ITV

Tag: West wing

  • Fox to kick off 2005 with two gritty dramas

    Fox to kick off 2005 with two gritty dramas

    MUMBAI: Fox in the US will break out the 2005 calendar by starting the year off right with a fresh new wave of programming

    The gritty drama Jonny Zero, comes from the team behind The West Wing and ER. The show will take viewers on an action-packed ride through the streets of New York City.

    Ex-con Jonny Calvo returns to his old neighborhood, trying to make amends for the mistakes he has made. A former bouncer, Jonny has a mythic reputation, and his old boss, Garrett a corrupt club owner, will stop at nothing to get him back on the payroll. But Jonny struggles to go legitimate, befriending wannabe hip-hop renaissance man Random and a fellow lost soul, troubled ex-stripper Danni Styles.

    Something wicked this way comes to a usually quiet New Jersey beach town, when a sudden, violent storm washes in more than the tide in the new drama series Point Pleasant. The show premieres on 20 January.

    As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com American Idol returns to Fox for a fourth season in January.

  • Zee English to kick back with ‘Best Comedy and Drama’ tag

    Zee English to kick back with ‘Best Comedy and Drama’ tag

    MUMBAI: May be it doesn’t always pay to innovate. And Zee English seems to have learnt it the hard way. Despite Star World having a better brand recall, Zee English had ruffled up some tough competition owing to its sitcoms and dramas.

    In recent times the channel had digressed and tried to experiment by introducing a variety of genres. But the channel will soon reiterating its brand positioning ‘Best Comedy and Best Drama’.

    So out go the likes of hastily brought in action series Kung Fu and the like. The channel will be ushering in new seasons of its ‘stellar shows’ like Friends (season 10), Sopranos, West Wing, and La Femme Nikita.

    While the majority of shows (about 80-90 per cent) are still sourced from Warner brothers, the channel is also currently in talks with variety of producers to for an interesting show mix.

    “Although Star World is perceived as channel, we have built up a loyal following owing to our content. People talk about our shows like Full House, Friends, Sopranos, even our earlier shows like Seinfeld and Mad about you are still talked about,” says Zee English, ZMZ, MX and Trendz business head Ajay Trigunayat.

    Speaking exclusively to indiantelevision.com, Trigunayat says, “While we can create a buzz by putting up hordes of banners over night in each of the six metros that we are strong, if we don’t have content to back it up we would be in a big soup. So we have decided to concentrate on building up our niche ‘comedies and drama”.

    “The best example is our sitcom Will and Grace, which despite not much of a promotional push rakes in better TRPs almost 0.7 per cent,” Trigunayat says to emphasis his point.

    While Trigunayat claims that there has been a jump in the viewer base number from 25 per cent to 30 per cent in recent times, he would ideally like to talk about numbers after the systems that he has set up, help gain momentum. Zee English, he claims, is still strong in SEC AB in 15 to 45 years age bracket.

    “We are looking at overhauling the 7 to 11:30 pm band and offer best comedies and drama’s back to back. But we will be in a position to talk about time lines once we freeze on the shows,” Trigunayat adds.

    The timing for damage control seems quite interesting since Star World is also geared to make a splash with new shows. But better late than never.

  • AXN readies two new shows for September

    AXN readies two new shows for September

    MUMBAI: It is edging towards an image overhaul. From being labeled as the blood and gore channel, it is gradually moved towards being action and adventure channel and is now aiming to carve a niche in the lifestyle segment. With five shows being commissioned for the season, AXN is ready to roll out two shows The Associates and CSI Miami, this month.

    Premiering on 12 September, The Associates is a critically acclaimed legal drama, which will air every Friday at 10 pm. A Canadian production, the show that premiered on Canadian TV (CTV) in 2001 delves into the world of politics, nepotism, sexism, jealousy, betrayal and law. It is a story of five young, intelligent and ambitious lawyers who work for a big law firm, Young, Barnsworth & King Associates (YBK).

    Starring Mitch Barnsworth, Amy Kassan, Benjamin Hardaway, Jonah Gleason and Robyn Parsons, the show portrays the professional and personal lives of the young and sometimes naive legal professionals.

    Rumoured to have taken inspiration from the American legal show West Wing, the show has Hickey playing Robyn Parson, a Texan girl with an unpleasant past, while Benson plays Jonah Gleason, the romantic ally, an idealistic and determined lawyer. Barnes plays Benjamin Hardaway, good-looking and highly intelligent Yale University law, Raymond portrays Amy Kassan as an entrepreneur and fiercely independent lawyer with an estranged father. Hogan stars as Mitch Barnsworth, the charming prodigal great, great grandson of one of the origianl founders of YBK.

    Meanwhile, the second season of CSI- CSI Miami, starring NYPD alumni David Caruso and Kim Delaney, will premiere on 17 September, every Wednesday at 10 pm. The show has garnered highest rating of any network drama premiere in the US and is the winner of 2003 People’s Choice award for the favourite television new dramatic series.

    Besides two new launches, the channel also has a few events in the pipeline. First to launch is Global Adventure, which premieres on 5 September at 10 pm. Showcasing the world of extreme and adventure sports-filmmaker Warren Miller, Global Adventure is packed with the some of the best footage of skiers, snowboarders and other adrenaline pumping sports.

    Next on the agenda is a lifestyle event Passengers, which will air on 10 September at 11 pm every Friday. It highlights the latest trends, events and faces to watch, right from Manhattan socialites to Italian hooligans and Mexican trance dance fans. Each week, viewers will come face to face with the youth culture around the world.

    Last on the events calendar is the telecast of the World Stunt Awards on 27 September at 8 pm. Created to recognize and honour the tremendous contributions of stunt performers to modern film experience, celebrities gracing this year’s Taurus World Stunt Awards include Daredevil and Alias star Jennifer Garner, The Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines star and former Honorary Award recipient Arnold Schwarznegger, The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded star Carrie Anne Moss, and The Scorpion King and X-Men 2 star Kelly Hu.

  • Zee English to sport an all-international look

    MUMBAI: While Star World decided to go Indian, Zee English will be looking westwards to get the rating register ringing. As of Friday (postmidnight tonight), 30 May, the English entertainment channel will be sporting a new look and packaging.
    According to an official release, the channel will don a new international avatar. Along with an interesting line-up of programmes, the channel has roped in various international models to give it that ‘international’ feel.
    Claiming to be one of the highest viewed in India with a line-up occupied top slots in ratings charts across the World, Zee English plans to showcase aesthetic on-air packaging and exciting promos.
    According to the Zee English and Zee MGM Business Head Ashvini Yardi: “We were working on the look of the channel for some time now. The viewer interface with the channel has to be in tandem with the programme attributes and this has been our attempt here. The overall effort was to reinforce the international feel and premiumness of the channel.”
    The channel has in past six months introduced four new shows, Will and Grace, Mind of the Married Man, She Spies and Six Feet Under. While the original big tickets like Friends, Sopranos, The West wing, Mad about You, Seinfeld and Full House are still giving the channel the required fillip, says the release. Also a part of the international look, the channel will telecast the Miss Universe live from Panama City on 4 June 2003. The promos along with specials on the contestant from India Nikita Anand are already being aired.
    The emphasis will not only be on the programming strategy and the promos, the channel has planned an complete makeover that will be visible in all daily bands, menu cards, end plates, mini id’s and station id’s. With help of the attractive, high-impact on-air packaging and promotions coupled with the new look, the channel plans to create, reinforce, differentiate and capitalize on the channel’s brand equity, adds the release.