Touchstone picks Cherry - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

spunkygirl · 12-07-2004, 08:27 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...picks_cherry_1

Touchstone picks Cherry

Sat Dec 4, 8:18 PM ET

Variety

Josef Adalian, STAFF

(Variety) — "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry has inked a rich new overall deal with Touchstone Television that will keep him in bed with the women of Wisteria Lane for at least three more years.

Pact, which is retroactive to last summer and runs through summer 2007, is estimated to be worth at least high seven figures and possibly more, depending on the red-hot sudser's ultimate syndication value. It calls for Cherry to remain exec producer of "DH" while working to develop new projects for the studio via his Cherry Prods. shingle.

As recently as 18 months ago, Cherry admitted, he was "so out of it in this town, I couldn't even get hired on shows I despised."

"I keep waiting to wake up," he told Daily Variety. "The past few years have been so gratifying because I think the good Lord worked it out so I could learn some stuff, and now I can go on with my life. I feel like the luckiest boy in the USA."

While other studios are said to have made overtures to Cherry's camp, scribe was never put on the market, in part because Cherry is passionate about staying with "DH" and is grateful to ABC and Touchstone for their support in producing and launching the show.

"I'm a sitcom guy, and I've never done something like this before. They've been great in terms of allowing me time to learn," Cherry said.

Touchstone prexy Mark Pedowitz said a new deal with Cherry was a no-brainer.

"I realized that Marc Cherry had to remain with us at the studio after seeing the pilot for 'Desperate Housewives' and the passion he has for his writing," Pedowitz said.

All parties involved were staying mum on the coin involved in the deal, but the pact reportedly gives Cherry big bumps in his per-episode fees as well as a nice cut in whatever backend value the show generates. Paradigm and Jon Moonves brokered the deal.

With "DH" still such a young hit, Cherry said he's in no rush to start developing another project. "For the next few years, my focus is on 'Desperate Housewives' and making sure we get to syndication," Cherry said. "After maybe 2½ or two years, I'll start working on some other ideas I have."

Since its October debut, "DH" has become a bona fide phenom, regularly increasing its Nielsen ratings and its buzz factor in a way no network TV show has done since "ER" premiered a decade ago. Along with "Lost" and "Wife Swap," "DH" is one of three frosh ABC skeins to lift the Alphabet out of its ratings funk and lead the net to a second-place finish among total adult 18-49 viewers in the just-completed November sweeps.

Cherry recently added a pair of new scribes to the "DH" writing team: Katie Ford ("Miss Congeniality," the upcoming live-action version of "Trumpet of the Swan") and Chris Black ("Star Trek: Enterprise"). New additions replace three writers who have left the skein.

Former Touchstone TV topper and current ABC prexy Steve McPherson developed "DH" at the studio, with former ABC drama chief Thom Sherman buying Cherry and Chuck Pratt's "DH" script on spec last fall ( Daily Variety, Oct. 22, 2003).

"I can maybe remember one time we've bought a spec script in the time I've been here," Sherman said at the time. "It just doesn't happen."

Cherry was known for his work on laffers including "The Golden Girls," "The Five Mrs. Buchanans" and "Some of My Best Friends." In interviews, scribe has been candid about his showbiz cold streak, as well as the reluctant legal battle he waged against his former agent, who was convicted of embezzling money from Cherry.

Caffeine King · 12-08-2004, 03:36 PM

From the futon critic...

Quote:

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC) - Creator/executive producer Marc Cherry has inked a new overall deal with Touchstone Television valued in the high seven figures. The pact, which is retroactive to last summer and runs through summer 2007, will keep Cherry working on "Housewives" for the foreseeable future as well as includes the option to develop new projects for the studio through his Cherry Productions banner. Said deal is also understood to have a backend cut of "Housewives'" potential syndication sale meaning the total value of the pact could rise significantly. Meanwhile in other related news, Katie Ford ("Miss Congeniality") and Chris Black ("Star Trek: Enterprise") have joined the show's writing staff where they'll take over for three unspecified writers who have exited the series.

I hope that those writers weren't significant to the show's charm.

12-07-2004, 08:27 PM	#1
spunkygirl Member Moderator Forum Celebrity Join Date: Apr 26, 2003 Posts: 21,563	Touchstone picks Cherry http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...picks_cherry_1 Touchstone picks Cherry Sat Dec 4, 8:18 PM ET Variety Josef Adalian, STAFF (Variety) — "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry has inked a rich new overall deal with Touchstone Television that will keep him in bed with the women of Wisteria Lane for at least three more years. Pact, which is retroactive to last summer and runs through summer 2007, is estimated to be worth at least high seven figures and possibly more, depending on the red-hot sudser's ultimate syndication value. It calls for Cherry to remain exec producer of "DH" while working to develop new projects for the studio via his Cherry Prods. shingle. As recently as 18 months ago, Cherry admitted, he was "so out of it in this town, I couldn't even get hired on shows I despised." "I keep waiting to wake up," he told Daily Variety. "The past few years have been so gratifying because I think the good Lord worked it out so I could learn some stuff, and now I can go on with my life. I feel like the luckiest boy in the USA." While other studios are said to have made overtures to Cherry's camp, scribe was never put on the market, in part because Cherry is passionate about staying with "DH" and is grateful to ABC and Touchstone for their support in producing and launching the show. "I'm a sitcom guy, and I've never done something like this before. They've been great in terms of allowing me time to learn," Cherry said. Touchstone prexy Mark Pedowitz said a new deal with Cherry was a no-brainer. "I realized that Marc Cherry had to remain with us at the studio after seeing the pilot for 'Desperate Housewives' and the passion he has for his writing," Pedowitz said. All parties involved were staying mum on the coin involved in the deal, but the pact reportedly gives Cherry big bumps in his per-episode fees as well as a nice cut in whatever backend value the show generates. Paradigm and Jon Moonves brokered the deal. With "DH" still such a young hit, Cherry said he's in no rush to start developing another project. "For the next few years, my focus is on 'Desperate Housewives' and making sure we get to syndication," Cherry said. "After maybe 2½ or two years, I'll start working on some other ideas I have." Since its October debut, "DH" has become a bona fide phenom, regularly increasing its Nielsen ratings and its buzz factor in a way no network TV show has done since "ER" premiered a decade ago. Along with "Lost" and "Wife Swap," "DH" is one of three frosh ABC skeins to lift the Alphabet out of its ratings funk and lead the net to a second-place finish among total adult 18-49 viewers in the just-completed November sweeps. Cherry recently added a pair of new scribes to the "DH" writing team: Katie Ford ("Miss Congeniality," the upcoming live-action version of "Trumpet of the Swan") and Chris Black ("Star Trek: Enterprise"). New additions replace three writers who have left the skein. Former Touchstone TV topper and current ABC prexy Steve McPherson developed "DH" at the studio, with former ABC drama chief Thom Sherman buying Cherry and Chuck Pratt's "DH" script on spec last fall ( Daily Variety, Oct. 22, 2003). "I can maybe remember one time we've bought a spec script in the time I've been here," Sherman said at the time. "It just doesn't happen." Cherry was known for his work on laffers including "The Golden Girls," "The Five Mrs. Buchanans" and "Some of My Best Friends." In interviews, scribe has been candid about his showbiz cold streak, as well as the reluctant legal battle he waged against his former agent, who was convicted of embezzling money from Cherry.