By M&C Smallscreen Feb 8, 2008, 19:09 GMT
Mike Judge - creator of "King of the Hill" now in its twelfth season on Fox, will have another smallscreen home at ABC.
The network has inked a deal with Judge for a thirteen-episode order of his latest animated comedy, "The Goode Family."
Variety reports that indie studio Media Rights Capital is now mounting a strong smallscreen foray, starting with a 13-episode order from ABC for a new animated series from Mike Judge.
"The Goode Family," which is also from "King of the Hill" executive producers John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, is reportedly the first animated project for Judge since "Hill" launched in 1997.
Also included in the deal are a 10-episode order for an animated series at HBO, and a "high-concept scripted laffer at Comedy Central."
MRC has network Lifetime along with NBC and Fox working with them.
Variety notes that MRC’s content "is being self-financed via the same mix of private equity and other investment that’s driven its film slate."
"We’ve got a $250 million film slate, millions in digital and investors like Goldman Sachs and other players," MRC co-chief executive officer Modi Wiczyk said. "We’re a different kind of studio, financially equipped to capitalize on opportunity. Capital is not constrained here."
It was the interim agreement struck by MRC and the WGA which gave the production company a "head start" for shows like "The Goode Family" - already back to work before the strike ends.
"As a practical matter, signing the waiver gave us a big advantage in getting going on a lot of these things that were sitting on hold," he said. "It allowed us to start working on projects and get some traction."
"The Goode Family" centers on a do-gooder family that tries to do the right thing in life.
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