Press

TLC RENEWS 'ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY'

Brooke Fisher — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:21:00 +0000

By: James Hibberd/THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

TLC has renewed its reality show “One Big Happy Family” for a super-sized second round.

The network has picked up 12 episodes of the show from RDF USA, double the first-season order.

“Obesity is an epidemic in America, so it’s no surprise that viewers fell in love with the Coles family as they began their weight loss journey,” said Mike Duffy, senior vp at RDF USA. “With four different perspectives, every viewer has someone they can relate to but, ultimately I think people root for them because they’re refreshingly sweet, funny and honest.”

The series, a docu-drama about an obese family of four that weigh a collective 1,400 pounds, premiered in December. Its second season is expected to debut in June.

'DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS' SOLD IN SYNDICATION

Brooke Fisher — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:01:00 +0000

By James Hibberd/THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

A syndicated version of Fox’s “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” has sold to Fox Television stations, Twentieth Television said Monday at NATPE.

The syndie version of the Fox program hosted by Mark McGrath has been sold to stations in the top 10 markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Washington.

“Lyrics” is set to premiere in the fall. The program from RDF USA and Apploff Entertainment also will be presented on VH1 and in primetime on MyNetworkTV, where it will be paired with the returning syndie version of “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”

“The concurrent broadcast and cable runs of ‘Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?’ ushered in a groundbreaking syndication model for the business that we are thrilled to duplicate with a second hit Fox game show,” Twentieth Television president Greg Meidel said.

This is also the first major deal under RDF USA’s new CEO Grant Mansfield.

“Although the syndicated version will be shorter, it will be just as exciting as the original – a bright shiny floor look, celebrity guests and a big cash prize,” said Tony Yates, COO of RDF USA.

The syndie version is executive produced by Yates, Mansfield, Jeff Apploff and Chris Coelen.

TRUTV GETS 'WORKED' UP AGAIN

Brooke Fisher — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:22:00 +0000

By Jon Weisman/HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

TruTV has given a 13-episode order for a second season of nonscripted series “All Worked Up,” with a spring 2010 premiere date planned.

“All Worked Up” focuses on people in industries where a clash with customers is a regular part of the day, such as delivering repossession news or subpoenas.

Airing at 9 p.m. Mondays, the skein ranked in the top-five among cable programs among adults 18-49 and 25-54, along with men in those same age groups.

" ‘All Worked Up’ proved to be highly successful with our core audience of young adult viewers," said TruTV exec veep-general manager Marc Juris.

The second season will mix new discoveries with a few of the popular personalties from the skein’s rookie campaign — including Ron Shirley, an ordained minister who operates a repossession business with his wife.

RDF’s Chris Coelen and Lauren Gellert exec produce “All Worked Up.”

SYFY PICKS UP 'BEING HUMAN'

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:17:00 +0000

By Nellie Andreeva/THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

The misfits from the hot British dramedy “Being Human” will face another challenge: being American.

Syfy has handed out a 13-episode order to a U.S. version of the BBC show from RDF Media USA.

“Human” revolves around three twentysomething roommates – who happen to be a ghost, a vampire and a werewolf – as they help one another navigate the complexities of living double lives.

The original series, produced by RDF subsidiary Touchpaper TV and executive produced by Rob Pursey, had an initial six-episode run on digital channel BBC Three. It was so successful that the show got a second window on mothership BBC One. It is slated to return early next year for an eight-episode second season.

The deal for a U.S. take on the show at Syfy marks the first scripted series order for the cable network following its rebranding this summer designed to attract broader audience. It also marks the first scripted series order for RDF Media USA.

“Human” appeared on Syfy’s radar about two years ago when the network was given the pilot script by the BBC, which was seeking to bring in the U.S. cable network in as co-producer. It was too late in the process, so Syfy brass passed but became instant fans of the material.

“It turned out great as we can now do an American version,” Syfy president Dave Howe said. “We’ve always been keen on vampires and werewolves, and we loved the originality of ‘Being Human,’ the fact that the fantastical creatures in it are very young, accessible and charming.”

Howe stressed that Syfy is not going to “slavishly replicate the British version.” Some of network’s core audience already might be familiar with the original series, which runs in the U.S. on BBC America.

The search is on for a writer to adapt “Human,” with Syfy targeting a launch in summer or fall 2010 and eyeing it as a potential companion piece to breakout hit “Sanctuary,” which shares similar subject matter.

