Charter Communications confirmed its plan to shutter its four-year-old production unit, Spectrum Originals, following the recent exit of its longtime top executive, Katherine Pope, who left to head Sony Pictures Television in July. 

Deadline first reported Charter's decision, and Charter confirmed the move. 

The No. 2 U.S. cable operator launched Spectrum Originals in 2018 with the intention of creating must-see content only available with Charter cable TV service. It made a splashy hire in Pope, known for developing hits including Heroes, Friday Night Lights, 30 Rock, and The Office at NBC, as well as New Girl while serving Peter Chernin's Twentieth Century Fox-based production company, Chernin Entertainment

Pope took a big swing early on, acquiring LA's Finest, a spin-off of the buddy-cop feature film action comedy series Bad Boys. The series, which stars Jessica Alba and Gabrielle Union, had been rejected by NBC, but Pope's team ultimately couldn't find any traction with it, either. 

Spectrum Originals also developed a revival of Mad About You, as well as Joe Pickett, The Bite, and Paradise Lost.

In March, the unit ordered dramatic comedy Panhandle, and it's set to run George & Tammy, a miniseries based on Tammy Wynette and George Jones, starring Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon, on Paramount Network and Paramount Plus. 

Charter is still working out how it will handle ongoing projects as it winds down the venture.

Spectrum Originals carved out a reputation for cost-efficient production models, such as international co-productions. But ultimately, the rising cost of producing TV shows and movies post-COVID -- coupled with Charter's movement away from linear video interest -- was enough to convince Charter it was time to get out of the original content business. 

Sony Pictures Television said it has named veteran TV executive Katherine Pope as president of its Sony Pictures Television Studios, overseeing all domestic scripted productions. Pope, who has been head of original content for Charter Communications since 2018, starts her new position on August 22.

Pope will report to Ravi Ahuja, chairman, Global Television Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment Corporate Development.

“Katherine has proven herself as a dynamic leader with impeccable taste and the ability to successfully develop and produce content that resonates with audiences,“ Ahuja said in a statement. “She is an excellent fit for this role and I’m delighted that she has chosen to join us at SPT.

“Katherine brings vast experience that will help us build on the overall strength of our global production capabilities at the studio,” he continued. “With Katherine leading our scripted production business in the U.S. and Wayne Garvie leading our international production business, we have an incredible leadership team dedicated to working with the industry’s top talent to produce undeniable content around the world.”

Also: Five Spot Conversation With Katherine Pope 

Pope has more than two decades of experience in the TV business, including a 10-year run with NBC/NBCUniversal Television Studios in a number of leadership roles, including executive VP of the network and president of the studio. She developed such hit shows as Heroes, Friday Night Lights, 30 Rock, and The Office. Pope later launched the television division at Peter Chernin’s Twentieth Century Fox-based production company, Chernin Entertainment, overseeing all creative development and production. She also executive produced several series, including Fox comedy New Girl.

She was tapped to run Charter’s original content division, Spectrum Originals, in 2018, curating a slate of premium series such as the upcoming A Spy Among Friends, starring Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce, as well as Beacon 23, starring Lena Headey and Stephan James; Panhandle, starring Luke Kirby, and George & Tammy, starring Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon. She also greenlighted L.A.’s Finest, starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, the limited series revival of Mad About You, and Joe Pickett, which became Spectrum Originals’ most-watched series.

Pope also served as executive producer, along with Elizabeth Meriwether, of the Emmy-nominated Hulu limited series The Dropout, based on the podcast of the same name and starring Amanda Seyfried.

In May, Pope was named one of Multichannel News's Wonder Women of Los Angeles.

“I am thrilled to be joining the incredibly talented team Tony and Ravi have assembled at SPT — a studio with the strength, expertise and independence to lead amidst the challenges of a rapidly evolving marketplace,” Pope said in a statement. “I have long admired the creativity and high-quality work SPT consistently produces and can’t wait to explore all the opportunities that lie ahead. I am excited to step onto the lot and get started!”

No word on who Charter will name as Pope’s replacement, but sources familiar with the operator said they are working on transition plans. ■ 

In a career spanning more than two decades, Katherine Pope long ago cemented her place in the annals of TV history, helping develop and launch such iconic series as The Office, House, New Girl and 30 Rock through her relationships with studios and programmers big [NBCUniversal] and small [Chernin Entertainment and Studio 8 Entertainment]. 

