Media Releases

TEN gets The Pick of hot new FOX and NBCU series   Author: Network Ten | Jul 2, 2007, 12:09

TEN stocks up the war chest as four of the most talked about shows to come out of the new US season from both 20th Century Fox and NBC Universal Television make their debuts on the Network.

After activating TEN's multiple first-look agreement with 20th Century Fox Television, Back to You, Women's Murder Club and Journeyman will premiere on TEN in Australia.

They will be joined by NBCU's off-beat crime drama Life.

TEN's chief programming officer, David Mott, made the announcement today after selecting first-run rights to these series.

NBCU has been a successful long-term partner for TEN, delivering hit series House and the impeccable Law & Order franchise, while 20th Century Fox has been one of the most prolific,c and successful studios in recent years, creating hot new programming targeted at viewers aged 18-49.

New 20th Century Fox series premiering on TEN:

Back to You – KELSEY GRAMMER of Frasier fame and PATRICIA HEATON from TEN's hugely successful Everybody Loves Raymond team up as on-air TV news presenters in this riotous half-hour sit com. Back to You is the first guaranteed full season pick-up of the new US season and was a firm favourite with other international program buyers at this year's LA Screenings.

Women's Murder Club – "re-defining women's work", this thrilling new crime series is based on the best-selling James Patterson novels, starring ANGIE HARMON (Law & Order), LAURA HARRIS (Dead Like Me, 24) and PAULA NEWSOME (Little Miss Sunshine).

Journeyman – The highest-testing new series for US broadcaster NBCU in five years, KEVIN MCKIDD (Rome) stars in this one-hour drama as a guy who thought he had it all until he's sent into the past with a purpose – but will he impact on people's lives for better or worse?

New NBCU series premiering on TEN:

Life – from the studio that brought us the damaged but beloved HUGH LAURIE in House comes Life starring DAMIEN LEWIS (Band of Brothers) as complex, offbeat detective Charlie Crews, who’s given a second chance on the force after serving years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Mr Mott said: "Back to You, Women's Murder Club, Journeyman and Life have impeccable pedigrees and are four of the hottest shows to come out of the LA screenings, perfect for TEN's audience.

"Our preferential entitlements in selection and volume in the Fox deal, partnered with our NBCU pick, strengthen TEN's position moving into the business end of 2007 and build an enviable cache for the new year."

Under program sharing agreements announced last year, Foxtel has selected first-run rights to The Rules for Starting Over and K-Ville.

These two programs will appear on TEN from the second half of 2008:

The Rules for Starting Over – the much-anticipated television debut for the Farrelly brothers (creators of There's Something about Mary and Shallow Hall), this half hour comedy stars CRAIG BIERKO (Boston Legal), JOHNNY SNEED (The Guardian) and SHAUN MAJUMDER (24) as a group of newly single friends learning painfully hilarious lessons about starting over in their 30s. Mid-season launch (January) on Fox.

K-Ville – two years after Hurricane Katrina, armed criminals roam the streets of New Orleans, many police have quit, the law enforcement infrastructure has yet to be rebuilt, and it's up to the cops who remain to reclaim their city. Starring COLE HAUSER (The Break-Up) and ANTHONY ANDERSON (The Shield, The Departed) this impressive crime drama airs on Fox at 9pm Mondays with an ideal lead-in from Prison Break.

TEN has access to 100 per cent of the new 20th Century Fox series each year; Foxtel's selections will appear on TEN from the second half of the following calendar year.

Foxtel will have access to the 20th Century Fox shows TEN premieres after TEN broadcasts the season final first-run episode in a particular series.

- Add the eNews XML file to your RSS newsreader and be the first to know.