"Swingtown" creator goes "BiCoastal" in new drama

By Nellie Andreeva

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Mike Kelley, creator of "Swingtown," a drama series about partner-swapping couples in 1970s suburbia, is developing "BiCoastal," another hourlong show exploring relationships, marriage and sexuality.

The new show, which has been set up at Showtime, is part of a seven-figure two-year deal that Kelley has signed with CBS Paramount Network TV, the studio behind "Swingtown."

"BiCoastal" centers on a successful man who struggles to balance family life with his wife and kids in Los Angeles as he falls in love with a man in New York.

"It has a lot of the watermarks of things I love to write about -- people with secrets and high-stakes love lives," Kelley said.

CBS has yet to make a decision about the future of "Swingtown," which aired in the summer to modest ratings.

In comparison to "Swingtown," which is based on Kelley's childhood memories of his parents and their swinger friends, he said that he aims to give the new show "a bit of a harder edge and heightened sense of drama."

This marks the first overall television deal for Kelley, who worked on the CBS drama "Jericho" before creating "Swingtown."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter