Netflix has signed on for a special holiday series from Toronto’s marblemedia that extends the hit glass-art competition show Blown Away.

The original unscripted series has been a global hit, and Matt Hornburg, marblemedia co-CEO, partner and executive producer, says that Netflix warmed to the idea of a Blown Away: Christmas, which the prodco proposed during the show’s sophomore season. The (4 x 30-minute) holiday mini-series – hosted by Queer Eye’s Bobby Berks – bows on the streamer on Nov. 19.

Both the finished show and format will be sold Distribution360, marblemedia’s distribution arm.

“There was Sugar Rush Christmas and all these other competition shows that they had made that were holiday offshoots,” Hornburg told Playback Daily. “We pitched the idea, and were really pleased that they wanted to do it.”

The premise for Blown Away: Christmas is a slight shift from the original franchise: five previous competitors are invited back to the show, with the winner receiving $10,000 and a matching donation of $10,000 to gift to a charity of their choice.

“We wanted people that hadn’t had a chance to win yet, so there is an element of character redemption: they’re there to prove something and they’re getting a second chance,” Hornburg explains. “I think that’s a great part of the story.”

Hornburg says the cash prize is smaller than the traditional $60,000 spoils of the regular season, because “we wanted something that felt just a little more intimate.”

“The journey isn’t quite as long – it’s not 10 episodes, like our other two seasons have been… We also wanted it come back to the meaning rather than feel like it’s being driven by the cash. It’s really about all of the other things and we really wanted to make sure  that it was kind of reflective of that.”

As for the host, Hornburg said Berks brought the authenticity that Netflix wanted.

“We had first heard about him because he had tweeted about seeing season one,  and then we saw that as an opportunity to see if he would be a guest judge on season two and he obliged.  Then we had this idea of, ‘wouldn’t it be kind of different and feel special if he hosted the Christmas series?'”

Overall, Hornburg said he’s been thrilled with the reception to Blown Away since its inception. The idea was pitched by an intern.

“Our development team was actively looking for projects that were really focused on process; we really felt there was an abundance of really successful cooking and baking shows out there in the world,” he says. “We really felt that audiences were ready to meet new people with new passions.”

Hornburg says he’s hoping not only to continue on with the series – which has yet to be renewed by Netflix – but franchise the format.

“What’s interesting about a show like Blown Away is that I don’t think any of us – and certainly not Netflix, I don’t think – expected it to be as much of a hit as it’s been. It’s been a critical success and there’s been definite audience numbers from the data we’ve been able to get, either publicly or through Netflix, so I think every producer want to do more seasons.

“So, we’re always hopeful for renewals. Then, as we look past that obvious piece, is there an opportunity in which we could be looking at doing formats of this?  And I think that’s the next layer we hope to kind of explore, whether it’d be for this show or other original formats that we’ve been making as a company – is not just renewals, but how can we get localized versions of a show off the ground?”