NEW YORK -- Nick at Nite has commissioned 13 half-hour episodes of Banyan Prods.' "HiJinks," a hidden-camera show whose gimmick is that parents make fools of their kids.
Banyan, the biggest reality producer on the East Coast, has also signed a development deal with Court TV to produce "Objects of Desire," a show that will follow the exploits of the unit of the FBI that recovers stolen art.
Hosted by Leila Spitani, "HiJinks" will enlist celebrities and non-celebrities to trick their kids, between 8 and 11 years old, into falling for carefully designed pranks. Susan Sarandon, Gilbert Gottfried and Vivica Fox have already taped pieces for the show, which kicks off this summer as a weekly primetime series on Nick at Nite.
Ray Murray, president and partner of Banyan Prods., said the network is positioning "HiJinks" as a transitional show between the kid-oriented Nickelodeon series from 8 to 9 and the sitcom reruns that fill Nick at Nite's schedule for the rest of the night.
For "Objects of Desire," Murray said Banyan plans to do lots of re-creations of scenes in which thieves steal art from museums and galleries, or shadowy dealers trade in contraband art. "We want to give the series the look of 'Unsolved Mysteries,' " he said. Banyan hasn't decided yet whether to sign a celebrity on-air host like Robert Stack or instead make do with voiceover narrative.
Banyan also made official the promotion of Jeanne McHale Waite from chief operating officer to CEO, her COO slot to be taken by Banyan's Tom Farrell.
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