Elizabeth Guider Reports: NBC, SPT, Lionsgate Showcase New Slates

PREMIUM: NBCUniversal’s Rise and The Brave, Sony Pictures Television’s S.W.A.T. and Lionsgate’s Ten Days in the Valley were among the shows being sampled by buyers as the L.A. Screenings came to a close.

Buyers got to sample a full plate of new series over at the NBCUniversal studio lot during the week, with the most overt enthusiasm centered on an irreverent comedy called A.P. Bio, the return of the now classic comedy Will & Grace and a mystery procedural (this one for sibling cabler USA) called Sinner.

The SNL-flavored comedy, which stands for “Advanced Placement Biology” and which may have to be changed for foreign consumption, comes courtesy of Mike O’Brien and Seth Meyers and toplines Glenn Howerton as a Harvard prof turned unlikely high school biology instructor; with its original cast in tow, Will & Grace will try to update and nuance its take on sexuality and alternative lifestyles; while Sinner, with Jessica Biel as star and exec producer, will test the popularity of dark-tone limited series fare for summer audiences.

NBC, which is coming off a relatively good ratings season, ordered nine new scripted contenders for the coming fall or midseason and is returning 12 shows. Most notably, it reversed itself on its freshman hour Timeless (supplied by Sony) after taking a stake in the hour.

The network will also once again be devoting prime real estate to a couple of live musical events this coming season and to more non-scripted fare. Like its rival FOX, all of its new scripted greenlights were for content produced in-house. An inspirational piece called Rise from Jason Katims (who created Friday Night Lights), and The Brave, a military entry to be overseen by Matt Corman and Chris Ord (formerly Covert Affairs showrunners), are reckoned its two big drama guns for international targets.

Buyers encountered Thursday on the Universal lot during their lunch break were bleary-eyed but unbowed as they wrap up their week-long viewing marathon at the various Hollywood studios. Overall, they gave a qualified thumbs-up to what they’ve seen from all the majors. Off-the-record comments from several disparate European attendees about the NBC schedule were generally complimentary.

“It’s always reassuring to know that the network we’re buying from is fairly stable and its ratings are on an incline rather than the other way. We’re also happy about having a range of very different shows to choose from. Sameness is a killer for us,” one buyer told World Screen Newsflash.

For her part, Belinda Menendez, who is president of NBCUniversal International Distribution & Networks, told World Screen Newsflash that as the business becomes more complex she sees her job as one of “optimizing and positioning the company’s assets through a series of windows” rather than just completing a simple sale to somebody. In addition to the pilots for both NBC and for USA, Syfy and other Comcast-owned outlets, Menendez also now handles the movie output from DreamWorks, which the conglom acquired a few years ago.

“Keep in mind,” she added, “that we are here this week [at the Screenings] to showcase the studio itself and provide our buyer guests with an entertaining experience of Hollywood.”

As for deals, the executive, who is also president of Universal International Networks and is based in London, said she was “pleased” with what the Canadians selected from her offerings—they traditionally purchase the bulk of the studios’ upcoming output each year— but not to expect any other significant deals to be announced during the Screenings.

When asked about the British buyers, who traditionally cherry-pick from among U.S. offerings, she suggested that so far they seemed “quite interested” in the company’s reboot of Will & Grace, noting that the original did quite well in the U.K. almost 20 years ago.

Also on hand to meet with buyers, an upbeat Kevin MacLellan, the chairman of NBCUniversal Global Distribution and International, told World Screen Newsflash he was encouraged by the reception for the company’s shows during the week. He emphasized that in his view spot-on casting is now “the crucial element” that propels U.S. series into a league of their own.

In fact, more than ever before, the TV studios are pulling out all the stops when it comes to hiring top producers and A-list stars—and to parading them out so that the buyers get a chance not only to get a photo op but to hear their perspective on how a given show will work. On Thursday, Dennis Haysbert and Sarah Shahi showed up to talk about their new series involving virtual reality, Reverie, which will premiere midseason on NBC. Haysbert told World Screen Newsflash that he was “majorly aware” of the importance of the international market for the success of a show. He also said, apropos of his role on Reverie, he had not had as much fun making anything since his stint on 24.

Later on Thursday different buyers started trickling out of screenings over at the Sony lot in Culver City, a couple of whom briefly paused to say they particularly liked that studio’s action hour for CBS, called S.W.A.T. One of its producers, Shawn Ryan, was on hand Thursday to answer buyers’ questions and talk about the direction and tone of the series.

In his office, Keith Le Goy, the president of international distribution at Sony Pictures Television, also stressed that buyers this week were moved by Sony’s other drama pick-up, The Good Doctor. “It was the first time I had seen tears in the eyes of buyers, after the screening of that show,” he said. Freddie Highmore, who wowed in Bates Motel, stars, while David Shore, the producer behind the global hit House, takes on producing duties.

Le Goy did point out that buyers nowadays have “a more surgical approach” to acquisitions. “They don’t typically want to buy 20 shows of which maybe one or two work for them. They want two or three things which they can depend on.”

What that means for sellers, he continued, is that “we need to be more thoughtful and flexible in our dealmaking.” In short, as he put it, “we need to be laser-focused on each piece of content, to find the right combination of outlets, the right sequencing and the right timing.”

In making such an effort, Le Goy also said that SPT is investing in hiring more people for local offices, including a recently opened one in Bogota and others to come in Asia and Africa.

Asked if being a bonafide indie supplier made life more difficult or easier with foreign clients, Le Goy had this to say: “The fact that we don’t typically have a dozen new shows to field plays into this more selective buying strategy on the part of overseas clients; plus, they have a sense, rightly so, that we’ve had to work harder to get slots on the networks of these increasingly vertically integrated companies.”

As for other shows that his clients have been particularly drawn to, Le Goy indicated, among others, an upcoming co-production between Channel 4 in the U.K. and Amazon Stateside called Electric Dreams, based on Philip K. Dick’s short stories. It’s an anthology series starting with ten episodes and starring a plethora of stars, he pointed out, including Bryan Cranston, Anna Paquin and Mireille Enos. “We’re selling the rest of the world and it’s the kind of alternative fare that many platforms are looking for.”

Finally, over at Lionsgate, that company’s distribution chieftain, Peter Iacono, was focused during the week principally on the company’s new drama series for ABC, Ten Days in the Valley. The mystery stars Kyra Sedgwick in a story written by Tassie Cameron. It received a straight-to-series order a couple of months ago. “We’re getting very positive feedback from buyers,” Iacono said, pointing out what a compelling plot the series boasts and how big an international favorite Sedgwick is.