Posted by Bud on February 02, 2010 at 21:12:19:
Oprah's final months in daytime TV fodder for OWN backstage series
Looking to take advantage of viewer interest just as the hoopla over Oprah Winfrey's exit from syndicated daytime talk is building to a crescendo roar, Winfrey's new cable network plans to launch next year with a weekly one-hour backstage documentary series on the final months of the Chicago-based TV juggernaut.
"Behind the Scenes: Oprah's 25th Season" was announced Tuesday as among the charter offerings when OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network makes its scheduled debut in January, months ahead of the final edition of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," set for September 2011.
Perhaps this is what OWN Chief Executive Christina Norman meant in December when she told USA Today that Winfrey's "show as you know it is not coming to OWN," but that the host would ""have a significant presence on this network" and there would be "pieces of that show we're going to want to find ways to retain."
OWN, a partnership of Winfrey. and Discovery Communications, is to take the place of Discovery Health, now available in more than 70 million homes. The multi-platform partnership also includes Winfrey's Oprah.com Web site.
With Winfrey's tacit blessing, the OWN series surely can make good on its promise to offer "viewers unprecedented access" to Harpo Productions, although surely nothing will be seen that she and Harpo don't want shown. Much of the focus will be on the show's staff and its work.
Also, the network said Winfrey will offer her own thoughts on the show and its impact throughout, which might become a justification to limit other media interviews in the run up to her show's finale.
"For the first time ever, viewers will get to see behind the curtains of 'The Oprah Winfrey Show,'" Norman said in the announcement. " 'Behind the Scenes: Oprah's 25th Season' will document what will be the most amazing season, yet."
Other shows OWN said Tuesday it was adding to its development slate included one-hour prime-time series tentatively titled “Kid-napped,” “Miracle Detectives,” “Search” and “Sentenced.”
"Kid-napped" will have children taking their workaholic parents away from work, confiscating smart phones and such, until the adults show a commitment to quality family time. "Miracle Detectives" will pair a scientific skeptic and a spiritual believer seeking to explain what events that defy easy explanation.
"Search" is to feature a New Jersey homemaker with a knack for helping finding lost and missing people and facilitating emotional journeys. "Sentenced" will tell the stories of prisoners at Indiana's Rockville Correctional Facility, a maximum-security women’s prison.
OWN previously announced several development projects, including shows with Dr. Laura Berman and journalist Lisa Ling.