LA Screenings 2013: Sony Pictures Television

Sony Pictures Television rides into the Screenings with some pretty heavy-duty weaponry in the boot this year. With seven new scripted series heading for the broadcast networks, the Culver City-based studio says 2013 is a “record year”.

Keith le Goy, SPT’s president, international distribution, points to new high-concept NBC crime drama The Blacklist as further proof of an exceptional slate.

“It was NBC’s highest rating pilot in 10 years, which confirmed its potential to the network,” he says. “It has been given the most coveted slot on NBC – 10pm on Monday night [following reality hit The Voice], which Revolution had last year – that shows what they think about it.”

The series stars James Spader as a criminal mastermind who gives himself up and offers to hand his rivals to the FBI, on the proviso that he only ever speaks to a freshman profiler played by Megan Boone (My Bloody Valentine). SPT coproduces with Davis Entertainment, with John Eisendrath (Alias) as showrunner.

“What we have here are fascinating characters, dynamics and relationships. I can see The Blacklist playing over the next five or ten years; it’s certainly a returnable series,” says le Goy.

SPT is also shopping NBC medical drama The Night Shift and Fox’s antihero legal dramedy Rake, plus ABC’s coming-of-age comedy The Goldbergs, NBC’s half-hour sitcoms Welcome to the Family and The Michael J. Fox Show and US & Them, Fox’s single-cam version of the popular BBC comedy Gavin & Stacey. SPT coproduced the latter with Steve Coogan’s Baby Cow Productions and Jane Tranter’s BBC Worldwide Productions.