The Sept. 11 attacks resonated through much of the programming presented at last week's Television Critics Association Tour in Pasadena, Calif., where former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was one of the biggest stars on hand.
Many networks said they were looking to bring more newsworthy, documentary-style and cost-effective shows to the forefront to address a more somber national audience, as well as a weaker economy.
?One thing I've learned about television in my many, many weeks in the business is that sometimes it's full of distractions, things that take our mind off and our eyes off of what truly matters in this world,? said Walter Isaacson, chairman and CEO of CNN Group, at the TCA tour. ?But there's some fundamental lessons I think we learned in the year 2001?. First and foremost, the lesson is that the world matters. And because of that, journalism matters.?
Many cable networks are heeding that message by planning to feature shows with a journalistic edge.
Home Box Office plans to air a documentary about the World Trade Center attacks on May 26. In Memoriam: September 11, 2001, New York City, hosted by Giuliani, will use exclusive footage from people at Ground Zero at the time of the attacks. In February MTV will air a town-hall-style forum hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell that will give young adults the opportunity to ask questions about the war on terrorism and other issues.
Meanwhile, National Geographic plans a show called Inside the Pentagon for July 4. While the idea to produce an in-depth look at the Defense Department's headquarters had been floating around for years, the Sept. 11 attacks crystallized its significance and sped up its production, said John Bredar, the channel's senior producer of special events.
On March 15, the normally more entertainment-oriented National Network, will air a news feature on George Willig, the man who scaled the World Trade Center in 1977, in its Fame for 15 series. Willig said he accepted TNN's offer to do the show because of the Sept. 11 attacks. In the show, he visits what is now Ground Zero. ?It was almost like seeing a friend dying right before your eyes,? he said.
Discovery Networks has already weighed in with the first part of the two-part series The Feds: U.S. Postal Inspectors. The documentary examines the investigative work of U.S. postal inspectors ? whose job became much more significant after letters containing Anthrax killed several people last year.
Les Heintz, executive producer of Heintz Media Productions, hatched the idea to document federal investigators a few years ago and had signed a deal with Discovery for the series last January. But now ?there's a lot more interest in what [they] do,? he added. ?We're in talks with producers out on the West Coast [who] are very interested in moving to this nonfiction programming because of Sept. 11.?
The documentary trend is not confined to stories tied to Sept. 11.
Comedy Central will air its first documentary series, The Heroes of Black Comedy, this year. The five-part series will celebrate the most influential African-American comedians, exploring their impact on show business.
And HBO has another documentary in the works, this one featuring Monica Lewinsky, who was at the center of the Clinton sex scandal. In the documentary, which airs March 3, the former White House intern is able to answer questions now that her immunity agreement with prosecutors has ended.
There will be fiction on cable as well. FX, plans to air 13 episodes of The Shield, a fictional series premiering in March that details the morally ambiguous line between bad and good that cops in Los Angeles face daily. HBO will run a series about police surveillance called The Wire.
And MTV is planning a reality series called The Osbournes, which follows heavy metal star Ozzy Osbourne and his family around in their new suburban home. This show combines aspects of The Real World, All in the Family and a heavy metal concert. It will premiere March 5.
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