MGM cuts more deals for Teen Wolf

MGM has inked new deals for its upcoming TV version of Teen Wolf and says it will have sold the show into all major territories by the time the twelve episode series debuts on MTV in the US next spring.

The sales arm of the Hollywood studio was shopping the series to buyers at MIPCOM and co-president of worldwide television, Gary Marenzi told TBIvision that it has been picked up by AXN in Latin America and MTV in Italy among others. MTV Italia is a free-to-air channel and Fox and AXN are understood to be vying for pay TV rights to the series. It has already been sold to Living in the UK and the Seven Network in Australia.

MTV has the series in the US and is understood to have wanted it for its international networks, but competition for the show means other pay channels will get it internationally.

The TV show will have a different tone to the 1985 movie, which starred Michael J. Fox as the high school student who finds himself transforming into a werewolf. “The movie was more played for laughs, while this is more Smallville-esque,” Marenzi said. “It’s a family show, we’re not trying to be that edgy. It was one of the better received pilots at this year’s LA Screenings and it’s out focal point at MGM [TV],” he added.

Meanwhile, Marenzi said he is confident that the end is in sight regarding MGM’s restructure. “I think we’re very close to the end of a year-long auction,” he said. “Within two or three months we will have new ownership and hopefully they will be behind what we’re doing in TV – I think they will be.” He added: “I expect we will then make four-to-six high quality movies and a couple of series a year, maybe more if we can get the development money.”

Assuming the TV division receives backing from MGM’s new owners, mining the vaunted MGM catalogue for more TV projects is on the agenda. “On the TV side there is a lot of new ideas and IP people haven’t heard about before. There are also plenty of things we own the rights to and can develop them, things like To Live and Die in LA, Sea Hunt, The Rat Patrol and Thomas Crown.”