Television
May 31, 2001
The WB Picks Up “Cedric The Coach” & “The (Mis)Adventures Of Fiona Plum” To Complement The Five New Comedies On Its Fall Line-Up
(May 31, 2001 – Burbank, CA) – The WB continues to score results from its outstanding comedy development as it has made multiple-episode commitments to two more series – “Cedric The Coach” and “The (Mis)Adventures Of Fiona Plum” – that will be ready to go in midseason, it was announced by Susanne Daniels and Jordan Levin, co-Presidents, Entertainment of The WB.
The WB’s commitment to breaking a comedy was the major focus of its development season, which netted five series on the fall schedule and three midseason shows, including the previously announced “Young Person’s Guide To Becoming a Rock Star.” Before these pick-ups, The WB had already scheduled at least two more new comedy series on its fall line-up any of the Big Four Networks and more than ABC and CBS combined.
The WB has also made a pilot commitment for a potential midseason show for a hidden video comedy show starring Jamie Kennedy (“Scream,” “Scream 2,” “Scream 3”), which will be executive produced by Michael Davies (“Who Wants to be a Millionaire”), Mike Karz (“The Wonderful World of Disney”) and Jeff Boggs (“The Tom Green Show,” “Late Show with David Letterman”).
“Breaking a comedy is important to us for many reasons,” Ms. Daniels said. “Comedies will help us attract more male viewers, they repeat better and give us a great deal more scheduling flexibility. Both of these series features tremendous talents in the title roles. In Cedric, we have a versatile and impossibly likeable home-grown talent our viewers have grown to love. Cedric follows in our tradition of taking strong supporting players from our series and developing star vehicles for them. Kelly Brook, who plays Fiona Plum, is funny and attractive and was someone we wanted to be in business with the moment she walked through the door.”
Said Mr. Levin: “We are encouraged by the positive reaction our fall comedies have received from the advertising community and others in the industry and believe that ‘Cedric’ and ‘Fiona’ are good strategic bets for our Sunday and Friday nights respectively. We believe audiences are turning back to comedy and we intend to fulfill this desire.”
“CEDRIC THE COACH” is a combination family and workplace comedy from Artists Television Group, which stars Cedric “The Entertainer” (“The Steve Harvey Show,” Kings of Comedy Tour and the most acclaimed commercial during Super Bowl XXXV). He plays a divorced father, who happens to be the coach of the worst team in the NBA. John Bowman, Matt Wickline and Stan Lathan will serve as executive producers.
“THE (MIS)ADVENTURES OF FIONA PLUM,” from Studios USA, fits directly into The WB’s Friday night strategy of attracting a young, female audience. It stars Brook (“The Big Breakfast”) as a pampered witch who gets suspended from the Canterbury Academy of Witchcraft - even though her doting daddy is the chancellor. She is banished to be a nanny for a mortal family of five in the states and is limited to just three spells a day. The series, which also stars Omar Gooding ("Smart Guy"), was created by Jonathan Prince.
The two series join an already promising group of midseason shows including comedy “Young Person’s Guide To Being A Rock Star,” drama “Glory Days,” which will share the Wednesday 9 p.m. time period with “Felicity,” reality series “No Boundaries” and “For Your Love.” # # #