Rusk Media, the India-based digital media company serving Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences, is expanding its unscripted production hub in Mumbai. The move is intended to support international adaptations of the formats in its growing catalogue, including projects for the US market.
The seven-year-old company received new investment from Yash Raj Films earlier this year. This summer, it also announced its US expansion by appointing veteran executive Tyler Massey to head a new division based in Los Angeles.
Rusk has established itself in India as a specialist in Gen Z- and Gen Alpha-focused content. Its commissions include projects from JioHotstar and Prime Video, while additional releases have reached viewers through its proprietary Alright! TV platform.
During its seven years of operation, the company has worked across local unscripted programming, scripted content, Gen Z-oriented soap operas and, more recently, animation. It is now seeking to reproduce that approach in the US, beginning with American adaptations of three unscripted formats: Battleground, Engaged and Playground.
Engaged follows singles as they take part in flirtatious challenges, partner swaps and unexpected developments designed to determine whether they are ready to make a serious relationship commitment. Its first season debuted earlier this year on JioHotstar.
Battleground is aimed at younger viewers and follows fitness creators through a three-stage contest testing flexibility, endurance, agility, strength and speed. Banijay bought the format’s global rights earlier this year after its first season recorded more than 20 million views and 2.5 billion social media impressions across India.
Playground is billed as India’s first gaming reality show. Its teams of gamers live together in a house while competing in casual and professional-level games. The original Hindi-language edition is currently airing its fifth season on Prime Video and Amazon MX Player in India.
Strong viewership for the Indian edition of Engaged led Rusk to select it as the company’s first US show. Filming took place in India in March with a 16-member American cast and US showrunner Aaron Catling.
“What we’re doing is creating US shows for a global audience, but we’re saving a lot of money by producing it in India, so it’s a really great model,” said Massey. He is also overseeing Rusk’s US push into microdramas and efforts to expand its licensing business. The US edition of Engaged is scheduled to arrive later this year on Alright! TV before subsequently being released on YouTube.
Massey said the approach reduces Rusk Media’s dependence on a buyer financing the full production. That is partly because the company has an advertising sales division capable of generating sponsorship revenue. Rusk aims to apply the same structure to its other formats and is currently discussing potential shoots at its Indian production hub with a range of partners.
Co-founder and CEO Mayank Yadav said Rusk continues to identify an opening for family-friendly programming made for Gen Z viewers.
“Our belief is that there is very little programming that’s made for Gen Z audiences that they can enjoy with their family,” he said.
Yadav said the company is entering the US at a suitable point because it now has a sufficiently broad slate of proprietary formats, while audience demand is also present.
“We have the right set of capabilities, infrastructure, and most importantly, the data to help us figure out what we can produce [in the US]. So it’s a combination of the right intelligence and the right IP base. Plus, we see a growing opportunity in the US market with Gen Z for microdramas and new formats,” said Yadav.
