new shows. The first is Cane, a Floridabased family soap starring and executive produced by NYPD Blue’s Jimmy Smits. Additionally, former X Files star David Duchovny stars in Californication, part of the CBS Paramount-distributed Showtime catalogue, which is increasingly gaining attention and respect in the international marketplace. One CBS Paramount executive called Californication “a major attraction at the L.A Screenings.” The racy series, which has been sold to the U.K.’s Five and Australia’s Ten Network, has caused its own buzz thanks to the Australian Christian Lobby and other groups’ protests and urges to boycott advertisers. An even bigger brouhaha took place in America surrounding CBS Paramount’s reality series Kid Nation, in which a group of kids takes over an uninhabited U.S. town. The same CBS Paramount exec said Kid Nation is already eliciting formatting rights requests from some territories. Though dramas and reality series tend to be surer things than comedies overseas, one laffer with international potential is Fox’s Back to You, which features wellknown comedy veterans Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond) and Kelsey Grammer (Cheers, Frasier), and has already been sold to Channel Four in the U.K. “The response in the U.K., Canada and Australia has been really positive,” said Edwards. “In the rest of the world, if the networks need a comedy (which they usually do), they’ll take this. It helps that our company has one of the biggest international comedy hits of all time in The Simpsons.” Another sitcom with international hopes is Warner Bros.’ The Big Bang Theory, about two physics geniuses who befriend a blonde bombshell neighbor. According to showrunner and writer Chuck Lorre (who also produces Two and a Half Men, which airs just after Big Bang on CBS), the show, which he insists transcends the stereotypes of pocket protectors and ditzy blondes, “has a universal theme. It appeals to anyone who’s felt disenfranchised; like they’re on the outside looking in — anyone who’s felt like they didn’t get a copy of the rule book of life.” While early reactions have been positive, Lorre thinks his sitcom may be able to achieve the impossible: “We’re getting a response from people who don’t watch TV shows — young males.” And while this could be attributed to the 20something cast, Lorre said it’s a combination of writing and casting, “the sum is greater than its parts,” he said. “This is not designed to simply pass the time,” Lorre said. “People have so many other things to do.” One genre that has almost guaranteed success overseas is the light entertainment/competition format. And there’s no shortage of those on American television this fall. One series that was reordered after a summer launch is The Singing Bee, which, according to Phil Gurin, the show’s producer, “is a [selfcontained] variety show meets game show,” with a full band and a dozen dancers performing alongside contestants who try to sing the right words to any given song. Gurin said it would be the perfect “one-two program punch” with another popular format like Dancing with the Stars. The Gurin Company sold the paper format to ITV in England even before selling it to NBC in the U.S. “It’s extremely rare to sell a paper format internationally, and I can’t remember the last time it happened in the U.K,” Gurin said. Zeal Entertainment has signed on to distribute the format internationally. Gurin said he hopes to create a brand around Bee, similar to his own The Weakest Link, and will do that through a U.S. merchandising campaign that will roll out around Christmas. His upcoming fall/winter formats include Wanna Bet? OC T O B E R 2 0 0 7 (Continued from Page 42) High Hopes for New Series Welcome to visit us at MIPCOM, stand R36.17. • 26 eps x 26’ Epidem ZOT/Mikael Wahlforss Cartoon One/Gianluca Bellomo Cartoon One S.r.l. • Via Polistena 10 • 00173 Rome • Italy Tel. +39 06 45421986 • Fax +39 06 45421990 • www.cartoonone.it • info@cartoonone.it (Continued on Page 46) Fernando Barbosa and his sales team at Disney-ABC International Television’s Latin America party at the L.A. Screenings A celebration of Rosario Ponzio’s birthday and his WB career achievements at the L.A. Screenings Telefe International’s staff at an L.A. Screenings cocktail party and screening at Casa Argentina, the Los Angeles residence of the Argentine Consul General
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