SpikeTV changes focus...again

Thursday, June 14, 2007 -

The only thing I used to watch on SpikeTV was Star Trek, which isn't just because I'm a Trek fan, but because Star Trek: Voyager moved to UPN very early in its run, and I didn't get it. Having not seen almost the entire series, I was happy when Spike acquired the rights to both Voyager and Deep Space Nine, but bummed because of the deal structure which meant Spike couldn't actually air Voyager until everybody else's rights had expired. It took over three years, but with the help of my home-built DVR, I finally got to see the entire series.

I didn't miss much, but the only two things I watched the channel for (DS9 was fantastic compared to Voyager) now don't hold any value. I've seen all of Voyager and they stopped running DS9 entirely, and from what I gather, the much talked about strategy of "the definitive mens channel" didn't really pay off. So now, Spike is trying to reinvent itself all over again, this time it appears with standard cable fare original programming in the form of comedies and dramas.

As part of that focus, net is developing "The Factory," a comedy from Mitch Rouse, a co-creator of cult comedy series "Strangers With Candy." Show is described as a sitcom in the vein of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," in which actors will improvise off of an outline.

Rouse will star, write and direct; he will exec produce along with management and production shingle 3 Arts. (The) Net has yet to officially order the series but could be close to a greenlight.

Spike is developing several other sitcoms and has a number of comedies coming out of its reality division this year, including the barstool trivia game "Manswers" (Daily Variety, April 3).

Kind of a snoozer, but still news.

Topics: Television, SpikeTV

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