emmy®extra June•July 2007 • more emmy®extra features
Mary Richards Revisited
Lifetime looks beyond its core with three new series
By Paula Hendickson
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New Lifetime original series Army Wives premieres
this June, airing Sundays at 10 pm ET/PT on
Lifetime Television. Cast above (l. to r. standing):
Wendy Davis, Drew Fuller, Brian McNamara;
(l. to r. seated): Sterling K. Brown, Catherine Bell,
Sally Pressman, Brigid Brannagh and Kim Delaney.
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Times are changing at Lifetime. With the success of the Lifetime Movie Network (LMN), the original Lifetime channel is now airing more original series and fewer telepics.
Three original series—Side Order of Life, State of Mind and Army Wives—are scheduled to begin airing this summer as a new Sunday-night block.
Since Susanne Daniels came to the channel in 2005—she’s president of entertainment, Lifetime Entertainment Services—the exec has helped expand the brand and broaden the network’s appeal.
“We’ve attempted, little by little, to change our image, upgrade it, make it feel more contemporary and have a sense of progress,” she says, citing the reality shows Cheerleader Nation and Gay, Straight, or Taken? and the improv comedy Lovespring International.
As the head of the entertainment division at the now defunct WB, Daniels earned a reputation for luring writer-producers like Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Kevin Williamson (Dawson’s Creek) and J.J. Abrams (Felicity), whose now-classic series shaped the nascent broadcast network.
My very first call on my first day was to Greer Shephard and Michael Robin because I am a big fan of both Nip/Tuck and The Closer. I took them out to lunch and said, 'What's the one that got away?' They looked at each other and said, 'Yeah, we have one...
Susanne Daniels
President, Lifetime Entertainment
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That reputation is now leading producers to Lifetime.
“I think that with the changing of the guard over there, they wanted to do more series,” says Mark Gordon, executive producer of Army Wives, which was originally developed at ABC.
“For whatever reason, they didn’t feel it was right for them,” adds Gordon, who also serves as an executive producer on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and CBS’s Criminal Minds. “ABC is half-owner in Lifetime, so we took it over there, to their sister-company, so to speak, and they fell in love with it.”
Side Order of Life met a similar fate. “It got really close at ABC, but ultimately did not get made,” says Margaret Nagle, the show’s executive producer and creator. The timing was ideal: ABC passed on it at about the same time Daniels joined Lifetime.
“My agent knew Lifetime,” says Nagle, “knew that Susanne had this mandate to create exciting new TV series, and thought this script could be something she would really take a shine to.” She did.
It might sound like Daniels was inundated with scripts, but she also sought some out.
One of her first actions on the job was to track down the brains behind some of her favorite shows and do business with them.
“My very first call on my first day,” she recalls, “was to Greer Shephard and Michael Robin because I am a big fan of both Nip/Tuck and The Closer."
"I took them out to lunch and said, ‘What’s the one that got away?’" she explains. "They looked at each other and said, ‘Yeah, we have one. It’s a script we developed several years ago for NBC, State of Mind.’”
They sent Daniels their script about a therapist dealing with not just her peculiar patients, but her own crumbling marriage. Daniels—the daughter of a psychologist—loved it.
“I have no ego when it comes to these things,” Daniels says. “Dawson’s Creek was a busted script from Fox that I saw and loved when I was at the WB. I thought State of Mind was a great script and understood why they were so passionate about it, and I was so happy we were able to get Lili Taylor to play the lead.”
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Jason Priestly (Beverly Hills 90210
and Marisa Coughlan (Boston Legal)
star in Lifetime's Side Order of Life.
The comedic drama follows a young
magazine photographer who suddenly
re-evaluates her life and impending
nuptials after a "wake-up call from
the universe." Premieres Sun.,
July 15, at 8pm ET/PT.
|
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Lili Taylor (Six Feet Under) stars in
new Lifetime drama State of Mind
as Ann Bellowes, a therapist who
finds her life crumbling, after she
discovers her husband is cheating
on her. The series premieres on
Sun., July 15, 9:00 pm ET/PT.
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Army Wives is an ensemble drama led by Kim Delaney and Catherine Bell. “It’s very contemporary and deals with the problems wives and husbands have when their spouses are overseas in a war,” Gordon says.
“It also deals with this community of people in a way I don’t think we’ve seen before," he continues. "It’s funny and it’s moving. Like any good drama, it has comedy and drama in it, but it’s very emotional.”
Side Order of Life, starring Marisa Coughlan, is a quirky dramedy evoking memories of a past Lifetime series, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, starring Blair Brown.
“When I thought about what I wanted to write about, I thought, ‘Who’s the Ally McBeal for the new millennium? Where’s Molly Dodd? Where’s my Mary Richards?’” Nagle says.
“I wanted to follow somebody, a girl who’s full of hope—that incredible optimism despite everything. Hope is something we can never get enough of.”
Narrowing it down to these three series was a challenge for Daniels.
“As much as I want to bring new viewers into Lifetime, I certainly don’t want to alienate our core viewers,” says Daniels, noting that Army Wives is likely to appeal to those loyalists, while “Side Order of Life and State of Mind might appeal to new viewers.”
Lifetime offers producers free creative rein, which makes dealing with tighter cable budgets more acceptable.
“I feel really lucky to be at the beginning of something,” Nagle says. “It’s an incredible opportunity Lifetime is giving us, and the other shows as well. Maybe we’re guinea pigs, but that’s not such a bad thing to be.”
By summer’s end, ratings will determine how successful Daniel’s strategy is, but she’s confident.
“These shows are a first step in establishing a contemporary brand and making people see that Lifetime has more to offer than the movies it’s always been known for.” •
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