E! follows up scripted first

US cablenet E! is following up its first drama, The Royals, with a pilot written by a Mad Men scribe and executive produced by Wife Swap creator Stephen Lambert.

Stephen Lambert

The Arrangement, produced by Universal Cable Productions, follows a beautiful young actress who auditions for the female lead in a summer blockbuster, playing opposite the hottest actor of the moment.

However, things become more complicated when it emerges that in order to get the part, she must have a relationship with the actor.

The script comes from Jonathan Abrahams, who won a Writers’ Guild Award and a Primetime Emmy for his previous work on the soon-to-end Man Men, AMC’s drama about the ad industry.

Abrahams will executive produce the project along with Jimmy Fox of All3Media-owned Objective Productions USA, while Lambert and Eli Holzman of All3Media America will also executive produce.

Kevin Plunkett, senior VP scripted programming at E!, said the script “juxtaposes a very public Hollywood romance with darker, more nefarious elements.”

E! began its push into original scripted series with The Royals, which stars Elizabeth Hurley as a fictionalised queen of the UK and has already been commissioned for a second season.

The hour-long drama follows a fictional modern day royal family and is a coproduction between Lionsgate and Universal Cable Productions.