When she took over E! Entertainment after the NBC Universal-Comcast merger, NBCUniversal’s cable maven Bonnie Hammer made introducing scripted programming to the the channel — known for its celebrity news and reality programs — a priority. A year later, at its upfront presentation tomorrow E! will unveil its first slate of scripted projects in active development. The slate features hourlong projects from John Wells, Kevin Spacey, Michael De Luca, Phillip Noyce, Emily Whitesell and Josh Reims. Like the rest of E!’s lineup, its scripted shows take on pop culture. That includes Dorothy, a contemporary tale inspired by The Wizard Of Oz, the John Wells-produced Anne Of Hollywood, the story of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII reset in present-day Hollywood (the project was originally set up at ABC earlier this season), and The 400, about the rise of the Vanderbilt dynasty. Rounding out the slate are a legal thriller (Juror #9), a detective procedural (Amy Devlin Mysteries), a show about a group of executive assistants and the more eclectic Fascination Street, set in two different time periods and centering on brothers investigating the disappearance of their band’s lead singer, King David, a modern-day Mr. Smith, and the Spacey/De Luca-produced Upstarts, about Silicon Valley’s digital gold rush of the late 1990s. “Our strategy is centered on telling compelling stories that reflect pop culture relevancy in unique and irreverent ways, and these scripted series will complement E!’s already diverse mix of reality, topical, news and comedy franchises,” said E!’s president of entertainment programming Lisa Berger. “The response from the creative community has been incredibly positive and we are excited to be in business with such high-caliber writers, producers and directors.” Berger shepherds E!’s scripted development with SVP scripted programming Kevin Plunkett, the network’s first ever scripted executive who was hired in October. E!’s first scripted series will make its debut in 2013. Here are details about E!’s scripted projects in development:
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