Now, as head of Spectrum Originals since 2018, Pope faces a new challenge, developing original content for Charter Communications’s exclusive programming arm. It’s a challenge Pope’s boss, Charter senior executive VP David Ellen, said she has been more than up to.

Also: Wonder Women of Los Angeles 2022: Hollywood Heroes

“In a few short years, she and her small team have taken their deep industry knowledge and created a steady stream of high-quality scripted series available exclusively for our Spectrum viewers,” Ellen said. “With these originals, she has developed a truly differentiated experience for our highly engaged audience and exceeded our expectations at every turn.”

But challenges are nothing new for the seasoned TV executive. Throughout her career Pope has taken chances on programs that seemed well below the radar but later attracted huge audiences. At Spectrum, she heads a relatively new original programming unit but has already scored some wins with shows like Joe Pickett, watched by more than 1 million unique households in its first month, making it the most popular show in Spectrum’s short history.

A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, Pope had brief stints at ABC News and VH1 before landing a job as an associate at NBC in 1998. She stayed there 10 years, rising to executive VP of the network and president of NBC Television Studios, helping to launch shows for both the NBC broadcast network [The Office] and Universal Studios [House], programs that weren’t hits from the beginning. Pope credited a host of other executives who kept those series and others on the air despite ratings pressure. 

“Certainly both House and The Office had amazing champions who stuck their necks out to keep them because they believed in them —- I’m paging you, [former Fox Broadcasting president] Gail Berman and [former NBC president of primetime development] Kevin Reilly,” Pope said. “That said, the worst thing about a show being canceled quickly is you don’t get to continue collaborating with people you love (RIP Ben & Kate!).”

While Pope had a string of successes at NBC, she got the ax in December 2008, along with a handful of other execs, after a disappointing fall lineup with shows championed by her then-boss Ben Silverman, who was let go a few months later. That just presented another challenge Pope quickly overcame, joining former News Corp. chief operating officer Peter Chernin’s Chernin Entertainment in 2009 to head his fledgling TV unit. 

There her run continued with New Girl, which ran for seven seasons on Fox, and others. While Chernin was a well-known, successful TV executive — he ran News Corp., which included Fox, several cable channels and the 20th Century Fox studio for 20 years — Pope said his company was still a departure from the big studio environment. 

“What was fun was Peter was leaving a gigantic job, and we didn’t even really have offices yet, and we would just talk about what we wanted to make and what the company could be and where the business was going,” Pope said. “It was a really special time.  I’m so grateful that I got fired from NBC when I did, and that I got to work with Peter and the team.”

Starting All Over Again

Pope moved to Studio 8 Entertainment in 2015 after Chernin’s development deal with Fox expired, helping to launch its independent TV division. Three years later, she joined Spectrum Originals, for a chance, she said, to build something “from scratch.”

“From the beginning, we said we were going to take a portfolio approach and offer shows that appeal to different segments of our subscriber base. And that is what we have done,” Pope said. “Our viewers are smart and love TV so we just want to be sure we’re making quality content that will keep them engaged and coming back to watch our shows, and we’ve been able to do that thus far.”

At Spectrum Originals, Pope has developed shows in several different genres — action (L.A.’s Finest), drama/thriller (Long Slow Exhale), mysteries (Paradise Lost and Eden), and comedies (The Bite and Mad About You). Viewership and engagement has been strong and programming enjoys a nine-month exclusive window for Spectrum customers, moving on to outlets like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.

Pope said more is in the pipeline, including A Spy Among Friends (starring Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce), and Joe Pickett is about to start production on season two. “We’re going to keep doing what we are doing which thus far has proven to be successful,” Pope said. ■

Angela Black, a psychological thriller starring Joanne Froggatt, premieres on Spectrum Originals February 7. There are six episodes. 

Froggatt, known to viewers as Anna Bates from Downton Abbey, plays Angela, a mother in the suburbs of London with a seemingly enviable life. But things are not so positive. She’s trapped in an abusive relationship with her husband Olivier, played by Michiel Huisman. She’s approached by an enigmatic stranger, Ed, who is played by Samuel Adewunmi. Ed has some dark secrets to share about her husband and his plans. 

Harry and Jack Williams of Two Brothers Pictures are executive producers, along with Christopher Aird, Two Brothers head of drama, and Sarah Hammond. 

