By Jill Serjeant
LOS ANGELES, Aug 1 (Reuters) - ABC's new entertainment chief said on Sunday he hoped to take risks and create smart new hits at Walt Disney Co's struggling TV network, but envisaged no immediate changes to the upcoming fall lineup left by his predecessor.
Paul Lee faced TV journalists just 36 hours after being appointed president of ABC Entertainment following the sudden resignation on Tuesday of Steve McPherson.
With the exception of the Emmy-nominated rookie hit 'Modern Family,' McPherson had struggled to find promising programming to replace aging shows like 'Desperate Housewives' and 'Grey's Anatomy'.
Lee, a British former TV producer, is credited with turning cable channel ABC Family into a must-see destination for teenagers and young women with hits like 'The Secret Life of the American Teenager.'
He said it was too early to detail his plans for ABC, but added; 'If I do get the chance here ... to take some risks, make some brave shows, have some surprises and still do it for a defined target audience, then hopefully it's going to be a lot of fun.'
ABC is bringing in 10 new prime time shows in the 2010-11 TV season in its second major overhaul in as many years. It finished third among the big four networks among overall viewers last season, and tied with NBC in third place among adults 18-49, a demographic coveted by advertisers.
Lee said ABC had 'a strong slate' of new shows. But he added, 'This job is certainly about creating new, smart, strong big defining hits, so we do have our work cut out.'
He envisaged no immediate changes to the prime time lineup already announced for September.
'We are locked and loaded. If you make changes in an entertainment sense, you can do more damage than good. These are rockets and they have to be filled, loaded and launched,' he said, referring to the costs of making and promoting the new shows.
Lee noted that ABC had a much broader audience than ABC Family, which has focused on so-called 'millennials'
'Realistically, they are very different networks ... This is a whole new challenge and I certainly don't want to say we will be dong same thing here, as we did there.'
Both Lee and ABC declined to talk about McPherson or the reasons for his surprise resignation.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Dean Goodman) (To read more about our entertainment news, visit our blog 'Fan Fare' online at http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/) Keywords: TELEVISION ABC (jill.serjeant1@thomsonreuters.com; +1 213 955 6749) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
LOS ANGELES, Aug 1 (Reuters) - ABC's new entertainment chief said on Sunday he hoped to take risks and create smart new hits at Walt Disney Co's struggling TV network, but envisaged no immediate changes to the upcoming fall lineup left by his predecessor.
Paul Lee faced TV journalists just 36 hours after being appointed president of ABC Entertainment following the sudden resignation on Tuesday of Steve McPherson.
With the exception of the Emmy-nominated rookie hit 'Modern Family,' McPherson had struggled to find promising programming to replace aging shows like 'Desperate Housewives' and 'Grey's Anatomy'.
Lee, a British former TV producer, is credited with turning cable channel ABC Family into a must-see destination for teenagers and young women with hits like 'The Secret Life of the American Teenager.'
He said it was too early to detail his plans for ABC, but added; 'If I do get the chance here ... to take some risks, make some brave shows, have some surprises and still do it for a defined target audience, then hopefully it's going to be a lot of fun.'
ABC is bringing in 10 new prime time shows in the 2010-11 TV season in its second major overhaul in as many years. It finished third among the big four networks among overall viewers last season, and tied with NBC in third place among adults 18-49, a demographic coveted by advertisers.
Lee said ABC had 'a strong slate' of new shows. But he added, 'This job is certainly about creating new, smart, strong big defining hits, so we do have our work cut out.'
He envisaged no immediate changes to the prime time lineup already announced for September.
'We are locked and loaded. If you make changes in an entertainment sense, you can do more damage than good. These are rockets and they have to be filled, loaded and launched,' he said, referring to the costs of making and promoting the new shows.
Lee noted that ABC had a much broader audience than ABC Family, which has focused on so-called 'millennials'
'Realistically, they are very different networks ... This is a whole new challenge and I certainly don't want to say we will be dong same thing here, as we did there.'
Both Lee and ABC declined to talk about McPherson or the reasons for his surprise resignation.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Dean Goodman) (To read more about our entertainment news, visit our blog 'Fan Fare' online at http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/) Keywords: TELEVISION ABC (jill.serjeant1@thomsonreuters.com; +1 213 955 6749) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.