ABC eyes up new Pirates Drama
American broadcaster ABC is developing a new pirates based drama with RDF Media for its channel ABC Family. The proposed series would be targeted at the same audience as BBC fantasy drama Merlin which aired on NBC in the states.
RDF Media is developing a new pirate based drama for ABC Family, one of the ABC channels. The proposed drama will be targeted at the Merlin audiences, the BBC fantasy drama which aired on NBC in America. ABC has commissioned four scripts of the pirate drama and is widely expected to give the green light for a 13 part series to air in 2010. Young Bucks will centre on two ‘Robin Hood’ style pirates, Carver and Dre, and their adventures onboard the ship The Sea Wind.
If ABC does give the series the green-light it will be filmed in the South Pacific as a co-production between RDF Media and ABC Family. Elaine Spencer will be the executive producer while it will be written by Steve Mitchell, Craig Van Sickle, Richard Kurti, Bev Doyle and Daneil Arkin. RDF are also currently working on another show for the American audience; Being Human. The production company has been given the green-light from the SyFy Channel to produce a remake of the British series for American audiences.
Young Bucks isn’t the only pirate based drama in development as with the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies television executives are hoping to cash in on the pirate brand and create their own shows. The BBC has been developing their own pirate drama for a few months now though little details have emerged concerning it. Disney is also keen to continue its pirate franchise with a 4th instalment in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.