MTV has hit the gas on development under the regime installed last fall when former Discovery digital exec Sean Atkins took over as president.
The cabler unveiled more than a dozen new series and specials on tap for the coming year. It also touted another nine development prospects, ranging from a comedic spin on movie news exec produced by Dwayne Johnson to a scripted projects shepherded by Pitbull and Drew Barrymore.
MTV is hoping to dazzle advertising buyers with the breadth of its new slate as its upfront presentation Thursday night at Manhattan’s Skylight at Moynihan Station event space. MTV needs to generate some heat as it has suffered steep ratings declines during the past two years.
“Greatest Movie Show of All Time, This Week” is billed as a weekly comedy talk show that takes on movie news through interviews, sketches and panel discussions. It’s produced by Johnson and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions and will feature MTV News movie correspondent Josh Horowitz.
On the scripted front, Pitbull is steering a Miami-based drama “305” from writer Sascha Penn. Barrymore’s Flower Films has teamed with writer Walter Mosley for “Blooms,” a coming-of-age drama about twins. “Pick Me Up” is a scripted comedy about a ne’er-do-well brother and sister duo from writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand. The young adult romance novel “99 Days” is also being adapted as a series.
Reality stalwart Mark Burnett is also fielding a comedic unscripted half-hour “First World Problems.” Burnett, who is head of MGM Television, has also landed a series order for an untitled music competition series.
John Legend’s Get Lifted banner is behind “It’s the Real” is described as a comedic half-hour from the Upper West Side Jewish hip-hop duo of the same name.
Furthering its effort to put music front and center at MTV again, the cabler is developing “Studio 24,” described as pairing an established artist with a mystery talent to create a new song in 24 hours.“Studio 24,” in which a famous artist and mystery talent are paired to create a new song in 24 hours. MTV also plans to mine its archives for the docu series “Year One,” which will draw on archival footage to explore breakthrough years in the careers of major artists.
Here are more details regarding MTV’s development slate:
