Networks clamor for foreign TV shows (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - If you thought the Academy Awards were dominated by foreigners, consider the shows that might grace TV screens in the fall.

Of the five pilots ordered by the broadcast networks last week, four were based on international formats -- British drama "Ny-Lon" and Israeli drama "Mythological X" at CBS, and British comedies "Outnumbered" and "Spaced" at Fox.

A big reason is the three-month Hollywood writers strike, which ended three weeks ago, said Dana Walden, chairman of 20th Century Fox TV, which produces "Mythological X" as well as ABCs pilot "Life on Mars," based on the BBC series.

Walden and her team spent time during the strike-imposed hiatus watching the 11 completed episodes of "Mythological X," which centers on a woman who, after learning from a psychic that she already has dated the man shes supposed to marry, revisits all her past relationships in the hopes of finding him.

"You get the great benefit of being able to see the great twists and turns the characters take (beyond the pilot)," she said. "The network also was excited to do a reasonably priced show that is still compelling and has a fantastic character at the center but doesnt have car chases and 85 scenes (per episode)."

Most foreign series rely more on storytelling than big production values, which also proves attractive to U.S. studios looking for to cut costs in the wake of the writers strike.

Sparked by the success of "The Office" and "Ugly Betty," the rise of foreign-scripted formats came into its own last year when a record eight broadcast pilots were based on British series. With the thick of pilot ordering still days away, that number already has been surpassed this year.

Nine pilots ordered by the broadcast networks so far -- "Ny-Lon," "Mythological X," "Outnumbered," "Spaced," "Life on Mars," CBS drama "Eleventh Hour" and comedy "Worst Week," and NBC comedies "Father Ted" and "Kath & Kim" -- are based on international formats, as is Fox comedy "Dont Bring Frank," which is close to a pilot order.

Additionally, Canadian imports "The Listener" and "Flashpoint" were picked up as series by NBC and CBS, respectively; the British-produced series "Robinson Crusoe" set sail at NBC; and NBC is doing a highly publicized adaptation of the 2006 Colombian telenovela "Sin Tetas No Hay Paraiso."

The foreign format wave has also reached cable shores, with HBO adapting the Israeli drama "In Treatment" and Showtime acquiring British series "Secret Diary of a Call Girl."

"Its like an ever-growing frontier where people are looking for the next big thing anywhere in the world," said Chris Coelen of Pangea, which co-produces "Ny-Lon." The show follows a New York record store clerk and a London stock broker who, after a fateful encounter in the British capital, embark on a cross-continental romance.

Pangea is developing several series based on U.K. properties, including "Angel Cake," "Being Human," "Vexed" and "Gone," and is looking at series in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Brazil and Colombia.

With networks appetite for scripted imports growing, format acquisition and packaging has become big business. The major talent agencies are dispatching agents around the globe with marching orders to snatch anything that looks promising. As a result, there are often multiple U.S. producers vying for the rights to some shows.

The competition intensifies once the formats hit the U.S. marketplace. One of the biggest bidding wars among networks this development season was over the sci-fi drama "Eleventh Hour," which is based on a sci-fi series that aired in the U.K. in 2006. The remake landed at CBS.

And international formats now attract some of the biggest names in American television. David E. Kelley adapted the BBCs time-travel cop drama "Life on Mars" for ABC. Jerry Bruckheimer is behind "Eleventh Hour," while "Charlies Angels" director Joseph "McG" Nichol is executive producing "Spaced."

Of course foreign-sourced reality shows are already a huge part of the American landscape, led by such popular fare as "American Idol" and "Dancing with the Stars."

What attracts networks to foreign formats the most is the fact that they have already passed muster with viewers overseas. Rob Pursey, one of the producers behind the original "Ny-Lon," believes that helped a show like "The Office" get a shot in the States.

"Its safe to say that if someone had pitched "The Office" cold to the U.S., it would have been a pretty tough sell. Having something to look at makes all the difference," he said.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter