UPFRONT & CENTER: TLC Pairs with J-Lo, Ripa and Consuelos

Jennifer Lopez to Co-Create, Executive-Produce and Star in Reality Series; Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Ink Broad Development Deal

By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/23/2008 6:05:00 PM

New York -- TLC partnered with Jennifer Lopez and husband-wife team Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on a reality series and a broad development deal, respectively.

The Discovery Communications-owned cable channel announced the partnerships at its upfront presentation here Wednesday.

J-Lo, who made an appearance at the show, will co-create, executive produce and star in a docuseries about her life as a new mom and businesswoman balancing a music/fashion/film career as she launches a new fragrance. Simon Fields and Gay Rosenthal are executive producers with Lopez.

"I am excited to be part of the TLC family,” Lopez said in a statement. "I'm looking forward to sharing this exciting journey together."

The show is one of the more high-profile projects to come out of the network since Angela Shapiro-Mathes joined as president.

"Jennifer is unbelievably passionate about life and will be an incredible model for our audience," Shapiro-Mathes said. "I'm thrilled to be partnering with her on a series that will take our audience into a fascinating world. It's a fun, emotional journey that will be inspirational and yet very relatable to today's women."

Ripa and Consuelos, who also made a cameo at the upfront, are developing projects at the network under their Milojo Productions banner. The deal gives TLC first-look rights at all unscripted series to come out of the production company. Ripa and Consuelos will also host a show for the channel.

"I've known Kelly and Mark since the first day each of them joined All My Children," Shapiro-Mathes said. The executive formerly worked in daytime TV. "They reflect our audience, and the audience knows and loves them. They are now an important part of our TLC family."

"The first thing you want in a relationship is for it to feel right, and this definitely feels right," Ripa and Consuelos said in a joint statement. "And it's great to be working with Angela Shapiro-Mathes again -- she has been instrumental in our careers."

Discovery's upfront, held at Jazz at Lincoln Center, followed similar stage shows the company has held in Los Angeles, Detroit and other cities over the past week at which it announced new shows for several other cable channels in its portfolio.

For complete coverage of the upfronts, click here.