Exclusive: John De Mol’s Talpa Studios hired one of the minds behind it Traitors As its chief creative officer.
In a major coup, Jasper Hoogendoorn has joined the company following his role as creative director at IDTV, the All3Media-owned producer in the Netherlands that created the original. TraitorsWhich was adapted in 30 countries and won two Emmy and Rose d’Or awards.
During his nine-year run at IDTV, Hoogendoorn created entertaining series The unknownand produced local versions of All3 formats such as Race all over the world, language and Sort your life. However, he is known worldwide for developing the murder mystery formula Traitors Along with Mark Buss.
Talpa described Hogendoorn as a “visionary creative talent” and one of the “masterminds” behind it Traitors Who joins at a “pivotal moment” for the Amsterdam-based production house.
“I am very excited to welcome Jasper to our team in this important role,” said De Mol. “We have recently collaborated on several projects, and I admire his creativity, merchandising skills and unwavering commitment to delivering the highest quality format development and production.
“His arrival represents an important step in strengthening our range of original formats and developing our open network strategy, which brings together the best talent in the industry. Together with Jasper, we aim to continue shaping the future of Talpa Studios and realize our global ambitions.”
In the newly created role, Hogendoorn will report to both De Mol and Talpa Studios CEO Martin Meijs. He takes on the new role after eight months Traitors Co-creator Pos has struck a development deal with Banjay.
Michael Nielsen, Managing Director at IDTV, said: “I would like to thank Jasper for everything he has done as Creative Director at IDTV and wish him every success for the future. We have exciting and ambitious growth plans for IDTV in 2025, and the years to come, along with a strong development slate , led by our amazing creative team, along with our Head of Content, Linda Kramer, who have all played a critical role in our shows, including… Traitors and mole“.
Traitors It originated in the Netherlands as De Veraderswith development led by Pos and Hoogendoorn in collaboration with RTL’s creative unit. It launched on RTL4 in March 2021 and later became such a huge success that All3-backed Studio Lambert commissioned 12 episodes for the BBC. The third season dropped in the UK on January 1 and earned an overnight rating of 5.1 million, which rose to 9.2 million after a seven-day catch-up, up 55% on the season two launch episode. The US version of Peacock launched a third season last Thursday, increasing the arrival of the second season in 2024 to 75% of the first season.
“The past nine years at IDTV and All3Media have been an intense and rewarding journey for which I am deeply grateful,” said Hogendoorn. “Over time, my focus has increasingly shifted towards developing original intellectual property with global appeal. This new chapter at Talpa Studios feels like the next natural step in my career.
“John De Mol’s passion, audacity, and unparalleled ambition to create original intellectual property and disrupt the international format market is both inspiring and challenging. I am excited to build on this legacy, inject new energy into the creative process, and continue learning on All the way.
Talpa Studios is known for creating formats such as The wordwhich was produced in 20 countries including Fox in the United States, along with… Competition with balls and Million Dollar Island. Its founder, De Mol, co-founded Endemol with Joop van den Ende in 1994, and Talpa Media, which was sold to ITV Studios in 2015. He later created a new version of Talpa, which was renamed Talpa Studios in 2023 .
Talpa Studios is led by former ITV Studios exec Meijs. He joined three years ago, reuniting with creative visionary D Mol, known for creating shows like Big brother, Sound and Fear factor.
