Atlas to Map Out Reality with ‘Bash,’ ‘Tomorrow’
By John Dempsey
Atlas Media, one of the biggest suppliers of nonfiction TV in the country, has produced Behind the Bash, the pilot for a primetime Food Network series with Giada DeLaurentiis, and It Could Happen Tomorrow, a speculative docu series pilot for the Weather Channel.
New York-based Atlas Media produces more than 150 hours of programming a year, mostly for cable. The 16-year-old company has tripled in size since 1999.
President-exec producer Bruce David Klein said he’s expanding Atlas’ operation, promoting Steve Friedman to senior VP of production and hiring Susan Bixby to take over as VP of production.
In Behind the Bash, De Laurentiis, who hosts a daytime show on Food Network, and a camera crew tag along after party planners and catering companies that organize big events. Atlas shot the pilot episode at the Grammy Awards.
The pilot of It Could Happen Tomorrow explores what it would be like it a fierce hurricane hit New Orleans. Klein said the experts predict the city would be engulfed in 45 feet of water.
Klein said one trend he’s trying to reinforce centers on nonfiction primetime series focused on larger-than-life personalities, ranging from NBC’s “The Apprentice” (Donald Trump and Martha Stewart) to “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” which is collaring viewers for A&E.
Atlas has signed deals with Elizabeth DiMeo, whom Klein calls “a superdynamic nutritionist,” and Jennifer Kofford, an arts-and-crafts expert who creates scrapbooks and albums.
