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DreamWorks Television

DreamWorks Television was an American television distribution and production company based in Universal City, California, that was a division of DreamWorks. The company was active from December 1994 to September 6, 2013, when it was folded into Amblin Television.[1]

History

DreamWorks Television was formed in December 1994 as DreamWorks Pictures agreed to a $200 million seven-year television production joint venture with the Capital Cities/ABC.[2] The company was set up to produce series for broadcast networks, cable channels and first run syndication with no first look for ABC, but financial incentives favored ABC.[3] The first show, Champs, was scheduled as a mid-season replacement for ABC. Dan McDermott was named division chief executive in June 1995.[4] DreamWorks Television's first success was Spin City on ABC.[3] The Walt Disney Company bought Capital Cities/ABC in February 1996.[5]

In 1997, DreamWorks Television had a falling-out with NBC over the development of various television shows.[6] The dispute was eventually settled, and went to being a development slated for NBC in 1998.[7] In 1998, DreamWorks struck a deal with Paramount Domestic Television to syndicate Spin City for off-net syndication.[8]

In 2002, the company's joint venture agreement with ABC ended. This agreement was replaced by a development agreement with NBC with a first look clause, financing for series pickups by the network while taking a financial stake in the show. DreamWorks Television could finance shows sold to other outlets, and NBC paid an annual fee to it.[3]

In December 2005, it was announced that Paramount Pictures' parent company Viacom was purchasing DreamWorks' live-action film and television divisions, with the $1.6 billion deal being finalized at the beginning of February 2006.[9] The deal also included a six-year distribution agreement with DreamWorks Animation, which split into its own separate company in October 2004.[9] DreamWorks' live-action film and television divisions briefly operated as labels of Paramount, before becoming independent entities again in late 2008.[10]

TV shows

Much of the pre-2008 DreamWorks Television catalogue is currently owned and distributed worldwide by Paramount Global Content Distribution with the exception of the programs Line of Fire, Carpoolers and Oliver Beene (distributed by Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution), Las Vegas (distributed in North America by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and internationally by MGM Worldwide Television Distribution), Father of the Pride (distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios via DreamWorks Animation), Off Centre (distributed by Warner Bros. Television), Band of Brothers (distributed by HBO Enterprises), Miracle Workers (distributed by Lionsgate Television), and Rescue Me (distributed by Sony Pictures Television); Paramount also co-distributes The Job (with Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution), Boomtown (with NBCUniversal Syndication Studios in North America and MGM Worldwide Television Distribution outside North America) and Alienators: Evolution Continues (North American joint distribution with WildBrain; international joint distribution to the series has been held by Sony Pictures Television and WildBrain).

TV series produced by DreamWorks Television

1990s

2000s

2010s

1990s

2000s

2010s

TV specials produced by DreamWorks Television

  • Dear Diary (1996; unsold television pilot)
  • The Secret World of Antz (1998)
  • When You Believe: Music From "The Prince of Egypt" (1998)
  • Galaxy Quest: 20th Anniversary — The Journey Continues (1999)
  • The Hatching of "Chicken Run" (2000)
  • Gladiator Games: The Roman Bloodsport (2000)
  • We Stand Alone Together (2001)
  • What Lies Beneath: Constructing the Perfect Thriller (2001)
  • Woody Allen: A Life in Film (2002)

TV series produced by DreamWorks Animation

These are television series produced by DreamWorks Animation (DWA) that were distributed by DreamWorks Television around the world. In 2004, the animation division of DreamWorks was spun off as a separate company (and now bought by NBCUniversal in 2016) and thus animated shows from after 2004 do not apply here.

  • Toonsylvania (1998–1999)
  • Invasion America (1998)
  • Father of the Pride (2004–2005)

External links

References

  1. Geraldine Fabrikant. Despite a Sluggish Beginning, Dreamworks Is Viewed as a Potential Hollywood Power The New York Times, 1997-01-20, retrieved 2019-08-09^
  2. McClellan, Steve. (December 5, 1994). "ABC makes high-profile production leap." Broadcasting & Cable. 1994. HighBeam Research. Accessed on December 27, 2013.^
  3. William M. Kunz. Culture Conglomerates: Consolidation in the Motion Picture and Television Industries Rowman & Littlefield, 2007, retrieved June 4, 2014^
  4. Sallie Hofmeister. Company Town : Fox Executive Dan McDermott Named to Head DreamWorks SKG Television Los Angeles Times, June 20, 1995, retrieved June 19, 2014^
  5. Fabrikant, Geraldine. THE MEDIA BUSINESS;Disney and ABC Shareholders Solidly Approve Merger Deal January 05, 1996. The New York Times. Accessed July 8, 2013.^
  6. Variety Staff. NBC PILOTS PULLED Variety, 1997-03-31, retrieved 2021-08-16^
  7. Jenny Hontz. Is Peacock target of studio boycott? Variety, 1998-10-07, retrieved 2021-08-16^
  8. Cynthia Littleton. DreamWorks' 'Spin' goes off-net for Par Variety, 1998-05-05, retrieved 2021-08-17^
  9. https://ir.paramount.com/node/57336/html^
  10. Gregg Kilday,The Associated Press. Paramount, DreamWorks split with no grief The Hollywood Reporter, October 5, 2008^
  11. Joseph McBride. Steven Spielberg, A Biography Univ. Press of Mississippi, January 4, 2011, retrieved April 15, 2020^
  12. Brian Lowry. Wedding Day Variety, June 15, 2009, retrieved April 19, 2020^
  13. Tim Molloy. FX Orders Cold War Pilot 'The Americans' The Wrap, December 16, 2011, retrieved May 26, 2014^