'Undercover' to bow as HBO weekly show
Docu to put down roots Sundays at 10
"We're really juiced up at experimenting with the show as a series -- it's a real vote of confidence in what we're doing," said Sheila Nevins, exec VP of original programming for HBO, who supervises the network's documentary operation.
After racking up a number of Oscars, Emmys and Peabody Awards during its 18-year life as an irregularly scheduled anthology series, "America Undercover" will put down roots every Sunday night at 10 beginning March 11. At that time, Nevins and her producers will have 11 original episodes ready for airing.
The pressure will be on because HBO will lead in to the "Undercover" series with new episodes of the third season of "The Sopranos" for all 11 weeks. "Sopranos" harvested more Emmy nominations last year -- 16 -- than any other series, broadcast or cable, and regularly chalks up higher ratings than any other cable TV program.
The 11 new "Undercover" episodes feature the latest hourlong chapters in the "Autopsy" and "Taxicab Confessions" series, two consistently high-rated reality shows. Other "Undercover" editions include docus on child beauty queens, dwarfs, people "cured" by faith healers and members of the anti-abortion movement.
Whether "Undercover" becomes a year-round weekly series after the 11-week test will depend less on Nielsen ratings than on what Nevins calls "energy and buzz -- the roar of the crowd."
"The question will be: Can we carve out a place for reality programming on Sunday, the highest HUT-level night of the week?" said Nevins, referring to homes using television. She acknowledges that it won't be easy because the "Undercover" shows will be factually rigorous. "We won't be making things up," she said, "and we won't be sticking people on an island to see who survives."
