It's always intriguing when a cable network has two or three original shows they're working on. But TNT has gone project crazy this year, with a whopping 14 shows in development.
It's an interesting mix of shows too. You have your dramas, including a mystery series set in Boston, based on the novels of Tess Gerritsen; a drama about a family in 1950s Indiana; an espionage drama titled Leverage; a drama from Robert Redford titled Generations, which focuses on several families who have lived in the same house over the decades; and Truth In Advertising, which sounds a lot like a modern-day Mad Men (not that I'm complaining) and stars Eric McCormack, Tom Cavanagh, and Monica Potter. Comedies include a show about a single, middle-aged woman, from Betty Thomas and Elaine Pope.
There's also a new version of Match Game in the works, for TNT's sister station TBS, which we've talked about before, and The Genie Chronicles, which sounds like I Dream Of Jeannie, only it's a bit more serious and has a female reporter finding the lamp (I'm assuming there's a male genie inside). There are also a few reality shows in development at the network, but I'd rather not type those words so you can click on the first link above and read about them.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-04-2008 @ 2:04PM
Oreo said...
I think more networks need to do this. Come up with a lot of shows and give them 13 episodes and see if any of them become huge hits. There is enough time to do this year round, and keep the shows that do well and ditch the ones that don't. Even if 75% of these shows fail TNT will still have 3-4 new "hit" shows, that is more than NBC has. ;)
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3-04-2008 @ 2:28PM
Scott said...
Sounds like TNT has more scripted programming in development for next season than all of the broadcast networks do, put together. I'll vote with my TiVo. My only regret is that the cable networks are usually even worse about the expanded bugs and animated promos at the bottom of the screen than the broadcast networks.
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3-04-2008 @ 3:58PM
Jeff N. said...
They certainly have more than NBC, which has turned to reality shows and Game shows more than ever. TNT could replace NBC as one of the major networks. Ha!
3-04-2008 @ 2:50PM
C C said...
I definitely see American tv moving more towards the British model of fewer episodes of a series per season. Also, it's apparent that many of the top creative minds in tv are now choosing cable over the main networks-not that you can blame them. Cable offers them more artistic freedom and the threat of cancellation is not as strong due to lowered ratings expectations.
However, I'm wondering if TNT isn't biting off a little more than they can chew. A glut of original series could water down the audiences that would normally tune in for first-run series.
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3-04-2008 @ 3:56PM
Menachem said...
Doesn't Generations sound like The Oaks?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oaks_(TV_series)
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3-04-2008 @ 4:08PM
Kate said...
I'm bummed. I assume this means they're reducing the number of Law & Order reruns they air.
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3-04-2008 @ 4:46PM
T Cheema said...
I think it's a good move too, Law and Order is on most of the day so they could show reruns of their original shows during the week. I'm not really a fan of their current originals either.
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3-04-2008 @ 8:16PM
segsig said...
I wish they'd just combine the new offerings from TNT and TBS and have a full five day schedule. They're taking it to the networks by moving their upfronts to the same time, they should have a full schedule to be a full contender. These shows sound promising.
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