Aird said Froggatt, who spent years on British soap Coronation Street before Downton, is “a great combination of northern steel and vulnerability. She’s a very emotionally led actress, but she is quite controlled as well.”

Hitchcock is a major influence on Angela Black, according to Aird, with a handful of what he called “direct quotes” in the series that pay homage to the horror master. Some viewers may think of the opening of Psycho, for one, as they watch Angela Black. 

It is indeed a dark show. Aird described it as “claustrophobic.” Viewers often say they want a bit of comfort food on TV in these troubling times, and that’s not what Angela Black offers. 

“People definitely do watch TV to seek solace,” he conceded. “People also want to be challenged. They want unexpected stories and they want something that surprises them. I think this show definitely does.”

Angela Black premiered in the U.K. in October. Much of the U.K. was captivated by the murder, a year ago, of Sarah Everard in South London. A police officer who had arrested her pleaded guilty to her murder. That may have increased the level of viewer interest in the story of a woman facing domestic abuse.  

Froggatt called the show an “important and timely story.” She previously starred in the Two Brothers series Liar, which aired on SundanceTV. 

Aird said Harry and Jack Williams are often mistaken for twins. He described their relationship as “hand in glove, finishing each other’s sentences.” 

One brother writes the first half of a script, he added, then the other brother writes the second half. “They can sometimes slip into a language that’s almost like speaking in a foreign tongue,” Aird said. “It’s their shorthand.”

Spectrum Originals series include the western Joe Pickett, the Michelle and Robert King drama The Bite and thriller Temple. 

Aird is curious what American viewers will think of Angela Black. “I hope viewers see the journey of a woman who has been put under the most extraordinary duress by her husband, and get some insight into what it must be like to live with someone who essentially lies to you and manipulates you constantly,” Aird said, adding that he hopes that viewers are “entertained and surprised and shocked” as well. ■

Viewers are saddling up to contemporary Western-themed series and movies as the classic TV genre looks to lasso viewers from a new generation.

Led by record-setting ratings for the November 7 season premiere of Paramount Network’s Yellowstone, cable and streaming services are rustling up shows that showcase the traditions and romance of the old West, often seen through diverse and unique perspectives that have broadened the appeal of the genre for today’s audience. 

“What you have to deal with are new sensibilities with your audience — you can’t do the John Wayne-type westerns of the past,” TV analyst Bill Carroll said. “You can set things in what used to be called the old west but deal with it in a different, contemporary way.”

The genre has ebbed and flowed on the small screen almost from the debut of television into the 1960s, with shows such as Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Lone Ranger and The Wild Wild West. Over the last 20 years, Western-themed shows like HBO’s Deadwood and Westworld, as well as Longmire on A&E (and Netflix), have found critical and ratings success, but such shows have been few and far between.

‘Yellowstone’ Sparks a Revival

The genre’s recent renaissance can be traced to the ratings success of Paramount Network’s Yellowstone, starring Kevin Costner. The series, about conflicts among Montana cattle ranchers, land developers and residents of tribal lands, drew more than 8 million viewers for its Nov. 7 fourth-season debut and 14.3 million viewers in Nielsen live-plus-3 ratings, making it cable’s most-watched scripted show of the year. Through the first four episodes the series is averaging 10.6 million viewers (on a live-plus-3 basis), up from 6 million viewers for the same period during the show’s  third season, Nielsen said.

“Yellowstone has a premium scripted feel with heartland appeal,” ViacomCBS chief programming officer for streaming Tanya Giles said. “You have this universal appeal of a family drama and family conflict mixed with some criminal elements amid beautiful landscapes and an A-list movie actor and a great cast. It’s great to see more people embracing it.” 

Keith Cox, president of scripted content for MTV Entertainment Studios, which produces Yellowstone, said the show — and its Paramount Plus prequel series 1883 (starring Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Sam Elliott) debuting Dec. 19 — showcase a sliver of American culture that has resonated with television audiences for decades. 

Independently-owned network INSP’s mix of classic Westerns and new original series has landed the network in the top 10 most watched cable networks in primetime for the last two months. Originals Wild West Chronicles and competition-based series Ultimate Cowboy Showdown (hosted by Trace Adkins) mesh well with reruns of Gunsmoke and The Big Valley, INSP chief operating officer Dale Ardizzone said. 