The U.S. version of “Human” drew a lot of interest from broadcast and cable networks and several production commitment offers, but Syfy stood out," RDF Media USA CEO Chris Coelen said. “From the beginning, Syfy was unwavering in its pursuit of the project and had a lot of conviction about doing it.”

The company, which established a toehold in the U.S. on the strength of its unscripted business, has been making a big push in scripted series largely outside the traditional studio system. RDF is the sole producer of “Human” and is also working on several other scripted projects.

“We’re getting into the scripted and studio business in a different way; the plan is to do things ourselves,” Coelen said.

RDF MOVES TO BOOST ACQUISITIONS IN U.S.

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:22:00 +0000

By: Michael Schneider/VARIETY

RDF Media Group has tapped senior VP Karrie Wolfe to help expand its roster of third-party acquisitions in the U.S.

Wolfe will now lead all U.S. activity for RDF Rights, the company’s distribution arm. That means she’ll be charged with acquiring U.S. series from outside producers to distribute globally, as well as selling U.S. formats to international broadcasters.

Wolfe will also continue to keep an eye on international markets in order to purchase formats for RDF.

News comes as RDF Rights recently sealed deals for the rights to MTV’s “The Real World” (produced by Bunim-Murray), Fox’s “I Married a Stranger” (from A. Smith and Co.), Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” (19 Entertainment) and VH1’s “Tough Love” (High Noon Entertainment). Those shows will be shopped by RDF at Mipcom next month.

“I’ll be linking these producers to our distribution team and ensuring their television properties receive maximum exposure in the foreign market,” said Wolfe.

RDF Rights distributes more than 5,500 hours of programming, including from outlets such as MTV, Lifetime, TruTV, Spike TV, Fox, Five, Channel 4, ITV and the BBC, in addition to series from more than 80 independent producers.

“Having a permanent presence in L.A. will make all the difference to producers and agents alike,” said RDF Rights chief operating officer Jane Millichip.

RDF PILOTING 'SKY' TO FOX

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:23:00 +0000

By: Michael Schneider/VARIETY

RDF USA has presold the U.K. animated pilot “Sky Jockeys” to Fox.

“Sky Jockeys” comes out of RDF Media’s new script-development deal with UKTV’s digital outlet Dave. Pact, announced Thursday, calls for RDF to develop three half-hour scripts – including “Sky Jockeys” – with the idea that at least one of the projects will be picked up for broadcast sometime in late 2010.

As part of the RDF/Dave pact, the companies are aggressively looking for international presale partners, particularly in the U.S. For “Sky Jockeys,” it made sense to turn to Fox, the home of several primetime animated hits.

“We’re looking to get projects financed in different ways,” said RDF Media USA CEO Chris Coelen. “It’s what everyone’s trying to figure out. This is a different way of doing things.”

British scribes Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto are writing the pilot, which is a workplace ensemble set inside an airport.

The Dave channel launched its first scripted laffer, “Red Dwarf: Back to Earth,” to strong audience numbers earlier this year, leading UKTV to look at expanding on that genre.

Deal was announced by Coelen, RDF TV comedy head Clelia Mountford, UKTV entertainment director Christian Drobynk and UKTV director of commissioning Lisa Perrin.

TRUTV AND RDF TO EXAMINE JOBS WE LOVE TO HATE

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:17:00 +0000

By: Nellie Andreeva/THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Some of the most thankless professions are being showcased in “All Worked Up,” a new docu-reality series for truTV.

The RDF USA-produced series, which has received a six-episode order from the network, tells the first-person stories of several people working jobs that get them yelled at, spit on and sometimes assaulted.

The cast of recurring characters on the show include a couple who repossess vehicles in Wendell, N.C.; a process server in New York; the head of security at an amusement park in Allentown, Pa.; a code enforcer in a housing community in Fort Myers, Fla.; and a head of security for professional wrestling and two tow truck drivers in Las Vegas.

The show, exec produced by RDF USA’s Chris Coelen and Lauren Gellert, is slated to premiere Oct. 19.

Gellert said she and her development team looked at truTV shows such as signature series “Speeders,” which center on conflicts with authority.

“We started exploring other jobs with that nature that resonate with people,” Gellert said. “In ‘All Worked Up,’ conflict meets humor.”

RDF TO PRODUCE FIRST INTERACTIVE ANIMATED SERIES

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 23:23:00 +0000

By: James Hibberd/THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

RDF is seeking to launch the first interactive animated series in the US.

The reality production company behind shows like Fox’s “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” and ABC’s “Wife Swap” is teaming with new media company Artificial Life to design a TV series where viewers can participate in the on-screen action.

