VH1 updating 'The Partridge Family'
Talent show, sitcom in the works
 |
The original Partridge Family -- which, in turn, was based on the real-life Cowsills. Now VH1 is going to do a reality show followed by a sitcom to find its successor.
Story Tools
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
|
Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in.
Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions.
|
|
LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- An updated version of the 1970s sitcom favorite "The Partridge Family" is being hatched at VH1.
Sony Pictures Television, which holds rights to the popular show about a musical family, will produce a reality series for the cable channel chronicling the casting of the new Partridges as well as a scripted half-hour pilot featuring the winners.
"'The Partridge Family' is a part of pop culture that everyone remembers with tremendous fondness," said Zack Van Amburg, senior vp development and cable programming at SPT. "VH1 is just the right network for this."
No production date or location has been set, but VH1 is aiming to make it one of the tentpoles of its 2004 schedule. "We have high hopes for this," a spokeswoman for the network said.
To executive produce the series, Sony turned to Ken Mok, who has extensive experience with reality projects that launch new talent, including "America's Next Top Model," "Tough Enough" and "Making the Band." The project will enter preproduction in the next few weeks.
"Partridge," which ran on ABC from 1970-74, is one of many classic comedies in Sony's library, including "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie."
Reactivating its roster of retired programs is not a major priority for the company, according to Van Amburg, but the future viability of "Partridge" had ignited discussion in recent years.
"There's always an incentive to manage our core assets as it relates to doing remakes," he said. "This represented a great opportunity."
Oscar winner Shirley Jones and her real-life stepson, David Cassidy, starred in the original comedy about a widowed suburban mom and her kids who hit the big time in the music business. The show, which produced several actual hit songs, including "I Think I Love You," co-starred Susan Dey and Danny Bonaduce.
How faithful "Partridge" will remain to the original tone and style remains to be seen. Although Sony expects to keep the six central characters, everything else is up in the air -- even the psychedelic bus that transported the family band.
"We'll be reinventing some things, but that core family unit should remain intact," Van Amburg said.
But the 2004 version of "Partridge" will differ from the original in one important respect, Mok said.
"What excites me is we want to find musicians first and foremost who can act," he said. "It's not like 'The Monkees,' where you saw Mickey Dolenz play the drums and it was embarrassing."
VH1 has ordered seven episodes of the reality series, which will invite aspiring "Partridge" performers to open casting calls. Contestants will likely have to perform and act -- possibly using songs and scenes from the original series. The selections will likely be made by a panel of judges, with a viewer-voting component expected as well.
Once the reality series culminates with a chosen cast, they will go on to shoot a pilot for a scripted series, though VH1 has not committed to any subsequent episodes.
Copyright 2003
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
