Variety
January 22, 2004
ABC, NBC set castaways
Greenlit skeins share more than a passing resemblance
by Michael Schneider, Josef Adalian
HOLLYWOOD -- Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale ... a tale of
two networks picking up similar-sounding projects about castaways
stranded on a deserted island.
ABC greenlit the J.J. Abrams/Damon Lindelof pilot "Lost" on
Wednesday. Project follows a group of people stuck on a Pacific
island and forced to build a new society after surviving aplane crash.
NBC, meanwhile, is developing the limited-run series "Eden,"
from "Suvivor" execexec producer Mark Burnett, about young people on
a summer study cruise who end up shipwrecked on a remote island
...
Touchstone TV, the studio behind ABC's "Lost," also plans to shoot
that project on location.
"Portions, if not all, have to be shot in an exotic locale," said
Touchstone TV prexy Steve McPherson. "This is not something that can
be shot in the Santa Monica Canyon."
ABC had originally developed a similar concept from feature scribe
Jeff Lieber and Spelling TV (Daily Variety, Oct. 21). But when that
project, titled "Nowhere," didn't pan out, the network turned
to "Alias" exec producer Abrams, who'll exec produce with Lindelof.
Abrams and Lindelof are writing a new script for the one-hour
project. ABC Entertainment TV chairman Lloyd Braun is said to be
particularly high on the concept.
Abrams is busy these days at the network: Besides "Alias" and "Lost,"
he also has a bounty hunter-themed project in the works at ABC.
"Certainly J.J.'s No. 1 focus remains 'Alias,'" McPherson said.
Both Burnett and McPherson stressed that their projects are
dramatically different from one another; it's fairly common this time
of year for several similar-sounding projects to work their way into
development at the nets.
"I love the competition and I have absolute confidence in the team we
put together," McPherson said. "I'm a sportsman, so bring it on."
© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. 2004
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