by Nellie Andreeva
MTV is beefing up its original slate with 6 new series: Craig Wright’s ensemble comedy Underemployed, comedy Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous co-created by and starring hot young comedian Bo Burnham, and 4 reality and docu-series: Catfish, based on the feature documentary, Hoods, about celebrities going back to their hometowns, Wake Brothers, about two wakeboarding pro brothers and Wait Till Next Year, about a real-life Bad News Bears high school team. The pickups were made after MTV brass last month screened all pilots developed by head of programming David Janollari and Chris Linn, EVP of programming and head of production.
On the scripted side, MTV went 2-for-2, picking up both of its pilots to series. Underemployed, about a group of recent college graduates, “is the personification of our ‘life amplified’ mantra for the 18-24s who are coming out of high school and college and have to figure out how to make their dreams come true and their career aspiration fit into today’s tough economic times,” Janollari said. The show hails from playwright and Six Feet Under alum Wright who modeled the lead character after his 21-year-old son. Zach Stone, from 3 Arts, stars 20-year-old Burnhman as a kid fresh out of high school who hires a camera crew to film him because he wants to be famous. The project shines light on young people’s obsession with celebrity and exemplifies MTV’s drive to “pioneer, experiment, break the form and bring in unique new voices,” Janollari said. On the unscripted side, Janollari noted that all 4 new series “are distinct from each other and anything we have on the air”, adding that the network continues to delve into new worlds and subcultures such as wakeboarding. As for Catfish, about online relationships, it “impacts our audience right there live, which is online; it totally speaks to the facebook generation.” MTV is coming off a solid summer, highlighted by the continuous ratings strength of reality hits Jersey Shore and Teen Mom and the successful launch of 2 new scripted series, Awkward and Teen Wolf, both of which have been renewed for a second season.
Descriptions of all the shows available at Deadline.com
*sigh* what a load of garbage...
MTV is beefing up its original slate with 6 new series: Craig Wright’s ensemble comedy Underemployed, comedy Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous co-created by and starring hot young comedian Bo Burnham, and 4 reality and docu-series: Catfish, based on the feature documentary, Hoods, about celebrities going back to their hometowns, Wake Brothers, about two wakeboarding pro brothers and Wait Till Next Year, about a real-life Bad News Bears high school team. The pickups were made after MTV brass last month screened all pilots developed by head of programming David Janollari and Chris Linn, EVP of programming and head of production.
On the scripted side, MTV went 2-for-2, picking up both of its pilots to series. Underemployed, about a group of recent college graduates, “is the personification of our ‘life amplified’ mantra for the 18-24s who are coming out of high school and college and have to figure out how to make their dreams come true and their career aspiration fit into today’s tough economic times,” Janollari said. The show hails from playwright and Six Feet Under alum Wright who modeled the lead character after his 21-year-old son. Zach Stone, from 3 Arts, stars 20-year-old Burnhman as a kid fresh out of high school who hires a camera crew to film him because he wants to be famous. The project shines light on young people’s obsession with celebrity and exemplifies MTV’s drive to “pioneer, experiment, break the form and bring in unique new voices,” Janollari said. On the unscripted side, Janollari noted that all 4 new series “are distinct from each other and anything we have on the air”, adding that the network continues to delve into new worlds and subcultures such as wakeboarding. As for Catfish, about online relationships, it “impacts our audience right there live, which is online; it totally speaks to the facebook generation.” MTV is coming off a solid summer, highlighted by the continuous ratings strength of reality hits Jersey Shore and Teen Mom and the successful launch of 2 new scripted series, Awkward and Teen Wolf, both of which have been renewed for a second season.
Descriptions of all the shows available at Deadline.com
*sigh* what a load of garbage...