VH1 gets ’Bachelor’
VH1 has purchased the entire library of more than 130 hours of ABC’s reality dating series “The Bachelor” and will blanket its schedule with the rerun episodes during the first week in June, Variety reports.
ABC, meanwhile, has just commissioned “The Bachelor” for a 13th cycle of episodes for its 2008-09 season. The show premiered on the alphabet network in March 2002.
Ben Zurier, executive vice president of program strategy for VH1, says his network doesn’t buy lots of reruns but chose “The Bachelor” because “people will watch it again for the intrigue, romance and backstabbing” even though regular viewers of the ABC original may know which woman the bachelor eventually selects.
VH1’s viewers will be predisposed to “The Bachelor,” Mr. Zurier says, because the show has some of the elements of the network’s original hits, including “Rock of Love” and “Flavor of Love.” However, VH1 is unlikely to schedule “The Bachelor” as a regular daily or weekly series, he added, preferring to play it “as needed” for frequent marathons.
’El Clon’ returning
“El Clon,” one of the most successful telenovelas of all time, is set for a reincarnation under a deal announced last week at Telemundo’s upfront presentation in New York.
Telemundo has partnered with TV Globo to co-produce the famous Brazilian novella in Spanish for the U.S. Hispanic market, the Hollywood Reporter notes.
“El Clon,” originally produced in Portuguese and dubbed into Spanish for Telemundo and other languages for international broadcasters, first aired in 2002 on Telemundo. It became the network’s strongest 10 p.m. property and also was an international success, selling in more than 90 countries.
“El Clon” is a contemporary story of love and honor that deals with such topics as drug trafficking, cloning and attitudes toward Islam.
More Martha on FLN
Martha Stewart is performing more domestic chores for the Fine Living network, selling it three compilation specials to go with nightly reruns of her syndicated hourlong TV series, Variety reports.
The specials, produced and distributed by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, will run monthly on Saturdays beginning later this month, leading up to a Sept. 6 three-hour marathon.
The first, “Outdoor Living,” deals with gardening. “Green Living,” the second, focuses on the environment and organic foods and features an interview with Robert Kennedy Jr., who’s an expert on ecology. The third, “Summer Entertaining,” zeroes in on outdoor grilling.
Casting calls
• Kelly Preston has signed to star in HBO’s pilot “Suburban Shootout,” while Adam Goldberg has come aboard ABC’s drama presentation “The Unusuals,” the Hollywood Reporter says. Based on the British series, the Barry Sonnenfeld-directed “Suburban” is a dark comedy about a woman who escapes the city for suburban bliss, only to find herself caught between two rival gangs of homicidal housewives vying for control of the town. Miss Preston will play Camilla, the formidable leader of one of the gangs. She joins the previously cast Kerri Kenney and Rachael Harris. “Unusuals” is a dramedy set at a New York police precinct. Mr. Goldberg will play Delahoy, a detective who has a brain tumor, but no one else knows about it.
• Michael Weston, best known as David Fisher’s (Michael C. Hall) psychotic hitchhiker-torturer on season four of “Six Feet Under,” is in advanced talks to appear on “House” next season in a multiepisode arc that could lead to his own spinoff, TVGuide.com reports. He’ll be playing a private eye.
• “Battlestar Gallactica’s” Katee Sackhoff will go in search of physical perfection on “Nip Tuck.” The actress has signed on to a recurring role on the FX series, Zap2it.com says, citing a story from the Hollywood Reporter. She will appear in four episodes of the show’s forthcoming season. According to THR,Miss Sackhoff will play a doctor named Theodora “Teddy” Lowe who offers a challenge to Sean (Dylan Walsh). Soap-opera veteran Morgan Fairchild also will make a guest appearance on the show.
On tap tonight
Dancing with the Stars (9 p.m., ABC) — Three couples remain (Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas, Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska andCristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke) but only one will waltz off with the top prize on tonight’s season finale.
Compiled by Robyn-Denise Yourse from Web and wire reports.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.