OWN orders Will Packer pair

Discovery Communications-backed US network OWN has ordered a multigenerational family drama and an unscripted dating series from the Will Packer-fronted prodco it backed last year.

Will Packer

Ambitions (working title) centres on a woman who, having recently relocated and intent on revitalising her marriage, finds herself going head-to-head with some of the most powerful and deceitful players in the city.

It will begin production later this year and will debut on OWN in 2019. Will Packer Media is producing in association with Lionsgate/Debmar-Mercury.

Unscripted show Ready to Love (w/t) will debut later this year and will follow those looking for love, with a particular focus on the male perspective. Will Packer Media produces with US prodco Lighthearted Entertainment.

Packer, best known for producing movies such as Ride Along, will exec produce both shows, with the deals marking the first TV series to be created under his first-look deal with the network.

Discovery took a majority stake in OWN last year after agreeing a US$70m deal to increase its share of the company to more than 70%. Its output already includes dramas Queen Sugar and Greenleaf, as well as Saturday night unscripted series Iyanla: Fix My Life.

Will Packer Media was launched last year and is backed by Discovery and studio Universal Pictures. It added a trio of execs to its senior management team in November, including Sheila Ducksworth, who was named head of scripted TV.