“Westerns feature compelling characters and storylines, and they all have themes of right prevailing over wrong,” Ardizzone said. “There are a lot of heroic characters there, and I think we’re going through a time where I think people enjoy that type of character on screen and seeing justice have its day.” 

ViacomCBS’s Giles said the pandemic has helped endear viewers to Western-themed content and stories of pioneers entering unfamiliar territories to face unknown dangers. 

“We spent time at home in the pandemic and looking at things very internally, but like the Western frontier, when we come out it’s like starting a new journey,” Giles said. “I think there’s some appeal to that from an audience perspective.” 

Adding Modern Perspective

A key to the genre’s newfound success, according to Carroll, is in mixing Western themes with unique and diverse perspectives that reflect today’s audience. Netflix’s recent original film The Harder They Fall, about relatively unknown African-American gunslingers from rival 19th-century gangs, generated 1.2 billion minutes of viewing during its debut week from Nov. 1-7, making it the streaming service’s most-watched show over that timespan, according to Nielsen figures.

The film — executive produced by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and starring Idris Elba, Regina King and Jonathan Majors — outperformed among viewers under 34 and Black viewers, Samba TV reported. 

Joe Pickett, a Spectrum Originals series based on C.J. Box’s books about a small-town Wyoming game warden, premiered December 6. And ViacomCBS and Yellow­stone creator Taylor Sheridan have another spinoff in the works. Paramount Plus will stream 6666, centered on the Four Sixes Ranch, a huge ranch owned by a group that includes Sheridan.

Starz is developing for 2022 Billy the Kid, an eight-episode series starring Tom Blyth as the famed outlaw, while AMC Plus last month acquired rights to Western drama series That Dirty Bag, starring Dominic Cooper. 

Western drama Joe Pickett, about a game warden and his family finding their way out in Wyoming, premieres on Spectrum Dec. 6. The series is based on a C.J. Box novel franchise. John Erick and Drew Dowdle are the showrunners. 

The Dowdle brothers previously worked on Waco, the Paramount Network miniseries about the standoff between the FBI and the Branch Davidians, which premiered in 2018. They were eager to get back to the expansive west. 

“We didn’t know much about game wardens and didn’t know the book series,” said John Erick. “Five pages in, I thought, this is awesome!”

There are something like 21 Joe Pickett novels. The first season is based on books Open Season and Winterkill. C.J. Box also wrote The Highway, which ABC has adapted into Big Sky. Box is an executive producer on Joe Pickett. 

Pickett is the new game warden. In the pilot, he faces off with a miscreant who has violated hunting regulations, and Pickett gets his firearm taken away in the tussle. He’s hardly a standard TV tough guy. 

“What a weird lens in which to do a thriller/crime show,” said John Erick. 

Michael Dorman plays Joe Pickett. David Alan Grier, Julianna Guill and Sharon Lawrence are also in the cast. 

Pickett and his family are not all that warmly received in Saddlestring, Wyoming. Drew Dowdle spoke of “the imperfect nature of Joe as a hero. The relatability really grabbed us from the onset.”

The show shoots in Calgary. The brothers said the setting gave them a sense of being “even more Wyoming than Wyoming,” according to John Erick, with a “similar cowboy ethic.”

Spectrum subscribers can access Joe Pickett on demand and ad-free. With so much of America locked inside for much of the past 20 months, they may just be in the mood for something set amidst the open fields of America, with wild horses cantering across them. Yellowstone, for one, is doing quite well on Paramount Network. 

“We want this to feel like a bit of a vacation,” said John Erick. “There’s a real strong pull toward nature right now.”

Viewers may also be in the mood for a main character who is trying to do the right thing against the odds. “One thing that really drew us to this is the idea of Joe trying to do his job, in the best, most moral way, even though it might cost him personally,” said John Erick. “There’s something so nice about seeing a man who can be vulnerable and human and who makes mistakes, always trying to do what is right, regardless of what it costs.”

The Hollywood adage advises against working with animals, but the Dowdle brothers have enjoyed it. “Horses are the best extras we’ve ever worked with,” said John Erick. “We want to hire horses to be in the writers’ room. They’re so calming.” ■

Robert and Michelle King series The Bite premieres for Spectrum video subscribers May 21. The show follows neighbors Rachel (Audra McDonald) and Lily (Taylor Schilling) after a deadly strain of a virus turns up. Rachel and Lily both start working from home in New York, trying to keep their lives together as things start to go crazy. 

