VH1, BET Team Up on Pilot
Two MTVN Channels to Simultaneously Debut Wifey
By R. Thomas Umstead & David Cohen -- Multichannel News, 2/14/2007 1:37:00 PM
Sister networks VH1 and BET are making plans to jump into the scripted-drama arena.
The two MTV Networks-run cable services will develop a one-hour dramatic pilot produced by actress/rap artist Queen Latifah dubbed Wifey, with rights to air the project simultaneously if it launches as a series, according to executives from both networks.
BET president of entertainment Reginald Hudlin will direct the series, which focuses on a woman who takes over the reins of her husband's hip-hop record company after he's killed.
Wifey would be the first originally produced scripted-drama-series offering for both networks. VH1 produced a scripted comedy show, So Notorious, last year.
The networks will equally split production costs down the middle, according to Hudlin. "We wanted to put together a deal structure that we felt was fair for everybody," he said.
Hudlin added that the arrangement could be the first of many between VH1 and BET, saying he doesn't believe that the two networks will cannibalize viewers by airing Wifey simultaneously.
"I think it makes the series more of an event," he said.
VH1 also teamed up with Sundance Channel last year on four-part documentary series The Drug Years.
“The premise behind Wifey has tremendous promise and fits perfectly into VH1's unique ability to tell stories about music and pop culture,” MTVN president of entertainment and Logo president Brian Graden said in a prepared statement. “This pilot marks the first time that VH1 has partnered with another network in such a way, so we're eager to explore all of the ideas and possibilities that will develop by teaming up with Reginald Hudlin and our friends at BET now and in the future.”
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