Lifetime to Launch Three Summer Drama Series
Women’s-Targeted Network Hikes Programming Budget 31%
By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 4/24/2007 5:01:00 PM
New York -- Lifetime Television will feature a first-ever three-hour block of original new dramas beginning in June as part of its slate of new programming announced Tuesday at its upfront presentation here.
Overall, the network will increase its programming budget by 31% in 2007 compared with last year, although it would not reveal specific figures.
Lifetime will premiere previously announced military drama Army Wives June 3 at 10 p.m., followed by Marisa Coughlan-starrer Side Order of Life and therapist-based drama State of Mind July 15 at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., respectively, Lifetime executives said.
In other scripted-programming announcements, the network will develop The Madness of Jane, about a neurologist diagnosed with bipolar disorder; Mile High, based on acclaimed British series Sky One; Lovely and Talented, about a divorcee who starts an acting class for adult women; Burnt Toast, a dramedy adapted from actress Teri Hatcher’s book of the same name; Bailey Weggins, about the life of a recently divorced New York City investigative reporter at a newsmagazine show; and Chambermaid, which follows a young attorney as she clerks for a federal judge.
On the reality front, the network will tap Queer Eye for the Straight Guy star Carson Kressley to host a new “feel-good” reality skein, How to Look Good Naked, which seeks to boost the self-esteem of women about their bodies.
Others shows in development include Judgment Day, in which the audience will vote off seven women one-by-one based on how they handle a series of questions and challenges; America’s Psychic Challenge, which tests the unique skills of several psychics; and Going for Broke, which teaches women deep in debt how to live within their means.
Lifetime president of entertainment Susanne Daniels said the network will also produce more than 60 movies over the next 12 months for both Lifetime and sister service Lifetime Movie Network.
Among the highlights: What if God Were the Sun, starring Lacey Chabert as an emergency-room nurse who forms a connection with a terminally ill patient; Write & Wrong, starring Kirstie Alley as a middle-aged screenwriter who uses her 20-something nephew to help sell her scripts to Hollywood; Girl Positive, about a girl who fears that she may be infected with the HIV virus; and The Gathering, a dark thriller in which a successful surgeon’s wife vanishes mysteriously.
Also on the development docket is House of Hilton, which chronicles the famed Hilton family, according to Daniels.
Lifetime also announced that it will stream full-length movies and episodes of such original series as Army Wives on its Web site, which is set to relaunch in June. LifetimeTV.com will also provide health, beauty and relationship content, as well as a gaming area that will feature downloadable casual video games as part of Lifetime's partnership with RealArcade.
