January 23rd, 2009 | 3 Comments
Spike TV has teamed with NFL Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin to host a reality/competition series in which the winner will be invited to the Dallas Cowboys’ training camp.
The untitled series is set to premiere in the spring. Irvin will preside over and judge an assemblage of six aspiring NFL receivers and six wannabe defensive backs. Guest judges will include Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, as well as various ex-players and coaches.
The winner will draw a spot in the Cowboys’ training camp next summer.
December 22nd, 2008 | 0 Comments
Spike TV is heading to the college gridiron, greenlighting a football-themed comedy pilot from Brian Robbins. Blue Mountain State is a half-hour scripted comedy in the vein of Animal House. The project, written by Chris Romano and Eric Falconer, follows three incoming freshmen attending Midwestern college football powerhouse Blue Mountain State who must quickly adapt to college life and juggle football, girls, classes and nonstop hazing. Robbins is executive producing and will direct the pilot, which goes into production in February. Robbins’ producing partner Sharla Sumpter Bridgett along with Romano and Falconer will serve as co-exec producers.
Former NFL running back-turned-actor Ed Marinaro stars as the team’s coach. Darin Brooks plays Alex, a talented quarterback content to ride the bench while partying with his best friend, Sammy, who aspires to be the school’s mascot. Sam Jones III plays Craig, the school’s top recruit and future pro whose life already is mapped out for him by his controlling girlfriend, Denise. The cast also includes Alan Ritchson as Thad, a senior on the football team who loves hazing incoming freshman.
December 15th, 2008 | 0 Comments
Spike is readying the premiere next month of a Mark Burnett-produced reality competition series featuring rodeo cowboys. Set to premiere at 11 pm January 29 on the cable channel, the hourlong Toughest Cowboy will commence with 12 cowboys competing in challenging disciplines including bareback, saddle bronc and bull riding. Winner will receive a ranch in Wyoming.
One contestant will be eliminated each week during the eight-episode season. Series will lead out of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which runs at 10 pm on Spike. The series is the first to emerge from a pact announced earlier this year between Mark Burnett Productions and sports and live entertainment company AEG Entertainment.
November 10th, 2008 | 0 Comments
Matthew Marsden has landed the title role on Spike TV’s two-hour pilot Madso’s War. The show, from MGM TV, revolves around the Irish mob in Boston. Marsden plays Mike “Madso” Madden, a small-time thief with connections to the Boston rackets who tries to walk away when two guys on his crew are murdered – but soon realizes he’s next on the hit list. Also cast is Kevin Chapman. Marsden just wrapped production on “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
October 7th, 2008 | 0 Comments
Spike TV has ordered a two-hour drama pilot about the Irish mob from executive producers Dana White and Tom Lynch that will be directed by Walter Hill. The untitled project, from MGM Television Entertainment, centers on the explosive fallout when a Boston mob boss vacates his position and rival factions face off in a battle to control the streets. It marks the first scripted project for White, who serves as UFC president and hosts Spike’s series The Ultimate Fighter. Hill will helm the pilot, which will shoot in Boston this fall.
Continue reading UFC President Lands Irish Mob Pilot On FX »
September 30th, 2008 | 0 Comments
Spike TV gave a pilot order to the single-camera comedy adaptation of a British series, Peep Show. The show is a modern-day Odd Couple centering on Jeremy, a slacker with misguided musical ambitions, and Mark, his uptight, office-drone roommate, who are living together and trying to survive the many unexpected hurdles life throws at them. The stories are told with what is described as a “unique” first-person perspective and voice-over from the characters. Shooting on the half-hour pilot just wrapped in Chicago.
