At TCA, New Twists on Reality

Cable Networks Put Their Own Spin on Genre

By Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 8/23/2010 12:01:00 AM

Several cable networks will take the reality genre into unique and unusual directions with projects announced during the cable portion of the Television Critics Association tour.

Investigation Discovery will take viewers to America’s correctional facilities in a search for musical talent, a la Fox’s hit show American Idol. ID and prolific reality series producer Mark Burnett are to develop a reality series, tentatively dubbed Talent Behind Bars, that will give people who have been convicted of nonviolent crimes and misdemeanors a chance to showcase their talent.

Prizes will go toward the rehabilitation of those convicted of these minor crimes and to nonprofi t organizations that support victims’ rights, ID president and general manager Henry Schleiff said during the network’s Aug. 6 presentation.

ID hopes to pair the show with a second prison-themed series tailored after ABC’s Dancing With the Stars that will highlight the fancy feet of prison inmates, Schleiff said.

TLC, ID’s sister service, will shine a light on the subject of polygamy with the Sept. 26 debut of Sister Wives, a seven-part series following Kody Brown, his multiple wives and their combined 13 children living in Utah.

“It’s a raw, honest look at a hidden lifestyle — plural marriage,” TLC president and general manager Eileen O’Neill said. “This is a way of life for approximately 40,000 Americans, but it’s never been explored in this very honest, real and authentic way.”

Ovation announced two new reality series in its first ever TCA presentation. Scenic Route, a series starring journalist David Keeps, takes to off -the-beaten track cultural treasures throughout the U.S.; the series premiered earlier this month. Coming in September, Faces of a Vanishing World tracks 19-year-old photographer Joey Lawrence as he leaves his fast-moving, celebrity photography career behind to capture ancient tribes that are on the verge of extinction.

National Geographic Wild will launch a week-long programming stunt dubbed “Big Cat Week.” The programming event is part and parcel of the National Geographic Society’s “Big Cat Initiative,” structured to raise awareness of the declining populations of lions, tigers and other felines, according to network officials.

Older sibling National Geographic Channel will host an event of its own, the sevenhour, high-definition Great Migrations, which will highlight the epic journeys many species regularly take just to survive, according to the network. The documentary, three years in the making, will be the subject of a cross-platform initiative from print (books and magazines) to mobile to television, Nat Geo said.

A&E Network green-lit a documentary pilot from producer and director Doug Liman (The Bourne Ultimatum, Mr. and Mrs. Smith), titled The Unexplained. The show, which will examine paranormal phenomena and experiences, marks Limon’s first endeavor in nonscripted television.

MILESTONE
On Aug. 30 USA Network will air the 900th episode of the World Wrestling Entertainment’s Monday Night Raw franchise. Here are some factual tidbits surrounding the milestone:

Raw is in its 17th year on cable television.

In its first year on air (1993), Raw averaged approximately 2.8 million viewers per episode. In 2010, Raw is averaging more than 5.2 million viewers per episode — an increase of 86%.

Raw aired on The National Network/ Spike TV from 2000 to 2005.

Since its premiere in 1993, Raw has been watched more than 3.3 billion times.

Other shows that debuted in 1993 include: NYPD Blue (ABC), Monday Night Countdown (ESPN), Late Night With Conan O’Brien and Frasier (NBC), while shows that ended their runs that year included Knots Landing (CBS) and Cheers (NBC).

SOURCE: Multichannel News research