A&E pulled the wraps off the first scripted series development slate from its new Los Angeles office, unveiling six new dramas from big creative names including Joel Silver and Steven Bochco. The network, expected to announce the shows today at the Television Critics Association show in Pasadena, Calif., is aiming to have one or more set to run in 2008.
The shows represent the final piece of a three-pronged makeover for the channel. In the past few years, A&E first successfully aimed to lower its median age by programming original reality series. Next came buying pricey acquired dramas, CSI: Miami and The Sopranos. The new dramas will aim to complement those acquired shows.
A&E has been developing the shows since at least March, when the network named Tana Nugent Jamieson to head a new development office in L.A.
The projects in development include:
-Dry River, a Joel Silver-produced, Texas-set crime drama focusing on an estranged father and son who are the local sheriff and a Federal agent.
-Untitled Steven Bochco Project, a legal series about a married couple who specialize in divorce cases.
-The Hunt, a crime procedural about an LAPD cop who served time in prison.
-Y3, a cop show about a reformed thief who wears an NYPD uniform to help solve crimes.;
-Untitled Anti-Terrorist Project, a thriller about an undercover anti-terrorist division of the NYPD.
-Johnny the Great, a legal series about a self-destructive defense attorney.
Separately, the network announced two new reality pilots and one reality show in production. The pilots are Hollywood DMV, an animated series from the producers of Dr. Katz about employees at a DMV, and Alien Encounters, an investigative series about paranormal activity. In production is Patti Novak: America's Toughest Matchmaker, a dating show where the matchmaker helps two singles looking for love.
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