Television's foreign affair: remaking hits imported from abroad
THE TV BIZ
Networks are scouring other countries to find the next TV show that will strike a chord with American audiences. Thank 'The Office' and 'Ugly Betty.'
IN faraway places like Europe, Australia and Israel, Hollywood talent agents are tapping the imaginations of screenwriters and producers, hoping to unearth some Michael magic or Betty brilliance.
No longer confined to Hollywood, or even to sister city London, where many reality franchises have been born, the search for the next Michael Scott and Betty Suarez is on, now that "The Office" and "Ugly Betty" have proved that it is possible to successfully adapt a foreign scripted series for a big U.S. audience.
"I'm sure in London, people are wondering who all these Armani-clad agents are descending on the city, turning over rocks, looking for new formats," joked Morgan Wandell, senior vice president of drama development at ABC Studios. The studio arm of the ABC network is producing two pilots derived from British series and one from New Zealand as contenders for next fall's lineups on ABC and CBS. "There is more interest in finding this kind of material because it is one more arrow in our development quivers that help us find the next big thing."
This pilot season there are more scripted foreign formats being developed than in years past, even though the writers strike cut the typical pilot orders by about half. Of the 50 pilots competing for a time slot at ABC, CBS and Fox, 10 are based on foreign series -- eight from Britain, one from Israel and one from New Zealand.
Additionally, NBC recently announced 12 new series as part of its lineup for the next TV season, including two foreign adaptations. NBC's version of Australia's longest-running comedy, "Kath & Kim," about a dysfunctional mother and daughter, starring Molly Shannon and Selma Blair, will premiere in the fall. "The Listener," a Canadian drama about a paramedic who can read people's minds, is scheduled to premiere next summer.
By comparison, last pilot season, eight of 112 pilots at the five broadcast networks were based on foreign series. Only two of the eight pilots with foreign roots last year -- CBS' "Viva Laughlin" and the CW's "Life Is Wild" -- made it on the air and neither survived. Fox's game show hit "The Moment of Truth," NBC's summer reality show "Baby Borrowers" and CBS' summer drama "Flashpoint" also were born overseas.
It's a creative exchange
DOES this signal that the Hollywood idea well is running dry, particularly after a disappointing fall in which no new TV series broke out?
