High on "Tequila," MTV in mood for "Amore"
By Kimberly Nordyke
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - After taking "A Shot at Love," MTV is now saying, "That's Amore." The lifestyle cable channel has ordered a spinoff of its hit reality competition series "A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila," which ended its run Tuesday with 6.2 million total viewers making it MTV's most-watched series telecast.
The spinoff series, which will include six hourlong episodes and a reunion special, will feature popular "Shot at Love" contestant Domenico Nesci, who was born and raised in Milan. Nesci will be looking for an "American sweetheart" from among 15 bachelorettes who will vie to win his heart and travel to Italy to meet his mother.
"Amore" is scheduled to air at 10 p.m. Sundays starting March 2.
"A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila," in which the show's bisexual starlet searched for love among a group of men and women, was the second-most-watched MTV telecast of the year in total viewers and in viewers aged 12-34 (5 million), behind the 2007 Video Music Awards.
"Amore" falls in line with MTV's strategy of fast-tracking production and building on hit series with spinoffs.
The strategy also includes an emphasis on turning series finales into event programming, like with the recent live "The Hills" finale, and creating original specials for the weekend, such as the recent "Legally Blonde on Broadway" and the upcoming "24 Hours of Jackass." Also key to MTV's strategy is experimenting with new formats (as with competition series), handing out "supersized" series orders (for example, "Hills" received an 18-episode order for Season 3) and expanding to hourlong series ("Shot at Love," "Making the Band").
"Shot at Love" and "The Hills," whose December 10 season finale drew more than 4.6 million viewers, have helped give MTV buzz this year following a ratings slump.
One outing that didn't resonate with viewers this year was "Kaya," which marked the network's first scripted series in more than five years. The show, about a young female rock star who discovers the price of fame, failed to capitalize on its "Hills" lead-in and was relocated to Saturday nights before wrapping its run last weekend.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
