Hollander gets deal for drama set here

From:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Date:August 03, 2004
By Rob Owen

Mt. Lebanon native David Hollander, who created CBS's now-canceled Pittsburgh-set drama series "The Guardian," has sealed a deal to create the pilot episode of a new drama for ABC.

Hollander's new program, which ABC will decide whether to pick up as a series next May, is a crime drama he intends to set in Pittsburgh.

During a research visit to the Post-Gazette yesterday to interview crime reporters, Hollander said the show will be a procedural drama with character elements. He wants to explore how crime affects the perpetrator's family, the victim's family, crime solvers and news reporters.

"It's a more character-based quadrangle," Hollander said of the proposed show. "The stories involve the press, the public defender, the Pittsburgh police and the fictitious owner of a fictitious Pittsburgh newspaper and other media outlets."

He had Fox impresario Rupert Murdoch in mind as a model for the show's media magnate.

The media titan's daughter, a newspaper crime reporter and single mother of two in her mid-30s, will be the audience's entree into the show.

Hollander spent yesterday morning interviewing Post-Gazette reporters as part of his research for the show. He also met with KDKA-TV reporter Andy Sheehan and plans to spend the rest of the week observing with Pittsburgh police and the public defender's office.

The lead female character will live in Sewickley Heights, where she grew up, but her brother, a public defender, is estranged from their father. A homicide detective is also part of the core cast of characters.

Hollander, who will write, executive produce and possibly direct the pilot as part of his deal with Sony Pictures Television, said he'd like to shoot at least part of the pilot, if not the whole hour, in Pittsburgh. Whether that will happen will come down to a financial decision. Even the setting is subject to change depending on who is cast in the program; some actors refuse to travel.

"It's meant to be here, but I have to deal with a whole new group of people to get it here," Hollander said. "I think 'The Guardian' did a lot to make [Pittsburgh] a different style of city, one better than the butt of a joke, but people don't go, 'Pittsburgh, sexy.' "

Regardless, it remains his first choice for a setting: "[Pittsburgh] is an important emotional creative tool."

Last month, as a deal was in the offing, ABC executives expressed enthusiasm for working with Hollander.

"We're very interested in doing a deal with David Hollander," said Francie Calfo, executive vice president of development at ABC Primetime Entertainment. Suzanne Patmore-Gibbs, ABC's top drama development executive, said she'd been keen on working with him since his days as a playwright before "The Guardian" launched his TV producing career.

ABC has been in the ratings doghouse in recent years, but Hollander said he prefers to ally with an underdog.

"I like [new ABC Primetime Entertainment president] Steve McPherson very much," Hollander said, noting that other networks expressed interest in his new show. "I think there's a lot of opportunity to succeed at ABC. I think this particular show is well-suited for ABC, which does not have a preponderance of crime dramas on the air. And I think ABC is prepared to support a vision that is both procedural and character."

ABC's deal with Hollander is for a "put pilot," an industry term meaning the network would face a large economic penalty if it doesn't go forward with making the pilot, which pretty much guarantees the pilot will be made.

In addition to his ABC pilot, Hollander has written a script for Focus Features, the independent film arm of Universal Studios. "Personal Effects" is inspired by the Rick Moody short story "The Mansion on the Hill." Hollander wants to direct that movie, filming it in Pittsburgh. He may also write another film he doesn't intend to direct, and he's broached the subject with WQED executives of creating a children's show that would film locally.

"I have kids and watch a lot of kids television, and I have a good set of beliefs about what makes an interesting half-hour for my own kids every morning," Hollander said. The show, a mix of live-action and animation, would revolve around song writing, giving children insight into the creative process. "I want to do it on PBS, and I want to do it here."

WQED president George Miles said station executives will meet with Hollander soon to discuss his ideas.

For "Guardian" fans still in mourning, they can get one more exposure to the series at a fund-raiser for Pittsburgh's KidsVoice, the children's legal aid organization run by David Hollander's brother, Scott, who was recently named the recipient of the American Bar Association's annual Child Advocacy Award.

On Sept. 18, Hollander and series regular Alan Rosenberg will be special guests for a "creator's cut" screening of a "Guardian" episode with David Hollander providing commentary, similar to what's heard on a DVD. A "Behind the Lens" Q&A with Hollander and Rosenberg will also be part of the evening.

For details, call 412-391-3100 or visit Kids Voice