The proposed series is called “Sleuths,” where viewers customize their own avatar that will appear on screen during the show’s live telecast. Three times per half-hour episode, a quiz question will be asked and viewers will text their answers. Those who answer wrong are eliminated from the screen, those who answer right continue to the next round.
At the end of each episode, the top five avatars will appear on screen one final time standing with the show’s characters.

“It’s both a television show and an interactive experience – it’s revolutionary and we couldn’t be more excited to introduce this to the States,” said Max Benator, senior VP of multi-platform entertainment for RDF USA.

How it works: The technology is dubbed MoPA-TV (for “mobile-participation television”) and has already been used with success in Japan and Europe. Viewers may use online or SMS to register, select their avatars and send their answers. In the TV studio, a studio operator can “generate a camera path” through the 3D landscape of all the participating viewers’ avatars.

RDF AND TLC SET OBESITY REALITY SERIES

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:21:00 +0000

By Nellie Andreeva/THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

The network behind “Little People, Big World” is taking on another group of people who don’t quite fit in the regular society.

TLC has ordered a six-episode series that chronicles the lives of a morbidly obese family facing everyday realities.

The half-hour docu series, tentatively titled “One Big Happy Family,” hails from RDF USA, whose senior vp development and current Mike Duffy created the show.

He drew on his own experience.

“Growing up, we had a problem with obesity, and I know how it feels to be fat,” Duffy said.

Duffy’s inspiration is his father who, at age 60, lost 200 pounds.

“That changed the entire dynamic of my family,” he said. Obesity is always is a family issue, but “watching television, it occurred to me that there is a void for programming where we deal with obesity in the family unit,” he added.

Duffy, who is exec producing “One Big Happy Family” with RDF’s Chris Coelen and showrunner Julia Silverton, set out to find a family who wanted to make a change in their lives and found it just outside of Charlotte, N.C.

The family to be chronicled on the show consists of a 40-year-old man weighing 340 pounds; his 35-year-old wife, who is close to 400 pounds; and their 330- and 340-pound teenage kids.

The documentary will tell each of their stories in first-person, with a special attention on the children, a boy and a girl.

“High school is hard enough to deal with – imagine what it would be like to be morbidly obese,” Duffy said.

He dismissed suggestions that the series might be exploitative.

“This is a very loving family,” he said. “They are dedicated to losing the weight because they communicate as well as love each other so much.”

But in trying to drop the pounds, they will rely on each other.

“This is not a game show where contestants have TV trainers and obesity specialists everyday as they are competing for a $250,000 prize,” Duffy said, referring to NBC’s popular reality series “The Biggest Loser.”

He compared “One Big Happy Family” to “Little People, Big World.”

" ‘Little People, Big World’ is about little people living in a big world. This is about big people living in a little world – fat people living in a skinny world," Duffy said.

JESSICA SIMPSON RETURNS TO REALITY TV

Brooke Fisher — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:22:00 +0000

By Michael Schneider/VARIETY

Jessica Simpson is heading back to reality TV, but this time with a more serious agenda.

VH1 has picked up the docuseries “The Price of Beauty,” from producer RDF USA. Show will follow Simpson as she travels around the world to see how ordinary women as well as celebs attempt to achieve their own notions of “beauty.”

According to VH1 and RDF, Simpson will “study the local fashions, dietary fads and beauty regimes and even participate in some of the extreme practices she discovers.”

It’s a reunion of sorts between Simpson and VH1 parent MTV Networks; Simpson, of course, is still well-known for starring in the MTV reality series “Newlyweds” earlier this decade.

Simpson said she was approached by RDF to star in the “The Price of Beauty,” which is targeted to run sometime in 2010.

“I am really looking forward to discovering how beauty is perceived in different cultures and participating in some of the crazy things people do to feel beautiful,” she said. “I know we will all learn a lot on this journey.”

RDF Media USA CEO Chris Coelen said he was looking to mix a serious issue with Simpson’s “unique and relatable blend of humor and heart.”

Added VH1 original programming/production EVP Jeff Olde: “She is a woman who can set trends and create firestorms with a single photo… Jessica now gets to take control of that conversation and take a look at the idea of beauty through her own unique, unfiltered lens.”

Jessica and Joe Simpson will exec produce, along with Coelen and RDF USA’s Claire O’Donohoe and Greg Goldman. VH1’s Olde, Jill Holmes, Alex Demyanenko and Sean Boyle will produce.

Besides her singing career, Simpson’s credits as a thesp include the features “Love Guru,” “Employee of the Month” and “Dukes of Hazzard.”