''Flinch'' (stylized as ''FL!NCH'') is a British television

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

. The show is produced by

Stellify Media Stellify Media is a Northern Irish television production company. Stellify was formed by Kieran Doherty and Matthew Worthy as a joint venture with Sony Pictures Television.

, and debuted on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on 3 May 2019.Netflix Orders 'Jackass'-Meets-'Wipeout' Format 'Flinch' From Sony's Stellify , Deadline
Published on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2019 The show is hosted by

Lloyd Griffith Lloyd Griffith (born 5 July 1983) is an English comedian, actor, presenter and singer from Grimsby, England, and was a presenter on Sky Sports show ''Soccer AM'' until the end of the 2018-2019 season. Career Lloyd Griffith originally trained a ...

Desiree Burch Desiree Lea Burch (born 26 January 1979) is an American comedian, actress, television presenter, and voice actress. Originally from Diamond Bar, California, Burch has also lived in New York, Streatham, Croydon and Peckham, having moved to Lond ...

and

Seann Walsh Sean Christopher Walsh (born 2 December 1985), known professionally as Seann Walsh, is an English stand-up comedian. Early life Walsh was born in Camden in London, but was brought up in Brighton. He left school with one GCSE examination pas ...

.Comedians to host Netflix gameshow : News 2018 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide
Published on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2019 The show's format sees contestants being made to flinch, and if they indeed flinch there are immediate consequences.

Development

Stellify Media's joint-MD

Matthew Worthy Matthew Worthy is a British TV format creator and Executive Producer. He is also the Joint Managing Director of Stellify Media, alongside his creative and business partner, Kieran Doherty. Worthy & Doherty have co-created multiple entertainment for ...

proposed a game show where contestants are not allowed to move—and if they do move, something terrible happens. From there, a taster tape was shot in Worthy's barn. Wayne Garvie, president of international production at Sony Pictures Television, called and asked if Stellify had anything to pitch to Netflix. Matthew and

Kieran Doherty Kieran Doherty may refer to: *Kieran Doherty (hunger striker) Kieran Doherty (16 October 1955 – 2 August 1981) was an Irish republican hunger striker and politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cavan–Monaghan constituency from ...

decided to pitch Flinch. A couple of weeks later, a ten episode series was commissioned.Making a physical gameshow for Netflix – TBI Vision
Published on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019

Production

The show, like the original taster tape, was shot in a barn in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Once the games were conceptualised, Stellify hired comic book artist

P.J. Holden Paul Jason Holden (born 28 December 1969) is a Northern Irish comic artist based in Belfast. He has worked for '' 2000 AD'', '' Warhammer Monthly'', and ''Judge Dredd Megazine''. Among other stories for these publications, he has provided the ...

to storyboard them, primarily as a way of visually pitching the games to Netflix, but also as a guide when it came to shooting. Talking about the production of the show, Kieran Doherty said: "The production crew were indefatigable. Our three hosts – Lloyd Griffith, Desiree Burch and Seann Walsh – were fantastic. And our cast of contributors were brilliant sports, even when we were torturing them for our own amusement."

Promotion

The show's trailer was released by Netflix on 18 April 2019, alongside its promotional poster.

Russian adaptation

In January 2022, Stellify Media announced a Russian adaptation of the show. It was distributed by Sony Pictures Television and was broadcast on the Russian television broadcaster

STS STS, or sts, may refer to: Medicine * Secondary traumatic stress, a condition which leads to a diminished ability to empathize * Sequence-tagged site, a gene-reference in genomics * Soft-tissue sarcoma * Staurosporine, an antibiotic * STS (gen ...

, under the title Не дрогни (Ne drogni, ''Don't Flinch'').

References

External links

* * * {{Netflix original ended series (2019–present) 2010s British game shows 2019 British television series debuts 2019 British television series endings English-language Netflix original programming Television series by Sony Pictures Television