Pivot Acquires 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer,' 'Veronica Mars' Rights

Pivot has acquired vampire-themed series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and drama series Veronica Mars, the network announced Tuesday.

The millennial-targeted Pivot beginning Jan. 13 will air episodes of Buffy and Veronica Mars back-to-back weeknights beginning at 10 p.m., said network officials. Buffy The Vampire Slayer, which stars Sarah Michelle Geller as a high school student who battles vampires and demons, aired from 1997-2003. Veronica Mars, which stars Kristen Bell as a student who moonlights as a private investigator, aired from 2004-2007.

Buffy and Veronica Mars are enormously entertaining and celebrated TV shows with significant cultural and social relevance,” said Pivot President Evan Shapiro in a statement. “Both focus on smart, strong, young women dealing with critical issues from class struggles to gender roles – challenges facing a great many of our viewers.  Pivot will contextualize the shows, presenting them with exclusive commentary from fans, experts and academics, to both celebrate these two great series and begin a dialogue with our viewers.”

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.