Bravo is set to announce Monday what it is calling the “start of the network’s most aggressive development slate in its 25-year history,” with orders for six pilots ranging from a pop-culture talk show, a comedic news broadcast and a docu-soap featuring high-end divorcees.
Also on the slate are a project that gives people a chance to start their lives anew based on a roll of dice, another in which individuals are thrown a surprise party to celebrate a nontraditional milestone and a competition project that pits two sets of husbands and wives against each other.
The pilots ordered include:
- “Dishing” — A weekly talk show focused on pop culture, entertainment and current events with a “sharp, savvy, smart perspective.”
“This is a really fun, funny topical show that deals with the sometimes outrageous and funny entertainment moments of the week,” said Amy Introcaso-Davis, Bravo’s vp development and production.
- “Surprise!” — New York caterer Laurence Craig selects one lucky guest of honor for whom he will plan, design and throw a surprise party focusing on a nontraditional rite of passage, like a divorce party or an empty-nest party.
- “This Evening With These People” — The lives of one typical American family are used as the basis of a comedic nightly newscast, with anchors reporting on “anything and everything” that happens in their lives.
- “Ex Wives Club” (working title) — Docu-soap that follows six young, rich divorcees as they meet for support groups and attempt to use money to reclaim their happiness. (ABC has a similarly titled project in development, but that one focuses on a sort of makeover team composed of celebrity divorcees who help other divorcees or recently dumped individuals recover and flourish after that experience.)
- “Fresh Start” (working title) — People are given the chance to start their lives anew for better or worse by leaving life decisions to a roll of the dice.
- “War of the Wives” — Two husbands, both experts in their creative field, compete to train their spouses in the skill that made them famous.