|
|
ESPN Makes Play for Drama Series Cable-sports giant ESPN is moving further into the world of entertainment programming with the announcement of its first scripted series.
The show will have some sort of sports theme and will air on Tuesday nights for 11 episodes, including a two-hour pilot. Other than that, there's little else to tell at the moment. ESPN Original Entertainment, which will produce the series, is currently taking story pitches with writers and producers. "Sports is drama, and a scripted dramatic series is the next logical step in ESPN Original Entertainment's extension of the ESPN brand," says Mark Shapiro, senior vice president and general manager of programming at the cable network.
The series will mark ESPN's biggest step yet into scripted programming. The network aired its first original movie, "Season on the Brink," in March and enjoyed ratings three times higher than its prime-time average. A second movie -- "The Junction Boys," about legendary football coach Bear Bryant -- is scheduled for December.
ESPN's other original programs have enjoyed mixed success. Shows like "Pardon the Interruption" and "The Season" have performed reasonably well, but a talk show hosted by Jay Mohr fell flat. Next up for ESPN is "Beg, Borrow and Deal," a "Road Rules"-like show in which players must complete sports-themed challenges while traveling across the country with no money in their pockets. Related Shows
More Headlines
TV Gal
| |
Print
Email
Return to Headlines ;