ITV announces three key US acquisitions
Televisionpoint.com Correspondent
The United States based ITV, a division of Time Warner, has announced the acquisition of three major new US dramas for its suite of digital channels.
Smith (John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, distributed by Warner Bros. International Television) is a brand new series with a twist on the traditional crime drama, a richly wrought portrait of the inner workings of a crew of career criminals from the award-winning executive producer team of John Wells (ER, The West Wing), Christopher Chulack (ER, Third Watch) and Brooke Kennedy (Third Watch, NUMB3RS). Brought to life by an ensemble cast of A-list film and television actors including Emmy winner Ray Liotta (ER, Goodfellas), Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen (Sideways), Simon Baker (The Guardian) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting, Eastenders), the series pushes the boundaries of crime drama by vividly humanizing the brilliant tacticians who plan and carry out multimillion-dollar robberies. They have families, regular occupations, risky lovers, haunted pasts…but when they come together for a job, all of that is put aside for the pure adrenaline rush of a perfectly executed crime. Smith will premiere on male-oriented channel ITV4.
The Black Donnellys, from NBC Universal studios and exclusive to ITV, is a gritty new crime drama from Academy Award winners Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco (Crash). Loosely based on the exploits of four young, working class Irish brothers and their involvement in organised crime in New York City, the series is loosely based on Moresco's own background. The series will play on ITV's younger-skewing channel ITV2.
Also from NBC Universal, Raines combines the forces of Emmy Award winning writer/producer Graham Yost (Band of Brothers), acclaimed director/writer/producer Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile) and star Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park) in this inventive police drama. In this new series, for transmission exclusively on high quality drama channel ITV3, Goldblum plays eccentric LAPD detective Michael Raines, who has a unique ability to have detailed conversations with deceased crime victims, allowing him to retrace their lives leading up to their murder and help solve their cases. But his methods causes friction with superiors and colleagues and Raines struggles to accept his gift or burden as it forces him to confront his own past and demons.
Jay Kandola, Director of Acquisitions for ITV, said, "With this line up we have found truly brand defining shows for each of the channels. What we wanted were shows that reinforced the messages behind each channel and appealed to their target audiences and that is what have got in these three fresh and distinctive shows."
The United States based ITV, a division of Time Warner, has announced the acquisition of three major new US dramas for its suite of digital channels.
Smith (John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, distributed by Warner Bros. International Television) is a brand new series with a twist on the traditional crime drama, a richly wrought portrait of the inner workings of a crew of career criminals from the award-winning executive producer team of John Wells (ER, The West Wing), Christopher Chulack (ER, Third Watch) and Brooke Kennedy (Third Watch, NUMB3RS). Brought to life by an ensemble cast of A-list film and television actors including Emmy winner Ray Liotta (ER, Goodfellas), Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen (Sideways), Simon Baker (The Guardian) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting, Eastenders), the series pushes the boundaries of crime drama by vividly humanizing the brilliant tacticians who plan and carry out multimillion-dollar robberies. They have families, regular occupations, risky lovers, haunted pasts…but when they come together for a job, all of that is put aside for the pure adrenaline rush of a perfectly executed crime. Smith will premiere on male-oriented channel ITV4.
The Black Donnellys, from NBC Universal studios and exclusive to ITV, is a gritty new crime drama from Academy Award winners Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco (Crash). Loosely based on the exploits of four young, working class Irish brothers and their involvement in organised crime in New York City, the series is loosely based on Moresco's own background. The series will play on ITV's younger-skewing channel ITV2.
Also from NBC Universal, Raines combines the forces of Emmy Award winning writer/producer Graham Yost (Band of Brothers), acclaimed director/writer/producer Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile) and star Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park) in this inventive police drama. In this new series, for transmission exclusively on high quality drama channel ITV3, Goldblum plays eccentric LAPD detective Michael Raines, who has a unique ability to have detailed conversations with deceased crime victims, allowing him to retrace their lives leading up to their murder and help solve their cases. But his methods causes friction with superiors and colleagues and Raines struggles to accept his gift or burden as it forces him to confront his own past and demons.
Jay Kandola, Director of Acquisitions for ITV, said, "With this line up we have found truly brand defining shows for each of the channels. What we wanted were shows that reinforced the messages behind each channel and appealed to their target audiences and that is what have got in these three fresh and distinctive shows."
Copyright 2005 - 2009 Televisionpoint.com. All rights reserved. A Bhash Media Private Limited Company.
This site is best viewed in Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher versions, at a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels.