ABS-CBN ventures into Hollywood TV production
ABS-CBN Corporation, the country's leading media and entertainment company, is venturing into Hollywood television production for the first time.
In a statement, the firm said this will be for the US film and TV outfit Electric Entertainment which is headed by Filipino-American producer Dean Devlin with a soon-to-air US crime series titled "Off Tropic."
The series is a crime drama set in Cebu and will air in the United States via the cable company, WGN America. Production in Cebu is slated to begin in November.
“This is a first of many strategic partnerships and collaborations with partners from all over the world and we are very thrilled that we are partnering with a formidable team, Electric Entertainment, to line produce the US series for them,” ABS-CBN International Production and Co-production Division Head Ruel S. Bayani said. ABS-CBN’s international co-production division has other partnerships and collaborations with other companies from all over Southeast Asia, the United States, and Europe.
“We chose to partner with ABS-CBN because they have been so instrumental in the development of talent here both in front and behind the camera,” said Electric Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Dean Devlin.
He noted that, “I think they have the most experience and they have just been
amazing partners. This is going to change the way people perceive the entertainment business in the Philippines.”
Devlin is also the series’ executive producer and is set to write its first two episodes and direct its finale. He gained worldwide renown for producing the hit movies “Independence Day,” “Godzilla,” and “The Patriot.”
A majority of the cast will be from within the country. The female lead will be a Filipina actress who will star alongside American actor Christian Kane, who has starred in a string of TV series including “Angel,” “Leverage,” The Librarians,” and “Into the West.”
Electric Entertainment is the company responsible for hit television series, “The Librarians” which premiered its fourth season in December 2017, and “Leverage.” which aired from 2008 to 2012. The company has also produced movies, among which is the thriller, “Bad Samaritan,” which ran in cinemas in 2018.