L.A. Screenings Buyer Feedback: RTL

June 1, 2010 World Screen

LOS ANGELES: In the first of a series of interviews with top acquisitions executives about the crop of new fall shows, World Screen speaks to Dirk Schweitzer, the executive VP of program acquisitions and sales at RTL Television, who was impressed with the quality of several productions.

“The CBS series Hawaii Five-O does have potential,” Schweitzer says. “The pilot, however, was produced very expensively, and it remains to be seen whether the quality of the series [can meet] expectations. Furthermore, the cop series The Glades produced by Fox, the Bruckheimer series Chase produced by Warner, and Universal’s Covert Affairs have stuck out positively.”

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“The hospital or medical series, which we saw last year in many variations, were no longer present this year,” he says. “There is a return to law firm or court matters. Cop/detective dramas, with more or less action, dominated almost all studio slates.” He did notice an important trend that has been ongoing for the past few years and was present again this year. “Good shows are produced not only for the major broadcast networks, but increasingly also for the cable networks.”

Schweitzer also noticed some trends among the studios’ offerings. RTL Television, which is the leading commercial broadcaster in Germany and is also the RTL Group’s flagship station, has deals with NBC Universal, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros., which guarantee RTL Television first access to all their shows. “Which of these shows we choose, will depend on how successfully they will run in the U.S. and how the series will develop further,” explains Schweitzer. “We don’t want to make a preliminary decision, although there certainly are favorites. Of course, we are always looking for new shows that fit into our Tuesday and Thursday lineup. Our successful shows there need some relief. Specifically, we are looking for a successor to Monk.” 

Visit World Screen’s U.S. fall season guide—replete with grids, pop-up descriptions and a listing of new and returning shows by studio—here.