Robert described the strain of virus as a “zombie protein” that attaches itself to COVID. Those who catch the virus may undergo some changes. “You will not be disappointed if you tune in looking for zombies,” teased Michelle.  

A mix of drama and comedy with lots of satire as well, The Bite touches on the political issues surrounding COVID, masks and vaccinations. “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say the pandemic has been politicized,” said Robert, mentioning the idea of “civilization being lost because it can’t get its shit together.”

The show’s title is a nod to the undead. “Jaws and teeth are the most important part of any zombie show,” explained Robert. 

The Kings penned the project last summer. With Broadway on hold amidst the pandemic, the creators said they reached out to stage friends to get on board with The Bite. 

With infection rates decreasing today, they’re hoping people can find a bit of humor in the horror we’ve all been through. “We’d love for everybody in the pandemic to have a laugh or two,” said Robert. 

Spectrum and CBS Studios produce the series. The Kings’ hits include The Good Wife and The Good Fight. CBS and Paramount Plus are their usual partners, but neither got on board with The Bite. “Spectrum seemed to be willing to pull the trigger,” said Robert.  

All six episodes are available, commercial free, for Spectrum subscribers on premiere day. 

Scenes were shot on sets in New York and in cast members’ homes. Characters played by McDonald and Steven Pasquale are both involved in extramarital affairs, and the actors’ real-life spouses portray their fling partners. 

Michelle mentioned a “wait-and-see attitude” in terms of subsequent seasons. “We created the show so there is the possibility of multiple seasons,” she said, while also giving the first season a satisfying conclusion. 

The Bite is a big, bold swing for the Kings. “We didn’t really know how well the show would pan out,” Michelle said. “We’re both really proud of it. It came out better than I could’ve dreamed.”

Spectrum is not going ahead with season three of LA’s Finest. Season two of the cop drama, starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, debuted on Spectrum Originals Sept. 9. There were 13 episodes. 

Jerry Bruckheimer and Sony Pictures Television produce the series, which comes from the universe of Bruckheimer’s Bad Boys franchise.

Season one of LA’s Finest currently airs on Fox. The show centers on former DEA agent Syd (Union) and detective Nancy (Alba). 

Union and Alba executive produce alongside Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, KristieAnne Reed, Brandon Margolis, Brandon Sonnier, Pam Veasey, Doug Belgrad, Jeff Gaspin, Jeff Morrone and Anton Cropper.

Season two of cop drama L.A.’s Finest, starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, is on Spectrum Originals Sept. 9. All 13 episodes will be available on that day, on demand. Jerry Bruckheimer and Sony Pictures Television produce the series.

Season one of the show airs on Fox this fall.

From the universe of Bruckheimer’s Bad Boys franchise, L.A.’s Finest centers on former DEA agent Sydney "Syd" Burnett (Union) and detective Nancy McKenna (Alba). In season two, Syd mourns the sudden loss of a friend and struggles to find answers, while McKenna must deal with the aftermath of Izzy’s kidnapping and the rift it has left in her marriage.

Union and Alba executive produce alongside Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, KristieAnne Reed, Brandon Margolis, Brandon Sonnier, Pam Veasey, Doug Belgrad, Jeff Gaspin, Jeff Morrone and Anton Cropper.

Drama Temple debuts on Spectrum Originals Oct. 26. There are eight episodes. A brilliant but haunted surgeon, Daniel Milton (Mark Strong), sacrifices everything for love when he opens an illegal medical clinic in the network of tunnels beneath London’s Temple subway station. When word of the clinic starts to spread among the criminal underworld, Daniel becomes entrenched in dangerous battles between life and death.

Mark Strong and Liza Marshall executive produce for Hera Pictures and Gabriel Silver exec produces for Sky. Temple is written and adapted by Mark O’Rowe from the Norwegian series Valkyrien.

“Our strategy at Spectrum Originals has always been to carefully curate quality programming for our audience and serve as an entertainment destination,” said Katherine Pope, head of Spectrum Originals. “It’s going to be an action-packed fall, as fans and soon-to-be-fans of our flagship series L.A.’s Finest will be able to binge seasons one and two in their entirety, free and on demand. Then later in the fall we will drop all eight-episodes of the gripping series Temple lead by the wildly talented Mark Strong.”

