USA is looking to step up their presence in the unscripted original programming arena. They’ve ordered one to series, the legal docu-drama Partners in Crime, given a pilot order to the gambling centered All In, and put a third project about cattle ranchers called The Cowboy Way in development.
The new series, Partners in Crime focuses on defense attorneys Mario Gallucci and Big Lou Gelormino. The two colorful characters take on infamous criminal cases and are like brothers behind the courtroom scene, complete with bickering and family meals featuring spaghetti and buffalo meatballs. The series will be one of three set to premiere on USA in 2013, joining The Choir and The Moment.
All In’s pilot will feature a skilled handicapper showing up at the front door of an average American family with a suitcase of money and a proposition. He’ll invite them to engage in a high-stakes betting game where they could stand to win – or lose- big, lending them his expertise and advice along the way. This is the second pilot ready to go into production for USA, which is moving forward with a pilot for Bride or Best Man as well.
The newest project put into development sounds a little on the depressing side. The Cowboy Way looks at the lives of Texas cattle ranchers trying to hold on to “the cowboy way” – their old way of living – in the face of devastating drought, wild fires, and the need to sell off their livestock to survive.
It’s an interesting mix of concepts and a good variety of unscripted genres. How successful any of them will be is tough to gauge. Unscripted television is already bursting at the seams, so new shows will need to be something unique and special to make it.
