When NBC made headlines last month by announcing a Hillary Clinton miniseries for next year, all that the network said was that Oscar-nominated actress Diane Lane would play the former Secretary of State and First Lady. NBC couldn’t even say what television studio may end up producing it. Now, it is being reported that it could come from an unlikely partner - Fox Television Studios.
Fox Television Studios (FTVS) - a sister company of the conservative Fox News - is in talks to produce the controversial project, The New York Times reported Friday. FTVS is part of the new 21st Century Fox entertainment arm that Rupert Murdoch created when he split News Corp.
FTVS spokeswoman Leslie Oren told the Times that talks with NBC are in “the early stages.” She added, “There is no deal yet.” FTVS would distribute the series internationally as well.
The series has drawn criticism from both sides of the aisle, but the GOP has been louder in its opposition. Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus told NBC that they wouldn’t work with the network to broadcast GOP primary debates in 2016. Priebus also criticized CNN, which is working on its own documentary on Clinton.
Interestingly, NBC is also being criticized from within. NBC News political director Chuck Todd said on Morning Joe that the project is a “total nightmare for NBC News.” Andrea Mitchell also called it “a really bad idea given the timing.” NBC News has stressed that it is not involved in NBC Entertainment decisions since the project was announced.
The bigger question with Friday’s news is why is NBC’s own Universal Television not making the Clinton series, which will be written and directed by Courtney Hunt. FTVS is apparently more experienced in making these “long form” projects, having made A&E’s Flight 93 and TNT’s The Grid.
image: Wikimedia Commons
