TNT, TBS Present New Originals Slate

NEW YORK: TNT is preparing a spinoff of The Closer starring Mary McDonnell plus a new mystery movie night and is developing an unscripted show to be exec-produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and The Amazing Race’s Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster, while TBS has ordered the FremantleMedia comedy The Wedding Band and is working on an update of the Pyramid game show with Michael Davies.

With The Closer coming to an end in 2012, TNT has announced a 10-episode order for Major Crimes, set in the Los Angeles Police Department and starring McDonnell as Capt. Raydor. Major Crimes will be executive-produced by James Duff, creator of The Closer, along with Greer Shephard and Michael M. Robin.

TNT has also partnered with a number of authors for original movies that will air in November and December as part of the tentatively titled TNT Tuesday Night Mystery. The plan is for six contemporary crime dramas, from true-crime stories to fictional mysteries. The lineup includes Innocent, based on the book by best-selling author Scott Turow; titles based on Richard North Patterson’s Silent Witness; Sandra Brown’s Ricochet; Lisa Gardner’s Hide; April Smith’s Good Morning, Killer; and Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark’s Deck the Halls.

TNT’s returning slate encompasses Rizzoli & Isles, The Closer, Men of a Certain Age, Leverage, HawthoRNe, Memphis Beat and Southland. For 2012, TNT has ordered Perception from ABC Studios, with Eric McCormack as a neuroscientist who works to solve complex criminal cases. In development at the network are an untitled Kip Koenig/John Wells project about a family of cops in a small town where things aren’t as they appear; the book-based Scent of the Missing about a search-and-rescue office; the post-Civil-War-set Gateway; a show based on the Laura Lippman about a newspaper reporter turned private investigator; a dramedy set in Tennessee; a Mitch Albom project about a radio station manager; Cineflix Studios The Command with exec producer Antoine Fuqua and Anthony Zuiker’s modern-day mystery of the week Enigma.

TNT’s unscripted development slate features The Great Escape, a partnership of Fox Television Studios, Imagine Entertainment, The Hochberg Ebersol Company, Profiles Television Productions and executive producers Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo, Elise Doganieri, Bertram van Munster, Justin Hochberg and Charlie Ebersol. From Joel Silver comes a competition show that promises to combine the excitement of The Bourne Identity with The Truman Show. The project comes to TNT from Warner Horizon Television, Joel Silver and Phil Gurin. Scott Free Productions is developing Shooters, while a new offering from Thom Beers is a show focused on the Alaskan Coast Guard’s search-and-rescue team. Rounding out the unscripted development slate is an untitled business makeover project from Arthur Smith.

TBS given the greenlight to The Wedding Band, an hour-long comedy from FremantleMedia and Mike Tollin Productions, ordering 10 episodes for a summer 2012 launch. The cast includes Brian Austin Green, Harold Perrineau, Peter Cambor, Derek Miller and Melora Hardin. It follows the misadventures of four friends who spend their spare time performing in a band. TBS also has several projects in development, among them An American Couple, a single-camera cop and detective show spoof from Phoef Sutton and Breckin Meyer’s Men at Work. Also in development is a reboot of the game show Pyramid with Andy Richter. It is being developed by Sony Pictures Television, Embassy Row and executive producer Michael Davies.

“We understand that exceptional programming comes from working with exceptional talent,” said Michael Wright, executive VP and head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). “We hire the best actors, actresses, writers, producers and directors in the business, give them a clear creative target and then try to get out of their way and let them make terrific television.”

“With strong brands and solid foundations in programming, TNT and TBS present a great value proposition to our clients,” said David Levy, president of sales, distribution and sports at Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. “Turner continues to make investments in original programming that has broad demographic appeal for advertisers and their brand messages, helping create meaningful connections with consumers everywhere TNT and TBS live, from on-air to online.”