- HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - ABC
is doing a little more than its TV rivals to bring the war on terrorism
into America's homes.
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- The network is turning the war into a weekly reality
series, "Profiles From the Front Line," which could end up on
the air as soon as this summer.
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- It will follow U.S. troops as they combat terror in
global
hot spots such as Afghanistan, the Philippines and South America. ABC has
given the docudrama series a 13-episode commitment.
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- In addition, the Pentagon has given its approval to the
"Front Line" concept and will allow wide access to its producers,
Bertram van Munster and Jerry Bruckheimer ("Black Hawk
Down").
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- Van Munster -- who helped pioneer the modern reality
genre with "Cops" -- said he came up with the idea for
"Profiles"
in the weeks following the Sept. 11 attacks. He immediately pitched his
idea to Bruckheimer, who produces "The Amazing Race" with van
Munster. Bruckheimer quickly jumped on board.
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- "His relationship with the military got the ball
rolling," van Munster said, noting that Bruckheimer had the Pentagon's
cooperation during the filming of "Black Hawk Down."
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- According to van Munster, vice president Dick Cheney
and defense chief Donald Rumsfeld signed off on the project without
reservation.
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- "They haven't given me any restrictions as of yet;
they're very enthusiastic about the thing," van Munster said.
"Obviously
we're going to have a pro-military, pro-American stance. We're not going
to criticize."
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- Andrea Wong, ABC Entertainment senior VP for reality
and specials, said the network bought the concept as soon as it heard the
pitch.
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- "We've been given complete access to everything,
and we couldn't pass up that opportunity," she said. "We are
going to bring to viewers the stories of the real men and women, the
heroes,
who are fighting the war on terror."
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- While "Front Line" will likely bow this summer,
it's possible ABC could hold the series for fall -- much as CBS decided
to delay the original "Amazing Race" after seeing early content
from the show.
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- Van Munster and Bruckheimer are in pre-production on
"Profiles," and hope to deploy cameras in a few weeks.
"Profiles"
will focus on a handful of personnel from all walks of military life; the
casting process has just begun.
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- "We want to go into their lives in real time and
follow specific people," van Munster said. "We will cast our
cast of characters from all levels of the military. It is a reality show.
It has to be entertaining, dramatic, and the characters in this have to
be appropriate."
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