In a major departure from their programming-acquisition strategy, TV Land and Nick at Nite Tuesday released a slate of original shows and specials to supplement their schedule of classic sitcom shows.
Among the new skeins in development for TV Land are Living in TV Land, which takes a look at a day in the life of classic TV stars; TV Land Real Characters,a "mockumentary" series of famous TV characters; and Table Read, a series that reunites the casts from popular television series in reunions set around script readings from popular episodes.
Other shows on tap for the network include TheDavid Steinberg Project, a Fernwood Tonight-type look at Hollywood from the producer of Home Box Office's Curb Your Enthusiasm; Hello Out There, an original comedy developed internally about the behind-the-scenes antics of running a classic-TV network; and TV Land Collectibles, an Antiques Road Show-meets-classic-TV-memorabilia show.
TV Land will air in March its second annual TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV special, as well as several new specials including All Access Pass: The TV Land Awards, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the network’s inaugural awards show, and TV Land Moguls, a six-part, Merv Griffin-hosted special that chronicles television's pioneering producers.
A Happy Days Reunionspecialand a six-hour miniseries examining television’s most extraordinary moments are also queued up for the network in 2004.
On the Nick at Nite front, the late-night arm of kids’ network Nickelodeon will build on its previously announced Bill Cosby-produced animated series, Fatherhood, with a number of original projects, including Alf's Hit Talk Show, featuring the popular 1980s TV alien character; Zen & Buster, a Kelsey Grammer-produced vehicle about Hollywood life as seen through the eyes of dogs; a new version of classic series Kids Say the Darndest Things;and Exploding Baloney,a hidden-camera show that features parents and teachers playing good-natured practical jokes on kids.
Also in production is for the network is Return Engagement, a comedy about retired actors who inherit a Melrose Place-type apartment complex; Take 2, a family sitcom about a regressing classic-TV-star-turned-psychologist; My Man Marty, showcasing a lost, ahead-of-its-time sitcom that finds a slot on TV; and The Tommy Lynch Project,a behind-the-scenes comedy about a hidden-camera dating show.
