Producer who started in Orlando at helm of ‘Millionaire’ reboot
Fresh with success for “Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time,” ABC is mining other hits for new programming.
The “Jeopardy!” in prime time Tuesday averaged an impressive 14.4 million viewers, according to early Nielsen ratings.
On Wednesday, ABC announced:
■ “Who Wants to
Be a Millionaire” will return in prime time, starting April
8, in a reboot hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. The new version marks the hit series’ 20th anniversary. Executive producer Michael Davies, an Englishman who got his start in TV in Orlando, will return.
“My professional career has been inextricably linked with Jimmy’s since the days of ‘Win Ben Stein’s Money,’ and he was one of the first-ever celebrity contestants on ‘Millionaire’ in its original run,” Davies said in a statement released by ABC Wednesday. “I can’t wait to work with him on this dynamic new version of the show premiere that changed my life and the fortunes of so many who benefited from and simply loved the game.”
Davies moved from England to Orlando in 1989 to break into television. He worked as a VIP guide at Universal Studios Florida, spent a short time at Nickelodeon and wrote for “Let’s Make a Deal” at DisneyMGM Studios. He also produced a couple of programs for WMFE-Channel 24, then the PBS station, before leaving Central Florida in 1991.
“WMFE gave me a chance to do everything,” he told me in 1999. “I learned how to do a show from start to finish.’”
■ A pilot for a sequel to “thirtysomething” has been ordered. The original ran 1987-91 and collected a best drama Emmy. Series creators Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick are behind the sequel called “thirtysomething (else).” The spinoff will follow the thirtysomething children of original cast members played by Ken Olin, Mel Harris, Timothy
Busfield and Patty Wettig.
■ “The Bachelor” will spawn another spinoff, “The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart,” starting April
13. ABC explained: “Twenty single men and women embark on an incredible journey to find love through music. Singing well-known songs, both individually and as couples, they will look to form attractions through the melodies, find and reveal their feelings and ultimately, fall in love.”
■ A revival of the game show “Supermarket Sweep” will be hosted by Leslie Jones, formerly of “Saturday Night Live.” The original format aired on ABC from 1965-67. “I’ve always dreamed of being on ‘Supermarket Sweep,’” Jones said in a statement. “Seriously, I tried out for the show years ago; and after getting turned away, I knew I’d have to take matters into my own hands. Being able to bring the iconic game show back to life on ABC is my ultimate redemption story!”