TNT,
Mandalay set microseries
Partner with Lincoln for thriller starring Jonathan
Schaech
By Kimberly Nordyke
Sept 24, 2008
TNT has teamed up with Mandalay Televison and automaker Lincoln
for a crime-thriller microseries starring Jonathan Schaech.
"RPM" will air as 20 two-minute episodes within the commercial
breaks of four primetime episodes of "Law & Order" starting
Oct. 21 and ending Oct. 29. The series, written by Wendy West (TNT's "The
Closer") and directed by Steve Shill ("Dexter"),
takes its name from central character Reed P. Marks (Schaech),
a husband
and father of two who is looking to move past his former career
as a homicide detective and the dangers it imposed on him and his
family.
But he finds himself compelled to help solve a murder investigation
linked to a case from four years ago, using his Lincoln MKS to
track down the suspect. Lori Heuring ("Runaway Jury")
and Brian White ("The Shield") also star.
The microseries
is executive produced by Mandalay's Elizabeth Stephen ("Brotherhood"),
who brought the project to TNT and Lincoln. It marks the first
time a TNT microseries has been developed so closely
with a brand and the first microseries for Lincoln.
Linda Yaccarino,
executive vp/general sales manager at Turner Entertainment, touted
the team behind "RPM."
"Having the auspices of Mandalay and the names in the cast
speaks to TNT's success in the microseries area and our contributions
in
putting them in high-profile time periods and marketing them in
an aggressive way," she said. "We really have momentum
with these projects."
Mandalay TV president Elizabeth Stephen
said "RPM" marks
the company's first microseries, but Mandalay approached it as
if it were an hourlong drama series and is hoping it could become
one
at some point.
"We thought this was a chance to do something different and
cutting-edge and give it a fantastic quality," she said.
Yaccarino
said the network "always considers other opportunities
for microseries," including making them a recurring or longer-form
series.
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