Season two of cop drama L.A.’s Finest, starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, is on Spectrum Originals Sept. 9. All 13 episodes will be available on that day, on demand. Jerry Bruckheimer and Sony Pictures Television produce the series. 

Season one of the show airs on Fox this fall. 

From the universe of Bruckheimer’s Bad Boys franchise, L.A.’s Finest centers on former DEA agent Sydney "Syd" Burnett (Union) and detective Nancy McKenna (Alba). In season two, Syd mourns the sudden loss of a friend and struggles to find answers, while McKenna must deal with the aftermath of Izzy’s kidnapping and the rift it has left in her marriage. 

Union and Alba executive produce alongside Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, KristieAnne Reed, Brandon Margolis, Brandon Sonnier, Pam Veasey, Doug Belgrad, Jeff Gaspin, Jeff Morrone and Anton Cropper.

Drama Temple debuts on Spectrum Originals Oct. 26. There are eight episodes. A brilliant but haunted surgeon, Daniel Milton (Mark Strong), sacrifices everything for love when he opens an illegal medical clinic in the network of tunnels beneath London’s Temple subway station. When word of the clinic starts to spread among the criminal underworld, Daniel becomes entrenched in dangerous battles between life and death.

Mark Strong and Liza Marshall executive produce for Hera Pictures and Gabriel Silver exec produces for Sky. Temple is written and adapted by Mark O’Rowe from the Norwegian series Valkyrien. 

“Our strategy at Spectrum Originals has always been to carefully curate quality programming for our audience and serve as an entertainment destination,” said Katherine Pope, head of Spectrum Originals. “It’s going to be an action-packed fall, as fans and soon-to-be-fans of our flagship series L.A.’s Finest will be able to binge seasons one and two in their entirety, free and on demand. Then later in the fall we will drop all eight-episodes of the gripping series Temple lead by the wildly talented Mark Strong. ”

Season two of Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted begins on Nat Geo June 7. The show sees Ramsay traverse the globe seeking out culinary inspiration. He ventures to Tasmania, South Africa, Norway and other exotic destinations.

“We find weird places and weird people and throw Gordon in there,” executive producer Jon Kroll said. “He turns it into television gold.”

To Ramsay, local flavor is as much about residents as ingredients. “We get the opportunity to learn from the locals and hear their stories, and that gives us a much deeper experience and understanding of the world around us,” Ramsay said.

Indonesia is a highlight, said Kroll, with great food and memorable residents. “It’s the most Uncharted bang for your buck this season,” Kroll promised.

Also up there is Sumatra, where Ramsay ran with some bulls, and Tasmania, where people “definitely have a bit of a screw loose,” Kroll said. In Tasmania, the host, and producers, sample a local whiskey smoked in sheep poop. In Guyana, Ramsay joins the locals in hunting caiman by hand, and in South Africa he was stalked by a rhino and a couple of hippos.

“It’s been all we can do to keep that man alive,” Kroll said.

Season two of L.A.’s Finest premieres on Spectrum Originals June 8. Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba play partners in the LAPD. The show was inspired by Jerry Bruckheimer’s Bad Boys franchise.

Fox revealed it will air L.A.’s Finest in the fall. The producers are stoked to have the show in front of many more viewers. “There’s no better feeling than to have the show we made, that we’re incredibly happy with, to now have the opportunity to have it seen by millions more viewers,” executive producer Brandon Sonnier said.

L.A.’s Finest, from Sony Pictures Television, was initially a pilot at NBC before shifting to Spectrum Originals. Now it’s headed back to broadcast. “It’s just been a wild journey,” executive producer Brandon Margolis said.

The Brandons said the series stepped outside the network procedural structure when it moved to cable, making for a more unique viewing experience. It also offers a couple big names in the lead roles. Union plays Syd, who departed the DEA to join the LAPD, and Alba plays Nancy, who is dealing with a rebellious teen-age stepdaughter.

Whether their first names were an homage to 1986 punk biopic Sid and Nancy has not been confirmed.

Bruckheimer executive produces L.A.’s Finest.

“What you get when you put movie stars on the show, and Jerry Bruckheimer, is motion picture-
quality entertainment,” Sonnier said. “It’s like a real action movie in your living room.” 

