World Screen

LOS ANGELES: Army Wives, cable’s number one rated drama series among women 18 to 49, is returning to Lifetime Television for a fourth season with 18 fresh episodes, starting April 11.  From ABC Studios, Army Wives is the most successful …

NEW YORK: Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick have been cast to star as best friends in the TV Land sitcom pilot Hot in Cleveland.  Betty White has also been cast in the comedy pilot as a recurring guest star. …

LONDON: ITV Studios has been commissioned for a new half-hour scripted comedy for BBC Three, White Van Man, while the company’s Leeds-based production unit, Shiver, has been tapped to produce the format May the Best House Win for ITV1 Daytime. White …

NEW YORK: VH1 Classic and Mark Burnett Productions have teamed up for a new weekly hour-long docu-series, Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp, which watches as 15 musicians from a variety of backgrounds get transformed into rock stars.  Production is set …

NEW YORK: American Idol creator Simon Fuller is setting up a new entertainment company, but has also signed a deal with CKX—the parent company of 19 Entertainment—that will keep him involved with the hit talent show. Fuller, the founder and CEO of …

LOS ANGELES: News Corporation has announced the restructure of its Fox Networks Group, giving broader roles to Peter Rice and David Hill. Fox Broadcasting Company and FX Networks (FX and the Fox Movie Channel) will now be overseen by Rice, who …

NEW YORK: Expanding its portfolio of region-specific publications and online destinations—including TV Europe, TV Latina, TV Asia Pacific and TV USA—World Screen, the leading source of information for the global media industry, is launching TV Africa. This new resource will focus …

PARIS: Anne de Kerckhove is joining Reed MIDEM later this month in the newly created role of director of the entertainment division, where she will head new business developments and oversee the MIPTV, MIPCOM, MIP Junior and MIPDOC events as well …

LOS ANGELES: American Idol came out of the gate strong with the debut of its ninth season on FOX, with an estimated audience of nearly 30 million, according to preliminary Nielsen figures.  This is its first season without judge Paula …

LONDON/BURBANK: BSkyB and 3ality Digital are teaming up to launch the first 3D TV services in the U.K. and Ireland, to be available via the current Sky+HD set-top boxes, which 1.6 million homes are already equipped with.  Sky’s 3D TV services, …