Press Release: Tuner Entertainment Networks Upfronts

All the news this week went to the major networks, but Tuner Entertainment Networks (TNT, TBS, TruTV) also held their upfronts earlier this week. Thier big news was that TBS was interested in picking up My Name Is Earl, a show they already syndicate. With their summer schedule set for a while (I will be talking more about those shows closer to their premieres), most of the shows in their pipeline won’t hit the air until 2010 at the earliest aside from the already announced Men of a Certain Age staring Ray Romano and Scott Bacula set to debut in December 2009 and Neighbors From Hell, an animated series coming in 2010. Here are the other programming and development plans in the works for the networks:

TNT

Scripted dramas

 UNTITLED ALIEN INVASION PROJECT – Six months after a worldwide alien invasion, a group of everyday heroes must rise up to fight for their survival – all while maintaining their humanity in the process. This project has been ordered to pilot and comes to TNT from DreamWorks Television and filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who will serve as executive producer along with DreamWorks Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank and screenwriter Robert Rodat. Rodat, who earned an Oscar® nomination for his screenplay for Saving Private Ryan, is writing the script for the pilot from an idea he co-conceived with Spielberg.

 CLASS ACTION (working title) – Steven Bochco, the mastermind behind many dramas, including TNT’s Raising the Bar, joins with Stephen Godchaux (Spin City) for this project, which follows a down-on-his-luck attorney as he fights for the disenfranchised.

 ZAPATA, TEXAS (working title) – The husband-and-wife team of Kyra Sedgwick (TNT’s The Closer) and Kevin Bacon co-conceived and will executive-produce this project, which is the story of a small Texas border town and its newly elected sheriff, “favorite son” Zeke. ZAPATA, TEXAS will follow Zeke as he navigates the equally treacherous waters of small-town politics and the volatile world of the U.S./Mexico border. Bacon is attached to direct the pilot.

 UNTITLED MATT WILLIAMS FAMILY DRAMA – Matt Williams, creator of Roseanne and co-creator of Home Improvement, takes a personal, passionate and ultimately heroic look at a loving, middle-American family that is keeping it together at a time when everything is trying to pull them apart.

 UNTITLED DANIEL PYNE NOIR DRAMA – Daniel Pyne’s many credits as a writer include The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Any Given Sunday and Pacific Heights. This project from Warner Horizon Television is set in 1954 Los Angeles, where a private detective tries to do the right thing as the ever-changing world makes it more difficult.

 PASTOR JAZZ – This drama focuses on a minister, his music and his passion for people’s hearts and souls, from the neediest to the wealthiest. Charles S. Dutton (The Express, Roc) is Pastor Jazz in this project, which is from Warner Horizon Television, Dutton, Mitchell Burgess (The Sopranos, Northern Exposure) and Robin Green (The Sopranos, Northern Exposure).

 MACALISTER – Henry Shepard is a washed-up-novelist-turned-professor who tries to inspire the boys of The Macalister School. F.J. Pratt (Less Than Perfect) and Dan Cohen (Less Than Perfect) look into the minds and mischief of students at an all-boys school in upstate New York, showing how one man can have an impact on children of wealth and privilege.

 PROOF – Dr. Geoffrey Pierce is an eccentric neuroscientist who uses his unique outlook to help the federal government solve complex cases. With an intimate knowledge of human behavior and a masterful understanding of the mind, this quirky, crime-solving doctor pulls lessons from an odd and imaginative view of the world. This project comes from ABC Studios, Kenneth Biller (Legend of the Seeker, Star Trek: Voyager) and Mike Sussman (Star Trek: Voyager)

unscripted dramas:

 THE MAYO CLINIC – When someone is ill and has been told nothing more can be done, there is one place to go – the renowned Mayo Clinic, where hope springs eternal. This project will chronicle the lives of Mayo doctors and their patients. Bill Guttentag (Nanking) and David Kanter (Rendition) are executive producers.

 TRIP OF A LIFETIME – Everyone has a dream or a wish unfulfilled. TRIP OF A LIFETIME will bring together extended, disconnected and deserving families. It could revolve around a lost family member, an unknown child, a missing brother or simply a returned keepsake. The project will be executive-produced by acclaimed author and travel expert Peter Greenberg and Rich Heller (Dallas: War of the Ewings)


TBS

 THE GAME OF LIFE – This half-hour sitcom follows four Pittsburgh friends as they reunite in their early 30s, only to discover life didn’t turn out quite as planned. THE GAME OF LIFE comes to TBS from Sony Pictures Television, executive-produced by Kevin James (The King of Queens, Paul Blart: Mall Cop), Rock Reuben (The King of Queens) and Jeff Sussman (The King of Queens, Paul Blart: Mall Cop).

 BIG TOW – This animated project from Sony Pictures Television, Tantamount and executive producer Clay Graham (The Drew Carey Show) will follow the life of J.D. Biggs, a small-town Tennessee single dad and local hero who runs a towing company.

 WEE HOURS – From Second City TV and executive producer Lowell Mate, this slice-of-life sketch comedy employs the talents of the legendary Second City comedy troupe to tell stories of Chicagoans during the wee hours of midnight to 6 a.m.


TruTV

 NFL FULL CONTACT (working title) – truTV and NFL Films will provide unprecedented, exclusive access to what really goes on behind the scenes in professional football, from draft day to the Super Bowl.

 CONSPIRACY THEORY WITH JESSE VENTURA – He’s undertaken some of the most dangerous missions in the world as a Navy SEAL. He’s body-slammed giants in the wrestling ring as a WWE superstar. He’s even conquered politics as the governor of Minnesota. Now, Jesse Ventura is about to face his greatest challenge yet: uncovering the most compelling, modern-day conspiracy theories. CONSPIRACY THEORY is produced by A. Smith & Co. Productions (Hell’s Kitchen, I Survived a Japanese Game Show, Kitchen Nightmares).

 U.S. SPECIAL OPS: DECLASSIFIED (working title) – From producer Tom DeSanto (X-Men, Transformers) and 44 Blue Productions comes a thrilling new series that unlocks the case files of America’s elite terrorist hunters. Through a mix of cutting-edge computer animation, action-packed recreations and hair-raising interviews with actual agents, this series will recount the shocking, formerly top-secret details of the people who keep us safe while we sleep.

 FULL THROTTLE – This four-part series, produced by A. Smith & Co. Productions, will provide an inside look at the world’s largest biker bar. Mike Ballard, beautiful bartenders and a full cast of characters race against the clock to serve huge crowds at Ballard’s Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, S.D., during the town’s famed, nine-day motorcycle rally. More than 300,000 people visit the Full Throttle Saloon during the annual event, where Ballard and his team feel the pressure to make a year’s salary in a short time window, all while providing patrons an experience they will not forget. The series marks the first time cameras have been allowed to capture every minute.