Katherine Pope knows her way around content. After two years as head of Charter Communications’s Spectrum Originals, Pope has been integral in the successful launch of the service, attracting top talent and producing an eclectic array of shows. Fox revealed that it will air Spectrum series L.A’s Finest in primetime this fall. Pope brought a strong resume to Charter, helping to develop iconic shows like The Office and 30 Rock over a decade at NBC and NBCUniversal Television, where she served as executive VP of the network and studio president, leaving in 2009 to create the television unit at Chernin Entertainment. Prior to joining Charter in January 2018, she launched Studio 8’s independent television unit. Pope took some time out to answer a few questions from senior content producer, finance Mike Farrell.

How are you managing in the lockdown? Well, predominantly my family, friends and colleagues are healthy and safe, so I feel very lucky. Though all of our day-to-day lives have, like most people’s, been upended, our business has been orienting to the new normal. Production on several of our shows had wrapped prior to the lockdown, and our primary focus at the moment is preparing to launch the second season of L.A.’s Finest on June 8. We are basically focusing on development, launch and post for our shows, since production is paused for the time being. There is plenty to do, but it’s not the same without being able to shoot.

Has the pandemic had any impact on any new shows you had planned? We were prepping a few new series that were scheduled to start shooting later this year. I can’t say how these events will impact our slate going forward. I wish I could … I know all of us find this uncertainty unsettling. But the most important thing is that when we come back to production, we do so thoughtfully and with safety as our North Star. In the interim, we have been focusing on getting ahead with scripts, exploring casting, getting more deeply into tone and look discussions and looking at every production scenario under the sun, so we will be able to hit the ground running as soon as we are able. I’m really looking forward to that day. I plan to hit the ground sprinting.

Early on, the idea was to release a couple of new originals each year. Is that still theplan? Yes, this is still the plan. We take a portfolio approach: We are trying to develop shows that appeal to different segments of our subscriber base. It’s been really fun to learn what our subscribers like to watch — who is watching which show and when and how quickly. If you look at what we have on the platform today, there isn’t one type of show. We aren’t looking for every show to be loved by every subscriber, I think that often takes a toll on authenticity and specificity.

How has viewership been at Spectrum Originals? We have seen increases in our viewership. I hope we’re helping entertain people who are homebound. We’re also continuing to see really strong completion rates for our shows. Manhunt: Deadly Games in particular has incredible completion numbers. Essentially, if you watch the first episode, you will watch all of them. It’s 10 hours total, and a huge majority of people are watching the whole season in 24 hours!

Does Charter see original programming mostly as a retention tool? Our foremost goal is to differentiate our video product and drive subscriber retention by offering premium original series exclusively to Spectrum video subscribers on-demand and ad-free. ... For us, it’s a simple proposition: the more value we can pack into our existing video subscription (at no additional charge) that subscribers can’t get anywhere else, the more likely they are to stay with us. 

BONUS FIVE

All-time favorite show? I hate this question because there are too many! But, dagger to the throat, I would say The Americans will always have my heart.

Favorite podcast?The Daily

Destination on your bucket list? Anywhere sounds pretty great.

Favorite app? Smoked salmon gravlax. Kidding. It used to be Waze, but, you know.

Book on your nightstand? A few novels I’ve read recently that I would recommend are Sing Unburied Sing, Pachinko,Long Bright River — I love detective novels. 

Pasadena, Calif. -- Spectrum Originals has released the premiere date for anthology series Manhunt: Deadly Games.

The anthology series, which follows the manhunt for the perpetrator of the 1996 terrorist attack at the summer Olympics in Atlanta, will debut Feb. 3. 

Spectrum will roll out all 10 episodes ad-free on the company's On Demand platform.

Manhunt comes from Lionsgate and Spectrum for Spectrum Originals. Andrew Sodroski create and wrote the series. He also serves as executive producer with John Goldwyn and Michael Dinner, who also directs.

Take a look at the Manhunt's official trailer below.

Season 15 of Love It or List It gets underway on HGTV Nov. 18. Real estate broker David Visentin and design maven Hilary Farr help families with humdrum houses make a key decision: Make over their house, or move on.

Visentin finds potential new homes for those on the show, while Farr helps them fix up their existing abodes to better match their needs and wants. Visentin has a knack for “interpreting what a family wants” in a new home, Brian Balthazar, vice president of programming at HGTV, said, while Farr “is a master at seeing the hidden potential of homes.”

