USA Trots Out More ‘Characters’ In Upfront Development Slate
Four New Pilots Join ‘The Starter Wife,’ ‘In Plain Sight’ On Programming Roster
By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 3/26/2008 6:48:00 AM
USA Network’s development slate for the new season continues to build on the channel’s character-driven brand, with projects that include a “concierge” doctor and an inquisitive nanny.
USA, whose slogan is “Characters Welcome,” is slated to unveil its programming roster at an upfront presentation Wednesday night at The Modern in Manhattan. The projects include four new pilot scripts, namely Royal Pains, WhiteCollar, Shirleyville and The Nanny Files.
"Our current development slate makes clear that we're committed to strengthening our brand as the ‘character network’ and advancing our claim as the No. 1 destination for quality original programming in basic cable," Jeff Wachtel, USA’s executive vice president of original programming, said in a prepared statement.
USA also set a June 8 premiere date for the series In Plain Sight, which stars Mary McCormack as a U.S. Marshall who works in a secretive branch of the witness protection program, actually relocating federal witnesses. The show is from NBC Universal Cable Studios.
In addition, the new 10-episode series The Starter Wife, which stars Debra Messing and is a spin-off of the successful miniseries of the same name, will bow in October, USA announced.
USA’s upcoming development slate includes Royal Pains, which is about a doctor in the Hamptons who becomes an “on-call” physician for the rich—a concierge doctor. The project is written and co-executive produced by Andrew Lenchewski and executive produced by Rich Frank and Paul Frank with John Rogers serving as producer.
White Collar, from Fox Television Studios, is about a con man who escapes from a maximum-security prison by walking out the front door to find the lost love of his life. His nemesis at the FBI tracks him down and uses him as a consultant to catch other notorious and elusive criminals.
In Shirleyville, an Afghanistan war vet returns to his hometown of Shirleyville and finds himself sworn in as mayor when the old mayor dies.
And in The Nanny Files, a nanny who works for a widower police chief takes an active role, unbeknownst to him, in solving his cases. The show is from Fox Television Studios, with Joann Moore of Swimming with Sharks serving as co-executive producer.
USA’s previously announced projects that are still in development include ThankYouForSmoking, Life Insurance, American Girl, The Oldest Rookie, Halo, The Expert and Citizen’s Arrest.
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