Versant’s Mark Lazarus and Val Boreland Detail What’s Coming: ‘No Handcuffs’
Scoop! E! is developing a new show to bring back canceled stars as the execs share a new post-NBCU playbook
I recently spoke to showrunner Alex Kurtzman about his Paramount+ Star Trek universe, laid out the stakes for 20 buzzy new series premiering this year and interviewed the Bell Media execs who bet on breakout hit Heated Rivalry. I’m lesley.goldberg@theankler.com
What will become of all the left-for-dead linear cable networks?
This is one of the most pressing questions facing the industry right now. And Versant, the spinoff from NBCUniversal, is today’s canary in the coal mine.
But first! Let me reveal exclusively one fun thing that is happening now: Now under Versant, former NBCU cable channel E! has a dishy new show in development, the company’s entertainment president, Val Boreland, tells me. The network, which has largely been dormant in new series for several years, has “the working title of Becoming Uncanceled, where you get celebrities who have previously been canceled in a house, and they’re working on redemption,” she says.
Who’s in the house? Boreland doesn’t disclose names, but “you can think about the kind of people we’re talking about — not criminals — who might need to redeem themselves in front of America,” she says of the show coming from Allison Wallach, head of global alternative at Fox Entertainment. “I don’t know if you could out rule a politician, but again, this isn’t to be salacious about criminal activity,” Boreland continues. “It’s supposed to be more fun with a little of the serious nature of getting themselves back on track.”
Fun? In Cabletown? It’s been a while.
To hear Boreland and Versant CEO Mark Lazarus tell it, yes, they’re having a lot of fun hammering out deals and strategy for Versant now that there are “no handcuffs,” as Boreland puts it, of NBCU ownership. And as Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount weigh how to spin off or partner their own fading cablers, Versant’s moves are under extra scrutiny as they demonstrate what can go right — and wrong.
Related:
Versant (pronounced ver-sent — rhymes with “percent”) officially launched this month as a standalone public company, led by Lazarus, former chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group. The company houses E!, yes, but also USA Network, Syfy, Oxygen, the Golf Channel, MSNBC (now MS Now), CNBC and a growing portfolio of digital businesses including Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes and GolfNow.
Versant’s debut on the NASDAQ earlier this month was rocky out of the gate before its share price stabilized at roughly 25 percent below its opening — a reminder of just how skeptical Wall Street remains about the future of linear television.
Lazarus has said his suite of cable networks was “under-resourced” at NBCU as the company managed the rapid decline of its linear assets. Gone are the days when USA Network carried a dozen scripted originals and ranked as the most-watched network for more than a decade. Now, the future of the non-news networks is up to him and Boreland.
Today I interview them both in candid and separate conversations about the company’s first major moves, and what to expect, including:
The push to bulk up Fandango as a streamer, its potential for originals and the big opportunity Lazarus and Boreland see in AVOD
How Lazarus is plotting for Versant’s news channels and other businesses to borrow swings from the Golf Channel’s diversified revenue playbook
Why Boreland says Versant’s new business models make her “the most popular person in the room” right now
What drove a surprising deal for Keeping Up With the Kardashians rights and what it means for more innovative pacts going forward
A view into the hidden library wealth in Versant’s portfolio and future rights deals
Boreland’s take on scripted originals and which formats — including microdramas — belong on which platforms
Boreland’s take on show ownership post-NBCU that is new