Bounce TV, the broadcast multicast network for African-Americans said it plans to launch its first drama series next season.
In upfront meetings with advertisers, Bounce TV has also said it has renewed comedy series Mann & Wife for a second season and ordered new seasons sitcom Family Time and stand-up comedy series Off the Chain.
The network has also been trying to line up sponsors for its Premier Boxing Champions series launching in July.
The working title for Bounce TV’s new drama is Saints & Sinners. The network is aiming for a show with Empire-like intrigue—greed , corruption, murder—set in a large southern church. The series is in development in partnership with Swirl Films and is expected to debut in 2016.
“Bounce TV has two hit sitcoms and we believe the time has come to enter the drama arena. We’re very excited about Saints & Sinners,” Elverage Allen, executive VP of advertising sales, said in a statement. “We continue to expand our original programming line-up to offer marketing partners fresh and engaging new programming that our loyal and dedicated viewers will love.”
Season 2 of Mann & Wife is expected to debut next spring. Season 3 of Family Time is scheduled for fourth quarter 2015. Bounce TV’s boxing series, PBC The Next Round, will feature upcoming talent in its monthly installments. PBC also has TV deals with NBC, CBS, ESPN and Spike TV.
Bounce TV is available in 85 million homes in 90 markets, covering 90% of African-American homes.
