The CBC is to order a full season of sitcom 18 to Life after it partnered with ABC on the pilot, only to see the U.S. network pass on the project.
The sitcom, which is set in Montreal, stars Stacey Farber (Degrassi: The Next Generation) and Michael Seater (Life With Derek) as a young couple whose sudden marriage turns their parents’ and friends’ worlds upside down.
The pubcaster, which said yes to the comedy before word came back from ABC, is hammering out the final points on a deal for the single-camera comedy before making an official announcement.
Financing 18 to Life – for which costs were shared with ABC – and any other pilots the CBC currently has in its development slate has been hampered by falling ad revenues during the current downturn.
On Tuesday, the CBC said its daytime lifestyle series Steven and Chris will go on hiatus next season, while Fashion File will be cancelled after March 31. Both moves result from a sharp drop in ad revenue that has hit the CBC and rival broadcasters.
‘We’re not able at present to make the kind of expenditures we ordinarily would. However, we will manage our way through this difficult period,’ said Kirstine Layfield, executive director of network programming at CBC Television.
There’s no word yet on other CBC pilots under consideration, which include family-oriented sitcom The Ron James Show; B Team, a comedy about an under-funded CSIS department from the producers of Corner Gas; and Memory Lanes, a comedy created by and starring Ryan Stiles (The Drew Carey Show).
The CBC ordered comedy pilots this year after it found success with dramas like Heartland, The Border, Being Erica and The Wild Roses.
Also in the CBC development hopper is the Ontario/Manitoba copro Throwing Stones, a half-hour drama about four women unwinding at the local curling rink with ice, brooms and beer; Republic of Doyle, a half-hour drama about a father and son who fight crime – and each other – as private investigators in oil-rich Newfoundland; and Abroad, a back-door pilot about the romantic misadventures of a Canadian woman in London, based on the experiences of Globe and Mail columnist Leah McLaren.
From Playback Daily
