EXCLUSIVE: ‘Bethenny' Pilot Will Shoot June 23

By Paige Albiniak
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

Bethenny Frankel will shoot the pilot of her talk show next Thursday afternoon (June 23), at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, according to sources. 

Telepictures -- a production unit of Warner Bros. that produces such shows as Ellen, Lopez Tonight and the upcoming Anderson -- is developing the show. A Warner Bros. spokesman said the studio does not comment on development.

While shooting a pilot is a good sign, it doesn't necessarily mean that Frankel's talker will end up on TV. Many syndicated pilots - including Warner Bros.' MomLogicand CBS Television Distribution's project with Valerie Bertinelli and Rove McManus - have failed to get off the ground. 

Frankel came to fame as one of the stars of Bravo's Real Housewives of New York. She has stayed in the spotlight starring in her own spin-offs, including Bethenny Getting Married?, which notched Bravo's highest-rated premiere ever, and Bethenny Ever After. Frankel also is known for her best-selling SkinnyGirl line of cookbooks and diet products, such as the SkinnyGirl Margarita, which she recently sold to Beam Global Spirits and Wine for more than $100 million.

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.