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The Wright stuff
THE C21 INTERVIEWS: Michael Wright, exec VP and head of programming at TBS, TNT and Turner Classic Movies, talks to David Jenkinson about his programming plans for 2010.  Programming originals and acquisitions for TNT and TBS provides Michael Wright (left), executive VP and head of programming at both US cable channels, with a diverse challenge. Using acquired series to define an audience, Wright then develops originals to complement their success. And in 2010, the continued roll-out of home-grown series is set to continue. "On TNT our bread and butter has been character-based, populist themed franchise dramas," he says. "From The Closer, to Hawthorn, to Dark Blue, these are meant to be fun and smart and you will see us continue to mine that area. Franchise dramas work well for TNT. We don't do a lot of serialised drama and we try to keep it very accessible to a broad audience. We are not looking to be elitist, neither are we looking to be low-brow." TNT debuted sitcom Men of a Certain Age in December, which drew "some of the best reviews we have ever received for a show, especially in our core demo of 25- to 54-year-olds." The series is pulling around 1.7 million in the core demo, which is above the 1.5 million slot average and has been renewed. "We are also premiering Southland, a show NBC was not able to continue with last year, having a lot to do with the Leno experiment at 22.00. When they chose to cancel it we were able to make a deal to bring it to TNT. We are going to air the episodes that originally ran on NBC and then, after we finish cycling those, run the ones that never aired. If it does well we'll pick it up and make more episodes." After the spring run of NBA on TNT, the summer will see more originals debut on the channel. The Closer and Leverage will also come back for new seasons. "We will have one or two new series debuting," says Wright, referring to the three new series unveiled in January. They include one exec produced by George Clooney and another exec produced by Steven Spielberg. Described by TNT as "offbeat," Delta Blues (working title) is the Clooney show, with the Ocean's Eleven star sharing exec production duties with Grant Heslov and Writer Liz W Garcia, via Smokehouse Pictures and Warner Horizon Television. It stars Jason Lee (My Name Is Earl) and Alfre Woodard (Three Rivers) in a cop show set in Memphis in which the cop (Lee) still lives with his mother, played by Celia Weston (Junebug). Woodard plays the cop's boss. Spielberg is behind an as-yet-untitled alien invasion drama from DreamWorks Television, with Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank and Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan) also exec producing. Noah Wyle will star as the leader of a rag-tag group of soldiers and civilians fighting off an alien force. "This series has the potential to be one of the most exciting and provocative shows on television," says Wright. The third commission is Rizzoli & Isles (wt), starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander, and based on Tess Gerritsen's mystery novels. It comes to TNT from Warner Horizon Television and is being exec produced by Janet Tamaro (Bones, Lost) and Bill Haber's Ostar Productions. In the show, Harmon plays a Boston detective who works closely with a medical examiner (Alexander) to solve crimes. "TNT is home to some of television's most powerful female characters, and Rizzoli & Isles certainly fits that identity," says Wright. TNT has ordered 10 episodes of each of the three series, with plans to have Delta Blues and Rizzoli & Isles premiere in 2010 and the alien invasion series debut in 2011. "These three series are wide ranging in their appeal and subject matter. And with their emphasis on relatable, everyday heroes, they're a great fit with our line-up," Wright adds. While not giving away too much of what else he has planned, Wright says he'd love to find a show that can be as big as The Closer has been for TNT. "It is both a blessing and a curse. It is the greatest thing that happened to TNT in the sense that the numbers are so high. At the same time you don't want that show's success to overshadow other shows that are performing admirably." Wright doesn't exclude finding the next hit in the non-scripted genre either. "We tried reality last summer with a show called Wedding Day," he says. "It was beautifully produced by Mark Burnett and DreamWorks. We put on a beautiful show that just happened to be on in 47 other places. We got the production part right, but the show was just not fresh enough or original enough. That said, we are currently developing some unscripted programming. The challenge is to find an unscripted series that fits logically into the context of a network that airs a lot of procedural dramas and a lot of action films on the weekend, and you have to be very selective about the kind of show you drop into that environment. "It is attractive to drop a non-scripted show into a schedule like that, however, because it would stand out. I am addicted to some reality television; I can't wait for American Idol to start. I never miss an episode of Hell's Kitchen and love Amazing Race. I would love it if we could find a way to make that form work on TNT." At TBS, there's a very different blend of programming on the comedy network but originals are also riding high, with more work in this area to come. "TBS is a network that appeals to a broad cross section of viewers," says Wright. "One of the primary differences between a comedy network and a drama network is that drama as a brand is somewhat universal – that which is dramatic to me is usually dramatic to others. Comedy is so subjective. So with TBS we are able to play to different audiences across the week with different programming." From Family Guy on Monday, to The Office on Tuesday, to Tyler Perry's programming on Wednesday, to the movies on the weekend, the week runs a gauntlet of different demos. Lopez Tonight has been a good addition to the late-night line-up, rivaling The Daily Show for ratings. "To have a Hispanic host of a late-night talk show is different and reaches an underserved audience, just as Tyler Perry has done on Wednesday night," says Wright. "So I think you will see us do more of that. We will be premiering Are We There Yet? this summer from Joe Roth and Ice Cube – a series version of the films Ice Cube made." In terms of original programming, TBS is about two or three years behind TNT. "We are trying to take a similar approach with TBS, look at what is working on the network in terms of acquired programming and develop original programming for that audience. "The Closer was the first original we put on TNT and it was really developed very specifically to take the Law and Order audience and flow them into our own original series. Out of the gate you can see that Family Guy does well for us, so we are developing original half-hour animated series that are meant to be compatible with the Family Guy audience. We have a show from Pam Brady, who was one of the writers on South Park. She has created a show for us with DreamWorks Animation called Neighbors From Hell that will premiere this year. "We are also looking at hour-long comedies. You look at Leverage on TNT and Monk on USA, which are very comedic; either one of those shows would work on a comedy network. So we are trying not to be limited by the notion that comedy on television is a half hour." And what sort of comedies will work best? "They will be franchise comedies. It is tough to do a sitcom in an hour. We are looking at a cop comedy or show with an engine that is driving the storytelling." David Jenkinson 3 Feb 2010 © C21 Media 2010 
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