai, Banijay Rights’ EVP Asia, is part of what looks like a slowly expanding profile for Pakistan’s video production industry.
In November last year, the first local version of Shark Tank went to air and a second season is said to be in the works.
In June, Netflix said to be premiering its first Pakistani original, "Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo" by Momina Duraid Productions, which was also behind "Meem Se Mohabbat" (2024) and "Ehd-e-Wafa" (2019), as well as the 2018 TV series, "Aangan" for Hum TV.
Social media sites are all over the rumours based on a comment from writer Farhat Ishtiaq, who wrote the novel upon which the series is based. Netflix has not made its plans for the series public but is listed on IMDB as the distributor.
Directed by Momina Duraid, "Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo" is about a Harvard law student who experiences a life-changing incident that makes him keep others at bay and a talented artist who is bursting with life but has had a troubled past. The drama series is based on Farhat Ishtiaq’s 2013 novel. The series was filmed in 2023 in Italy, the U.K. and Pakistan.
Pakistan has not exactly been a hotbed for format adaptations, but, when it does commit to an international property, it clearly prefers high-profile top-tier titles.
In 2024, Grenlit Studios produced a local version of Sony Pictures Television-distributed "Shark Tank". The show – the only format adaptation on air in Pakistan in 2024 – aired on Green TV Entertainment and streamed on YouTube and on the Myco platform.
According to ContentAsia’s Formats Outlook, the two titles are the sole unscripted properties to be adapted for Pakistan since data collection began in 2017.
Pixel Entertainment co-founder Rizwan Siddiqui, who also co-founded Grenlit Studios in January 2024, said in the 1 May "MasterChef" announcement that Pakistan’s rich culinary traditions would be showcased in the new season.
"MasterChef" has long been an unscripted staple in Asia. More than 40 versions/seasons have aired since 2017, including 11 seasons in Indonesia, and multiple language versions in India. Local adaptations have also been made in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand.
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