BC-TV-BRIEFS:ZP – entertainment (1150 words)
Television news briefs
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Boxing manager Jackie Kallen, whose life provided the inspiration for the film “Against the Ropes,” is the latest pugilism heavyweight to join Mark Burnett’s reality series “The Contender.”
One of boxing’s first and most successful female managers, Kallen will serve as a den mother for the 16 boxers chosen to compete on the NBC show, which is scheduled to premiere in January. She’ll make sure they eat properly, train diligently and keep the fighting in the ring. She’ll also provide emotional support when necessary.
“Once again, we’ve landed another great addition to our all-star team,” Burnett (“The Apprentice”) says. “Jackie has established herself as a well-respected force in the world of boxing and will bring the perfect touch to this show as a mentor, den mother and caretaker to our contestants.”
Kallen joins a murderer’s row of talent working behind the scenes and in front of the camera on “The Contender.” Burnett has assembled a team that includes Jeffrey Katzenberg, Mark Burnett, Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard.
“The Contender” will follow the boxers over 16 weeks, charting their ups and downs as fighters are eliminated in route to a prizefight worth a million dollars.
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ABC PLANS TO START SWAPPING EVERYTHING
Got a spouse, child, boss, friend, car, house, pair of bowling shoes, used book or lawnmower that you want to try to exchange for a better model? Chances are good that given enough time, ABC will have a swapping show just for you. Even though the network’s “Wife Swap” has yet to air, ABC has already greenlighted pilots for such diverse swapping options as “Husband Swap” and “Boss Swap.”
Both spinoffs will come courtesy of RDF Media and Diplomatic, producers of “Wife Swap.” RDF is also responsible for the British equivalent of the “Wife Swap” and “Boss Swap” formats.
ABC is attempting to swiftly transform “Swap” into the kind of renewable franchise that the network already has with “Extreme Makeover” and “Extreme Makeover: Housing Edition” and “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” If the formula succeeds, ABC will soon be swapping anything that seems swappable.
“I think it will do well because it’s rare to have a reality show on TV taking place in the home or workplace; they mostly use not a real environment as a setting, like a mansion or an exotic location,” the show’s executive producer Stephen Lambert tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s a more intimate feeling that people were certainly find very refreshing.”
As many things as ABC tries to swap, FOX may be quick to follow suit. Last week, FOX fast-tracked “Trading Spouses,” a copycat reality series that the network hopes to get out in the late summer before the Sept. 29 date that ABC has staked out for “Wife Swap.”
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SOAPNET EMBRACES BIG-HAIRED “80S DRAMAS
The cable network SOAPnet is turning back the clock 20 years, when hair, shoulder pads and prime-time soaps were all big.
Already home to the likes of “Dynasty” and “Dallas,” the network has now picked up the short-lived, camp-a-rific show “Paper Dolls,” which aired on ABC in 1984.
The show, based on a 1982 TV movie with the same title, starred Morgan Fairchild as Racine (no last name, just Racine), the head of a powerful modeling agency with a problem: Her top client, teenager Taryn Blake (Nicolette Sheridan), was burning out, thanks in part to her unhinged stage mom, Julia (Brenda Vaccaro).
Entwined with the modeling drama was the story of the Harper family, headed by cosmetics magnate Grant (Lloyd Bridges). Mimi Rogers played his granddaughter, who was married to a rival business executive. Lauren Hutton, Terry Farrell and Jonathan Frakes were also among the regulars.
“Paper Dolls” will debut Saturday, July 17 on SOAPnet, as part of a block the Disney-owned network is calling “Dysfunctional Family Night.” The network has also ordered a half-hour original series called “Soapography,” which will delve into the lives of current soap stars, and a third installment of “They Started on Soaps,” looking at the daytime-drama periods in the careers of Viggo Mortensen, Kristin Davis and Mischa Barton, among others.
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GRIER INITIALIZES ‘GEE’ AT TOUCHSTONE
David Alan Grier, an actor familiar to many viewers as the Notorious D.A.G., is flaunting his initials once again in “The Davey Gee Show,” a series in development at Touchstone Television. Grier is partnering with writer-actor Tim Hightower on the proposed sketch comedy series.
Grier and Hightower (“Love Stinks”) will writer, executive produce and star in the series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The project will mark a return to the sketch stylings of “In Living Color,” the FOX series that gave Grier his big break after years of supporting parts.
Touchstone has ordered a script for the series, which will also feature a rotating ensemble of performers.
Grier last worked with Touchstone in his supporting role on ABC’s “Life With Bonnie.” The actor’s previous series credits include “DAG” and “Damon.” He has been seen on the big screen in “A Soldier’s Story,” “McHale’s Navy” and most recently in the highly regarded “Baadasssss!”
Other writing credits for Hightower include “Mad TV” and “Malcolm and Eddie.”
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CBS TOPS MURROW AWARDS
Several networks, ranging from CBS to ESPN to Univision, shared the wealth in the TV division of the annual Edward R. Murrow Awards for news coverage awarded Saturday.
CBS won three awards in the national network/syndication service division, including one for overall excellence, to lead the pack. ABC, NBC, ESPN and Spanish-language broadcaster Univision each won two; NBC’s cable sibling MSNBC earned one.
The Murrow Awards, named for the legendary CBS newsman, recognize excellence in broadcast news – both radio and television – at the national and local level. The awards, handed out annually by the Radio-Television News Directors Association, cover stories that aired during 2003.
CBS also won five awards for its radio news coverage, bringing the network’s total to eight. ABC’s radio division took home four.
The association posthumously honored NBC correspondent David Bloom, who died of a pulmonary embolism while embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq in 2003, for continuing coverage of the Iraq war.
Here’s a complete list of the national TV winners:
-Continuing coverage: “NBC Nightly News,” NBC, David Bloom reporting on the war in Iraq
-Feature reporting: “SportsCenter,” ESPN, “Picking Up Butch”
-Investigative reporting: “Dateline,” NBC, “Do No Harm – Sulzer Hip Implants”
-News documentary: “Peter Jennings Reporting,” ABC, “The Kennedy Assassination: Beyond Conspiracy”
-News series: Univision, “Mis Padres, Mis Verdugos” (“My Parents, My Tormentors)
-Newscast: “World News Tonight,” ABC
-Overall excellence: CBS News
-Sports reporting: “SportsCenter,” ESPN, “Picking Up Butch”
-Spot news reporting: CBS, first day of Iraq war
-Videography: Univision, “En Busca de Un Milagro” (“In Search of a Miracle”)
-Web site: MSNBC.com
-Writing: CBS, “Everybody Has a Story”
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AP-NY-06-28-04 1336EDT
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