‘Survivor’ head has Asian plans

Seven years after shooting the first season of “Survivor” on Borneo island, Mark Burnett is returning to Asia to develop and distribute new reality TV series and game shows.

Burnett’s Los Angeles-based production firm and Asian leisure group Genting International plan to invest up to $20 million in a joint venture. A new company, Mark Burnett Productions Asia, will operate on Singapore’s Sentosa island, where Genting plans to open a casino-resort that will include a Universal Studios theme park and film production facilities by 2010, the companies said.

Production on the first series probably will start in early 2008, most likely in Singapore, said Krist Boo, an official at Genting’s Resorts World in Sentosa. He said Burnett plans three to five productions for the first year.