E! has ordered their second original scripted series — The Arrangement. It revolves around a young actress who’s discovered after auditioning for a big summer action movie. The cast includes Josh Henderson, Christine Evangelista, Michael Vartan, and Lexa Doig.
The cable channel has ordered 10 episodes.
Here’s the press release:
E! GREENLIGHTS SECOND SCRIPTED SERIES “THE ARRANGEMENT”
Universal Cable Productions to Produce New Drama From Emmy Award-Winning Jonathan Abrahams (“Murder in the First,” “Mad Men”)
Los Angeles, CA – January 29, 2016 – E! announced today the network’s second scripted series “The Arrangement,” a Cinderella story for modern times with a dark and complicated Hollywood twist. Produced by Universal Cable Productions, the 10 episode one-hour series stars Josh Henderson (“Dallas”), Christine Evangelista (“Chicago Fire”), Michael Vartan (“Alias”) and Lexa Doig (“Continuum”). The pilot was written by Jonathan Abrahams (“Mad Men”), who will serve as executive producer on the series. Jimmy Fox of Objective Productions USA, an All3Media company, along with Layla Smith and Gregory Lipstone of All3Media America, will also serve as executive producers. The pilot was directed by Ken Olin (“Alias,” “Sleepy Hollow”). E!’s first scripted series “The Royals” was recently picked up for a third season.
“E! viewers have shown a strong appetite for scripted fare, and we look forward to building on the success of ‘The Royals’ with this exciting, new drama,” said Jeff Olde, EVP Programming and Development. “We love the way Jonathan has juxtaposed dark storylines against a backdrop of Hollywood glitz & glamor. His unique and sinister twist on the classic fairy tale love story is a perfect addition to E!’s pop culture line-up.”
“Jonathan is a great writer with a sophisticated and fun voice,” said Dawn Olmstead, EVP of Development at Universal Cable Productions. “He has an uncanny knack for turning everyday events into complicated and compelling morality tales. We’re thrilled to be working with him.”
“The Arrangement” follows Megan Morrison (Evangelista), a beautiful young actress who auditions for the female lead in a summer blockbuster playing opposite Kyle West (Henderson), one of the world’s top action movie stars. Kyle’s mentor is Terrence Anderson (Vartan), who runs a self-help organization called the Institute of The Higher Mind with his wife Deann (Doig). After Megan’s amazing audition leads to an incredible first date (and more) with Kyle, her Cinderella story takes an unexpected turn when she is presented with a contract that would change her life forever… In a town where fame means everything, Megan must decide how far she’s willing to go to launch her career and whether or not she will accept “The Arrangement.”
“The Arrangement” is the second scripted project from E!, following the highly-successful series “The Royals.” In its season finale, “The Royals” at 10pm delivered over 1.5M P2+, a record high among total viewers for its second season. The hit scripted series nearly equaled a season high with 907K P18-49 (since the season premiere with 915K P18-49). Season 2 of “The Royals” finished with 1.3M Total Viewers and 776K P18-49.
About E! Entertainment
E! is the only global, multiplatform brand for all things pop culture. The network is currently available to 98 million cable and satellite subscribers in the U.S. Eonline delivers breaking entertainment news and in-depth coverage on television, movies, music, celebrities, fashion, beauty and lifestyle. One of the fastest-growing, most influential digital properties, Eonline is a leader in online video and mobile and a leading entertainment brand across social. E! programming includes core franchises “E! News” and “Fashion Police,” popular series “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” “Total Divas,” “#RichKids of Beverly Hills,” “Botched,” “I Am Cait” and “WAGS,” as well as the network’s first original scripted series “The Royals.” Additionally, E!’s “Live from the Red Carpet” signature events keep fans connected to their favorite stars on pop culture’s biggest nights. E! is a network of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. For more corporate information, visit www.nbcuniversal.com.
About Universal Cable Productions:
Universal Cable Productions (UCP) creates innovative and critically acclaimed original scripted and digital content across media platforms for domestic and international distribution. In the U.S., UCP’s programming can be seen across various networks including the Golden Globe award-winning drama “Mr. Robot,” “Colony,” “Playing House,” “Royal Pains” and “Suits” on USA Network; “The Magicians,” “12 Monkeys,” “Hunters” and “Killjoys” on Syfy; “Girlfriends’ Guide To Divorce” on Bravo; “The Royals,” on E!; “Difficult People,” on Hulu; and “Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome” on Machinima Prime/YouTube and Syfy. UCP’s content library includes critic and fan favorites such as the Emmy-award winning “Monk” as well as “Psych” and “Battlestar Galactica.” Universal Cable Productions is a part of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. Follow us @UCPisTV.
ABOUT OBJECTIVE PRODUCTIONS/ ALL3MEDIA AMERICA
OBJECTIVE PRODUCTIONS is a London based production company founded in 1991 where it has rapidly become one of the UK’s most influential content creators. Objective produces cutting edge and innovative scripted comedy, drama, documentary, children’s and magic shows for a range of television broadcasters. Notable productions include the BAFTA Award-winning comedy Peep Show (Channel 4), Fresh Meat (Channel 4), and Toast of London (Channel 4). Objective Productions USA is based in Los Angeles and overseen by Jimmy Fox who joined the company in February, 2014. Prior to Objective, Fox was Head of Development for multimedia studio Electus where he spearheaded the development for series Killer Women (ABC), Marco Polo (Netflix) and Jane the Virgin (CW). Objective Productions USA currently produces “Make Me a Millionaire Inventor” for CNBC and the upcoming CNN series “United Shades of America” hosted by W. Kamau Bell. OBJECTIVE PRODUCTIONS is owned by global production and distribution company ALL3MEDIA. All3Media America is the Los Angeles-based production studio for All3Media, a global production and distribution group of companies headquartered in the UK. Established in December 2012, All3Media America develops and produces a wide range of original scripted, non-scripted and digital content specifically for the US market as well as serving as the domestic production base for the group’s international formats. All3Media America companies include Bentley, Bogner Content, Commonwealth Unscripted, Company Pictures, ID-TV, Lime, Maverick, MME, North One, Objective, Seven Stories, South Pacific Pictures and Studio Lambert Associates. The company currently has series in production or development with a large number of broadcast and cable networks as well as digital platforms, including the Emmy award-winning Undercover Boss for CBS. All3Media America’s formats and finished programs are distributed internationally by All3Media International. All3Media is owned jointly between Discovery Communications and Liberty Global.
What do you think? Based on what you’ve read, do you plan to check out this new scripted series?
LOVE THIS SHOW!!!!! BEST SHOW ON E!!!! Can’t wait for next season!!!!
Love the show so far.
We love it! It’s very intriguing, sounds a lot like the church of scientology. Not my kind of church, but can’t wait to see how the couple escapes their control.
I would watch it next season.
Love the show so far!!