Housewives, Kardashians, Joan Rivers – NBCUniversal’s Cable Entertainment Group’s Upfront for Bravo, E!, Esquire, Oxygen, Sprout, Syfy and USA at NYC’s Javits Center was hardly short on flash, as the nets gathered for a first-ever joint presentation in front of an audience of 3000. “We’ve never done an upfront event on this scale, but we felt it was the best way – in fact, the only way – to convey the collective strength of the most engaging, focused and creative brands in the business,” said chairman Bonnie Hammer.
Among the programs on tap: Syfy previewed six-hour event series Ascension, supernatural thriller Dominion and time travel adventure 12 Monkeys. Esquire presented Car Matchmaker, helping men choose the perfect set of wheels, and cooking competition Knife Fight. Bravo introduced unscripted beauty pageant series Game of Crowns and real-time docu-series 100 Dates, as well as the net’s first scripted series, Girlfriends Guide to Divorce and comedy Odd Mom Out.
Oxygen, headed for a rebrand, showed off a slate featuring “authentic and relatable characters with extraordinary stories.” New series include Nail’d It, focused on the nail craze, and gospel artist Deitrick Haddon appeared on behalf of his Fix My Choir.
Jason Isaacs and Anne Heche, stars of upcoming event series Dig, introduced their show, set for a fall premiere on USA. Also coming up on USA: summer dramas Rush, about a renegade doctor, and relationship drama Satisfaction. Complications, about the unexpected consequences of an ER doctor’s actions, is due in 2015.
After the fast-paced peek shows’ sizzle reels, Joel McHale, fresh off the cancellation of NBC’s Community, joked that NBCU was starting a network called Sizzle – then wrapped things up. “I was going to make a joke about every network,” he said, “but I need a drink and you do, too.”
