EXCLUSIVE: Muster Dogs, a canine reality series that has become one of the biggest shows on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), is taking a walk into the U.S.
The show is being remade in the States by Wonder Project, which has acquired the exclusive U.S. format rights to the format.
It will retitle it as Wonder Dogs and launch the series on its Wonder Project subscription service on Prime Video.
The unscripted competition series follows six ranchers across America, each raising and training a puppy from the same litter over one year, culminating in a final championship.
Over the course of a year, the series follows the bond between each rancher and their dog within a real working environment, capturing the patience, discipline, and connection at the heart of the process. As each dog learns to herd and manage livestock, progress is measured through a series of real-world challenges that test skill, instinct, and partnership, culminating in a final working dog competition where one is crowned Wonder Dog champion.
The series is filmed in part in Faith, South Dakota, where the puppies are born.
It has become a hit for ABC Australia over the last four seasons; it started relatively modestly in 2022 but by the fourth season, which aired early this year, it had more than doubled its ratings with episodes averaging more than 1.2M in its six-part series.
Wonder Project will produce in partnership with Hellcat, which is run by CEO Pippa Lambert, the former ICM and WME agent who founded the shingle. Lambert will exec produce alongside Wonder Project’s Tristen Tuckfield and Ashley Hanna. It will be produced in association with the Australian production team including creator Michael Boughen, exec producer Matthew Street, producer/director Monica O’Brien, producer Keaton Stewart, and coproducers Sally Browning, John Unwin and Lauren Rudd.
“Muster Dogs has already proven itself as a powerful format, not just in ratings, but in how deeply it connects with audiences,” said Tristen Tuckfield, Head of Content Acquisition at Wonder Project. “It’s why we at Wonder are thrilled to bring Wonder Dogs to our audience. Heartwarming, inspiring stories for the whole family are exactly what we are chasing, and Wonder Dogs delivers.”