"NBC is close to picking up a cast-contingent pilot from Endemol USA that breaks down the barriers between scripted and reality fare.Read the story on Variety.comHybrid family sitcom, tentatively titled "Traveling Salesman," contains an unscripted element in which the show's fictional main character interacts with real-life people via hidden camera."
Steven Bochco, the veteran Hollywood producer behind series including Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue and LA Law, is turning his storytelling expertise to the internet, developing a new channel for online video site Metacafe.
"(...) We could feel it coming during last MIP but this past MIPCOM was definitely where the establishment of the genre became noticeable the most. Even tracking agency The Wit featured a full section to the rising popularity of scripted formats around the world. This undoubtedly confirms that far from being a fad, formats are an important part of many broadcasters’ chase for higher ratings and they are expanding into genres that go well beyond light entertainment series. In an environment where audiences are fragmenting and embracing new ways to watch their favorite shows, producing and broadcasting drama series on primetime also comes with its share of challenges for many broadcasters around the world. Scripted formats offer an alternative to mitigate the financial risks and to increase the probability of success: in scripted comedies, the international success of Love Bugs after nine years and 30 countries, has paved the way, and others have made their way since : The Office, Betty, la Fea (Ugly Betty, which hits the #1 spot on US television) are now the driving force on the back of which the US studios are stretching their production arm into the scripted format market. NBCU’s Law & Order is being remade in Russia and France, any a slew of US dramas including telenovelas are being shopped by Fox World. (...)"
