Looking to extend its reach to a larger audience, the Sci Fi channel has lined up some new series with some big Hollywood names.
"Freddie Prinze, Jr., "Will & Grace's" Eric McCormack, and Jesse Alexander - one of the creative minds behind "Alias" and "Lost" - are all producing new shows for the channel that were unveiled at its upfront presentation.
"From Prinze comes "The Bishop," a drama that attempts to tap into audience hunger for shows dealing with the supernatural such as NBC's "Medium" and CBS's "Ghost Whisperer." The series focuses on a young slacker who discovers he has a supernatural gift.
"McCormack, who is also producing a new comedy for Lifetime, is behind "Blink," a drama where a group of afterlife investigators try to help people about to make a wrong choice in their lives.
"Snap," a Hitchcockian thriller about a federal agent trying to fight a seemingly unstoppable conspiracy, is produced by Alexander."
Sci Fi has always had a strong showing in the 18-49 year old demographic, but is attempting to reach beyond it as their other competitors like Discovery, A&E, MTV and Comedy Central equal them in this area, but also have a broader range of viewers.
Along with this attempt to expand its demographic, Sci Fi is also introducing a new broadband channel called Sci Fi Pulse on May 8. One of the differences they are offering is that they will include full broadcasts of a number of their original on-air series and movies.
The network says that they will place pilots of potential series on the broadband network and use it as a focus group to determine whether they will put it in its line up.
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