More than two years after cooking up a major production bake off, Netflix is opening the doors for its latest reality competition series The Golden Ticket.
The streamer will premiere the Willy Wonka-themed reality competition series on September 23, some 55 years after Roald Dahl’s book Charlie & the Chocolate Factory was turned into a movie starring Gene Wilder.
The news comes with a twist: the company is recreating Wilder’s voice to use in the show using AI, a move that is likely to stoke controversy given concerns around the burgeoning technology. The use of Wilder’s voice has been recreated with the consent of the Wilder Estate with his wife Karen B. Wilder saying that she is “delighted” to introduce the actor’s “magic to a new generation”.
Deadline understands that Netflix worked closely with ElevenLabs, the AI audio company that counts Matthew McConaughey among its investors, to recreate Wilder’s voice. ElevenLabs has recently worked to recreate Michael Caine’s voice for an audiobook of The Odyssey and recently partnered with The Stan Lee Estate to create the superhero creator’s voice.
In another nod to the original movie, Rusty Goffe, who played an Oompa Loompa in the 1971 feature, will reprise his role in the unscripted series.
The Golden Ticket will see twelve contestants, each with a partner of their choosing, step through the gates of Wonka’s Chocolate Factory to face a series of challenges. There are games, tests and temptations designed to test the competitors physically, mentally, and morally before one walks away with a “life-changing prize”.
A two-part finale for The Golden Ticket will premiere on September 30.
It comes after a number of production companies vied for the right to produce the show. In May 2024, Deadline revealed that it had kicked off a bake off for the project. Production companies battling it out to adapt the book and movie into an unscripted series included Fremantle, Wall to Wall, Nobody’s Hero and The Garden as well as eventual winner Eureka Productions, the company behind Fox’s The Floor.
The nine-part series was produced in the Gold Coast, Australia with support from the local government. Chris Culvenor, Paul Franklin, Rikkie Proost, David Tibballs, Alison Holloway and Emer Harkin serve as exec producers.
“More than five decades after Gene brought Willy Wonka to life, people of all ages and backgrounds around the world continue to find joy, laughter and inspiration in his performance,” said Karen B. Wilder, Gene Wilder’s wife, on behalf of the Gene Wilder Estate. “Gene had a remarkable ability to bring humor, wonder and heart into people’s lives, and that connection has endured for generations. We are delighted that Wonka’s The Golden Ticket celebrates the warmth and imagination that he brought to the role, introducing that magic to a new generation while honoring the fans who have cherished it for decades.”
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