Television
December 12, 2008
Warner Horizon Television Renews Exclusive Development And Production Deal With Mike Fleiss And His Next Entertainment Production Company
(December 12, 2008 – Burbank, CA) – Warner Horizon Television (WHTV) announced today that it has signed a new, exclusive, multiyear development and production deal with “The Bachelor” creator Mike Fleiss and his Next Entertainment production company. The new pact covers the development and creation of new unscripted/reality and scripted television programming for both broadcast and cable, as well as for digital, and continues the Studio’s highly successful decade-long partnership with Fleiss.
The announcement was made today by Peter Roth, President, Warner Bros. Television.
Under terms of the agreement, Fleiss and Next Entertainment will continue to produce his projects in association with WHTV, with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution maintaining rights to global distribution and international format production.
“Mike Fleiss is one of the most accomplished producers of reality programming in the history of this industry, and we are thrilled to continue working with him and to extend our partnership to the 10-year mark with this deal,” said Roth.
Fleiss and WHTV are currently at work on three new series:
• “The Cougar” is a one-hour elimination dating series for TV Land where eligible young men vie for the attention of a sexy and accomplished mature woman known as the Cougar.
• “Hitched or Ditched” is an hourlong, unscripted relationship show for The CW (produced in conjunction with RDF USA) which takes unmarried couples in long-term relationships and gives them the ultimatum of a lifetime: Over the course of a week, they will experience all the drama related to planning a wedding and, at the end of the experience, will ultimately have to decide whether to say “I do” and get married.”
• An untitled one-hour reality/competition program for CBS in which a collection of families – all of whom live in close proximity to one another – square off in the competition of a lifetime for a large cash prize.
Based at Warner Bros. since 2000, Fleiss is one of the television industry’s leading producers of reality programming and has made a significant impact on the genre. In total, he has produced over 250 hours of primetime television, including the long-running, unscripted hit relationship series “The Bachelor,” which is preparing its 13th installment for debut January 5, 2009 on ABC; “The Bachelorette,” which is readying its fifth installment for midseason on ABC; and the fifth season of “High School Reunion,” which will return to TV Land in 2009.
Fleiss’ television credits also include “The Real Gilligan’s Island,” a reality adaptation of the classic sitcom featuring real-life versions of the original show’s characters, “Superstar USA,” “Trista & Ryan’s Wedding,” “The Starlet,” “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?,” “Breaking the Magician’s Code: Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed,” “Before They Were Stars” and “Are You Hot? The Search for America’s Sexiest People.”
In addition to his work in television, Fleiss produced the 2003 remake of the classic feature film “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.” His other feature film producer credits include “Poseidon” for Warner Bros. and the “Hostel” movies.
Fleiss has also authored the humorous books Sports with an Attitude: The World’s Most Irreverent Sports Quiz Book and Show Biz with an Attitude: The World’s Most Irreverent Entertainment Quiz Book. Before moving to Los Angeles in 1991, he worked as a sportswriter for several Northern California newspapers.
About Warner Horizon Television
Warner Horizon Television is one of the entertainment industry’s fastest-growing television companies, specializing in the creation of scripted series for the cable marketplace, and primetime reality series for both network and cable. Founded in 2006, this second production entity allows the Warner Bros. Television Group to expand its programming offerings and explore creative options made possible under a new business model. # # #