TV Land — riding high on the nation's hunger for familiar television — last week unveiled plans for several new series that recycle programming from other Viacom Inc. outlets. The retro network also has its own awards show in the works.
And during a joint upfront press conference with TV Land, Nick at Nite said it had acquired the sitcom Roseanne,
which will debut in primetime in September 2003.
TV Land officials said the channel would partner with several of its Viacom Inc. siblings, repurposing some of their programming. TV Land Legends: The 60 Minutes Interviews,
is a weekly series to kick off in November. Anchored by veteran newsman Ed Bradley, it will feature archival footage from the CBS News magazine 60 Minutes.
This fall, TV Land will also debut ET in TV Land,
which will update footage from the library of Entertainment Tonight,
the Viacom-owned syndicated show.
TV Land will also introduce its own annual awards show, The TV Land First Annual Classic TV Awards, next spring.
TV Land general manager Larry Jones added that the network is creating two new program blocks. "The TV Land Kitschen," hosted by Martin Mull and Fred Willard, will air midnight to 2 a.m. and include shows such as Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. "Better Living Through Television," a Sunday-morning block, will screen shows such as The Honeymooners
and Father Knows Best.
Batman
will join TV Land's regular schedule May 6. But Nick at Nite will help launch the show on April 28 by televising four episodes featuring Batgirl. TV Land will then offer a weeklong primetime marathon of Batman
episodes from April 29 to May 3, spotlighting a different super villain each night.
TV Land has planned four new installments of its original series Inside TV Land, to examine "Cops on TV," "Taboo TV," "TV Theme Songs" and "Fashion on TV.
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