Sundance Channel, the independent network acquired by
Rainbow Media in 2008, plans to double its amount of nonfiction programming in
2011, to 75-80 hours, the network said at its upfront event for press in New York
on Tuesday.
The channel will roll out seven new and returning series
throughout 2011 designed to serve its "poptimist" audience - viewers who are situated
between emerging culture and the mainstream.
The first of these new series, the previously announced All on the Line, will launch at the end
of March. The show features Elle Creative
Director Joe Zee as he attempts to help struggling designers grow their
businesses. Another designer-focused show is Garo Unleashed, about an East Village fashion designer who shows
his clients how to use fashion as a form of self-expression.
Also joining the lineup is Quirky, which showcases 24-year-old entrepreneur Ben Kaufman, whose website Quirky.com brings new product inventions to market. And based on the
performance and book series Mortified,
Shoebox Sessions has host Dave
Nadelberg dig up mementos of a celebrity's past to reveal who they are today.
Ludo Bites America
follows classically trained French chef Ludo Lefebvre and his wife/business
partner Krissy as they travel the country setting up pop-up restaurants at
local eateries. The series has already shot its first episode in Mobile, Ala.,
and future episodes will take the duo to South Carolina and West Texas, among
others, says Michael Klein, Sundance Channel SVP original programming and
development. The show will continue shooting until June for a summer launch.
In development is Diva
of Distressed (working title), which follows billionaire Lynn Tilton as she
attempts to flip failing small businesses and get small town communities back
to work.
Sundance also announced it has renewed Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys for a second season to premiere
at the end of 2011.
