TV Land Seeking Mid-Lifers with New Pilot Slate

Cable Network Eyes Viewers in Their 40s

By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/17/2008 5:00:00 PM

TV Land announced that it gave the green light to four pilots with the goal of reaching viewers in their 40s.

The pilots unveiled by TV Land were:

• First Love, Second Chance, which will take long-lost loves whose first time around ended badly and give them a chance to rekindle the romance years later;

• Now or Never, which will take empty-nesters and give them a chance to pursue careers they always dreamed of but never got around to. In each show, couples will explore new careers, new places to live and new social scenes and choose whether the new experience is what they wanted or whether to return to their old lives;

• Make My Day, in the same vein as Candid Camera, will follow an unsuspecting person as they go about their day, only to experience a series of bizarre (staged) coincidences, surprise appearances and unusual situations; and

• What’s in the Box?, the first original game show given the go-ahead by the network, in which contestants will have to guess what’s in a mystery box using the same general rules as 20 Questions, asking, “Is it man-made?” or “Does it move?” with the winner getting cash and prizes.

TV Land recently scored with High School Reunion, an original show that took a group of people who attended high school together and brought them back together for the show.

The network has been reaching out to baby boomers, trying to secure viewership with an audience that is often overlooked by many of the largest cable networks, which often aim for the 18-35 demographic.