US nets revive the mini

UPFRONTS: Things are changing in US network TV, as programmers respond to competition by reviving the miniseries and playing with the traditional season structure.

One of trends emerging from the Upfronts this week is the revival of the miniseries, following the once dormant format’s recent success with cable shows like Hatfields & McCoys and The Bible.

Fox, for instance, has ordered 12-part miniseries 24: Live Another Day for summer 2014, bringing Jack Bauer back to the network in an attempt to emulate the success that cable networks have with shorter runs to attract big-name talent.

It also has other minis in the pipeline, such as a look at the life of Billy the Kid, from Tom Fontana (Borgia) and Barry Levinson; M Night Shyamalan’s Twin Peaks-esque Wayward Pines; The People vs OJ Simpson, from Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski; Blood Brothers, from Bruce C McKenna; and a remake of James Clavell’s classic Shogun, from Michael de Luca and Nigel Williams.

Betrayal

ABC, furthermore, today said fall season show Betrayal and midseasoner Resurrection were intended to be miniseries and also that it would be breaking up the usual runs of serialised dramas Grey’s Anatomy, Once Upon a Time, Revenge and Scandal into two 12-part limited runs for fall and spring. This will allow it to air other shows, such as fantasy reality format The Quest, inbetween Once Upon a Time’s two halves.

The Fox network has also broken up the fall season further, by launching some shows in the normal September period but switching things around in “late fall” – as opposed to midseason. Bones, for instance, fills the Monday 20.00 slot until late fall, when new JJ Abrams drama Almost Human takes over.

Tactics like these might allow the Big Four US broadcast networks to avoid the problems of their onerous 24-episode production model and take a leaf out of cable’s book, but it’s less certain how they’ll play out with audiences who expect their shows not to disappear for months on end, not to mention those international buyers flying into town for the LA Screenings next week.