Lifetime launches raft of series

US cable network Lifetime has greenlit a raft of new reality series, including a US version of Channel 4’s One Born Every Minute, as well as a TV movie based on the Amanda Knox story.

The broadcaster, which is owned by A&E Television Networks, is to produce a US version of One Born Every Minute after striking a deal with distributor Shine International. The show, which follows life on a maternity ward and originally aired on Channel 4, will be produced by Reveille. The eight episode run will focus on Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

It also announced two other reality projects including Glamour Belles, a six part Magilla Entertainment-produced workplace docu-series that centres around a pageant gown ship in Tennessee, and Asylum Entertainment-produced Quad Squad, which follows a set of identical quadruplet sisters as they finish high school in Minnesota. These series will join previously announced reality series Seriously Funny Kids, which is produced by LMNO Productions and fronted by Heidi Klum.

Lifetime will also launch Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy, a TV movie based on the murder trial of the American student next month. Heroes star Hayden Panettiere will play Knox in the feature, which is produced by Dirty Jobs-producer Pilgrim Films and Television.