CBS Television Distribution Lands U.S. Rights for Hot In Cleveland

LOS ANGELES: CBS Television Distribution has secured the exclusive domestic distribution rights for the TV Land sitcom Hot In Cleveland.

The premiere episode of the series, which debuted in June 2010, was the highest-rated telecast in TV Land’s 14-year history. The third season recently launched on the channel. Cast member Betty White won a Screen Actors Guild Award last year for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series. White was also nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Endemol Worldwide Distribution holds the global rights for the show.

The series currently airs in more than 165 countries. It is about three best friends from LA who decide to live in Cleveland after their plane heading for Paris makes an unexpected stop. Along with White, the cast includes Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick. It is executive produced by Emmy Award-winner Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner of Hazy Mills Productions and is helmed by Emmy Award-winning Suzanne Martin (Frasier, Ellen), the executive producer, show runner and writer. Lynda Obst also serves as executive producer, and Larry W. Jones and Keith Cox are executive producers for TV Land.

“When Hot In Cleveland debuted it was immediately hailed as an instant classic by TV critics, in the same vein as traditional four-camera sitcoms such as Everybody Loves Raymond, Friends, Seinfeld and Frasier,” said Scott Koondel, the president of distribution for CTD. "In a marketplace where the sitcom pipeline is dry, there is a pent-up demand by stations for a big, broad-skewing sitcom like this. It will seamlessly slip into any TV station’s lineup."

“Hot In Cleveland placed TV Land at the forefront of the recent sitcom resurgence and boosted our position as a destination for original programming,” added Larry W. Jones, the president of TV Land. “Our audience has fallen in love all over again with these four sitcom veterans and we’re sure the viewers who discover the show in syndication will fall in love with them too.”

“Hot In Cleveland has been a huge success for TV Land, and we see great potential for it in the off-network broadcast marketplace,” commented Eddie Dalva, the executive VP of content and program enterprises, entertainment and music groups at Viacom Media Networks. “We’re thrilled to be working with the top syndicator in the business, CBS Television Distribution, to sell the show so even more people can enjoy it.”