A couple of new contractors join the show, and the home designs “have gotten so next-level,” Balthazar said.

He said most everyone can relate to Love It or List It, as we so often wonder if we’re in the right domicile or if there’s a more perfect match down the block. The show, he added, gets everyone to look at their home in a new way.

“It’s an infinitely relatable show,” Balthazar said.

And the Buchmans are back! Mad About You reboots on Spectrum, with six episodes available Nov. 20 and six more Dec. 18. The show initially ran on NBC from 1992 to 1999. This time around, daughter Mabel is off to college at NYU, a few blocks from home.

Peter Tolan is showrunner. He said Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt heard enough queries about rebooting the series that they finally gave it real consideration. “They were both reluctant,” he said. “But enough people talked about it, and they said, ‘maybe we should.’ ”

Tolan did not work on Mad About You the first time around, but has a deal with producer Sony Pictures Television. He’d seen some of the show, not much, but felt he could write for Paul. He also underwent a crash course in Mad About You. With 164 episodes, Tolan wasn’t about to watch the whole thing. So he asked around on the set, which episodes to watch. Fitting for this time of year, season three’s Thanksgiving episode, where Jamie throws the turkey out the window, came up repeatedly.

A challenge for rethinking a show with seven seasons under its belt is coming up with fresh storylines. Tolan said he heard a lot of “we already did that” in the writers’ room. Having Paul and Jamie as empty nesters makes for new ground to cover.

The new episodes are on demand for Spectrum subscribers. Tolan is optimistic the new Mad About You can reach a wider audience, but Spectrum has not shared plans for that. “That’s the hope,” he said, “that a second window gets worked out.”

Charter’s original content unit, Spectrum Originals, has a acquired a series from Spain’s MedaPro Studios.

Todo por el Juego (“Side Games”) is a Spanish-language adaptation of the book El Fútbol no es Así. It was adapted by Argentine screenwriter Eduardo Sacheri and will appear on demand for Charter pay TV users on July 15 with subtitles.

The show follows a Spanish businessman who rises quickly into the management of a top-flight European pro soccer team, dealing with politics, organized crime and other drama.

“With its strong embrace by Latin American audiences and the massive popularity of soccer as a backdrop, we believe this wonderfully written dramatic series will appeal to both the large and the growing Spanish-speaking viewership in the U.S., as well as everyone who loves sophisticated drama,” said Spectrum Originals chief Katherine Pope, in a statement.

“We are very satisfied with this agreement with Spectrum Originals, which extends the international reach of the series, in line with the distribution strategy followed with all our major productions and at a time when fiction in Spanish is more in demand than ever,” added Javier Mendez, chief content officer as The Mediapro Studio.

Related: Charter’s Spectrum Originals Shingle Picks Up ‘Paradise Lost’

The news follows an announcement earlier this month that Spectrum Originals picked up Southern Gothic series Paradise Lost from Paramount Network and Anonymous Content.

The original content division also announced the second-season greenlight of its first series, buddy cop show L.A.’s Finest. This came despite largely poor reviews from critics, as well as an on-set accident in February that cost co-showrunner Brandon Sonnier the lower part of a leg. 

Charter Communications original series production unit Spectrum Originals has picked up Southern Gothic series Paradise Lost from Paramount Network and Anonymous Content.

The 10-episode series will star Josh Hartnett, Bridget Regan as the leads, alongside a supporting cast that includes Barbara Hershey, Nick Nolte, Gail Bean, Danielle Deadwyler and Shane McRae.

The series follows a California psychiatrist who moves with her family to her husband’s Mississippi home town, only to uncover secrets—real shameful ones—that inject conflict and drama into the story.

Paradise Lost was created by Rotes Fishburne, who will show-run the series alongside executive producer Arikia Lissane Mittman (Dexter).

Spectrum Originals produces premium original series available exclusively to Spectrum video subscribers on-demand and ad-free.

The pickup comes after Spectrum Originals set a June 24 premiere date for Sky One futuristic street-racing drama Curfew. The unit also premiered its first original show, buddy cop drama L.A.’s Finest, last month.

That series, produced in partnership with Sony Pictures Television, was made exclusive to Charter subscribers (it’s unclear what the viewership has been like).

Notaby, it doesn’t appear that Paradise Lost is exclusive to Charter, with the announcement stating that the series will also debut not he Paramount Network.