TV News

Channel 4 has purchased the UK rights to a Kelsey Grammer comedy in which the Frasier star plays a TV newsreader on a local US station.

In Back to You, Grammer appears as a Pittsburgh newsreader who works alongside his ex-girlfriend, played by Everybody Loves Raymond actress Patricia Heaton.

The action follows the pair's attempts to return their newscast to the top of the TV ratings.

The series, which is likely to be shown on Channel 4 next year, has been created, written and executive produced by Steven Levitan, who worked on Frasier, and Christopher Lloyd, whose credits include Frasier and The Golden Girls.

Channel 4's purchase of Back to You was unveiled today by Jeff Ford, the broadcaster's director of acquisitions, and Steve Cornish, the senior vice-president and managing director of Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution.

Earlier this month Channel 4 bought Warner Bros' comedy Big Bang Theory, a series about two "science geeks" who move in together and find themselves living next door to a sexy female neighbour. Big Bang Theory, in which the neighbour helps the two men with their hapless love lives, will make its Channel 4 debut next year.


ITV is also thought to be closing in on deals to buy Gossip Girl, a new US drama from The OC creator Josh Schwartz, and NBC's remake of The Bionic Woman, which stars former EastEnder Michelle Ryan.

In other recent deals, ITV purchased CBS series Swingtown, which features This Life actor Jack Davenport; and Cane, starring The West Wing's Jimmy Smits, which is expected to air on digital channel ITV3.


Channel Five was the first UK broadcaster to make a purchase from the latest crop of US shows unveiled at the recent LA Screenings.

Five snapped up the terrestrial and digital rights to Californication, the dark comedy in which X-Files star David Duchovny plays a struggling writer dealing with a wealthy but immoral New York family


Virgin Media TV is to plough close to £40m a year into its new channel Virgin 1.

Programming acquired for a male-skewing offering includes Terminator spin-off ‘The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ from Warner Bros and the rights for the entire ‘Star Trek’ franchise from CBS Paramount, which equates to 624 hours of programming.

Virgin 1 has also started commissioning and has ordered UK independent Ginger TV Productions to make ‘The Leo Houlding Project’. The 8 x 60-minute series follows Houlding, a British rock-climbing prodigy, as each week he takes "five lazy men" on an adrenaline-fuelled journey.

Another commission is ‘The Real Exorcist’, from the US producer behind ‘American Chopper’, Pilgrim Films. The 60-minute, £4m observational documentary pilot is a prelude to a full series following Reverend Bob Larson, who is on a personal quest to rid Americans of their demons. It is the first time Virgin Media TV has commissioned directly from the US.

Basic Channel facts:

The channel will replace FTN on Freeview. Shows bought for Virgin 1 may also be repeated on its sister channels such as Bravo and Living. The strategy is to offer all big shows as previews, catch-ups and extra footage through Virgin Media's cable on-demand portal.

Virgin 1 will also have an ad-funded website which will stream a selection of shows and offer a selection to download, all for free. It will also have a social networking area.