From Mark Schwann (One Tree Hill), The Royals focuses on the lives of a fictional Royal family, with the series entirely shot in the UK and set in London. With ethical King Simon (Vincent Regan) struggling to keep the peace within his family, the royal family is dominated by elegant Queen Helena (Elizabeth Hurley), a manipulative social climber who will do anything in her power to make her family look good and keep her spot at the top of British society. But her children aren’t exactly making that goal feasible, with Prince Liam (William Moseley) dating a commoner from the United States and Princess Eleanor (Alexandra Park) more famous for her nightclub partying and outlandish fashion than anything that would bring her family positive press.

The Royals also stars the likes of Tom Austen (Jo) as Eleanor’s bodyguard Jasper; Sophie Colquhon (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Gemma, Liam’s socialite ex-lover; Ukweli Roach (One Day) as Liam’s bodyguard Marcus; Jake Maskall (EastEnders) as Simon’s cynical brother Cyrus, who would take the first chance he got to unseat his brother and claim the throne for himself; and Oliver Milburn (The Descent) as Ted, the head of Royal security.

A more exact premiere date for The Royals should be announced either later this year or early next. You can check out a trailer for the series here.

Will you be watching The Royals? Is this the type of project that could put E! on the scripted content map? If The Royals works out, what type of scripted programming would you like to see E! pursue?

The post The Royals to Premiere March 2015 appeared first on TVHackr.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Joan Rivers and, for the last two weeks, have turned our attention to honoring her memory on all of our platforms.  We have also thought long and hard about what Joan would have wanted as it pertains to the future of Fashion Police. We decided, with Melissa Rivers’ blessing, that Joan would have wanted the franchise to continue. Fashion Police will return in 2015 commencing with Golden Globes coverage on Monday, January 12. No further details will be announced at this time.”

Premiering in September 2010, Fashion Police brought Rivers together with Kelly Osbourne, Giuliana Rancic, and George Kotsiopoulos together to talk anything and everything fashion, as they analyzed red carpet looks and played various fashion-inspired games. Though Rivers’ daughter Melissa, an executive producer for Fashion Police, has stepped in front of the camera before, it seems likely that the show will either continue on with the three remaining co-hosts or look for a bigger name to act as the “moderator” of sorts.

Today, E! has been hosting a marathon of Fashion Police in honor of Rivers, with a 90-minute tribute special set for 8:00.

Do you think Fashion Police should continue without Joan Rivers? If so, who do you think should be the new fourth panelist? If not, would you be more okay with semi-regular specials vs. a weekly series?

The post Fashion Police to Continue Without Joan Rivers appeared first on TVHackr.

Created by Mark Schwahn (One Tree Hill), The Royals follows the exploits of a British royal family as they deal with being in the spotlight and try to balance ruling their country with pursuing a normal life. Led by their image conscious queen (Elizabeth Hurley), who will do anything and everything within her power to keep her family at the top of British society, the royals include a king (Vincent Regan) whose primary concern is the state of his family rather than the opinions of his subjects, a prince (William Moseley) defying his mother by dating an American girl (Merritt Patterson), and a wild child princess (Alexandra Park) more known for flashing skin at the latest nightclub than for anything philanthropic.

In addition to those already named, The Royals stars Joan Collins (Dynasty) as Queen Helena’s mother, the Grand Duchess of Oxford; Tom Austen (The Borgias) as Princess Eleanor’s new bodyguard Jasper; Jake Maskell (EastEnders) as King Simon’s nefarious brother Cyrus; and Ukweli Roach (Starlings) as Prince Liam’s bodyguard Marcus, who adds as a confidant for the wayward royal.

The Royals is set to premiere sometime in 2015 on E!. You can check out an additional teaser for the series here.

Will you be watching The Royals? Do you think this is the right project for E! to get into the scripted programming game with? Does the trailer give you enough motivation to check the show out or do you need to see more before you make a decision?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3xvCVRtn6o

The post The Royals Trailer: The Power of the People appeared first on TVHackr.

Created by Mark Schwahn (One Tree Hill), The Royals follows the British royal family as they deal with the scrutiny that comes with being in the spotlight with the luxuries the position affords them. The family includes the image conscious queen (Elizabeth Hurley), bound and determined to keep her family at the top of British society; a king (Vincent Regan) who bucks tradition and places the needs of his family above those of his subjects, even when he’ll suffer political harm; a prince (William Moseley) in a relationship with an American girl (Merritt Patterson), to the disgust of all those around him; and a princess (Alexandra Park) who has become a fixture in the British tabloids for her controversial and decidedly unorthodox behavior.

In addition to her role on the notorious 80s soap, Collins has appeared on the likes of Footballers’ Wives, Happily Divorced, and Pacific Palisades.

You can check out a teaser for The Royals here. The series will be E!’s first foray into the world of original scripted programming after years of cornering the reality market and purchasing the odd syndicated package (e.g. Sex and the City).

Will you be watching The Royals? Do you think this is the scripted show that will put E! on the map in the creative community? Who else would you like to see join the show?

The post The Royals: Joan Collins Joins the Cast appeared first on TVHackr.

From Mark Schwahn (One Tree Hill), The Royals follows a British royal family as they deal with the scrutiny of the spotlight and balance the lavish parties and high stakes political summits that come with the territory of being royals. The family consists of an image conscious queen, hell-bent on keeping her family at the top; a well-intentioned king who places his family about his subjects; and a princess who is a familiar subject for the tabloids and who has troubled reconciling her desire for independence with her sense of duty to the family.

In addition to her role on the ABC Family supernatural mystery, Patterson has appeared on the likes of Kyle XY, Life Unexpected, and The Pregnancy Pact. She joins a cast that includes Elizabeth Hurley (Gossip Girl), William Mosley (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), Vincent Regan (Strike Back), Jim Piddock (Family Tree), and Poppy Corby-Tuech (Silent Witness).

You can check out a teaser for The Royals, which will become E!’s first scripted series, below. The series begins production this month in the UK.

Will you be watching The Royals? Do you think scripted content can work on a network like E!? If The Royals proves to be a success for the network, what type of scripted content would you like to see them go after next?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqUTh4DgNT0

The post The Royals: Merritt Patterson Joins Upcoming E! Drama appeared first on TVHackr.

“We are excited that E!’s first original scripted series will transport viewers into a world that they are already intensely interested in, but reality cameras would never give them access to. The Royals will offer a fictional look behind the very public gilded façade of the palace gates to imagine the private, lush, fun, sexy world of the most-watched celebrity family on the planet,” said Jeff Olde, Executive Vice President of Original Programming & Development. “It’s a perfect series to introduce E! viewers to scripted pop culture programming on the network.”

E!’s sojourn into the world of scripted content follows recent news of Bravo’s first scripted pickup and VH1 further solidifying its commitment to scripted programming with a third pickup of its own. Recent years have seen the likes of IFC, Sundance, and History find critical and commercial success with their scripted properties, but with an increasingly crowded marketplace, The Royals might have its work cut out for it if it wants to stand out from the crowd.

In addition to Hurley, The Royals stars Vincent Regan (Strike Back), William Moseley (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), Alexandra Park (The Elephant Princess), Tom Austen (The Borgias), and Jake Maskall (EastEnders).

The Royals will premiere sometime in 2015 on E!.

Do you think The Royals will be a success for E!? Is there another primarily unscripted network that you would like to see develop scripted programming? What type of scripted programming would you like to see from E! in the future, should The Royals do well?

The post E! Picks Scripted Drama The Royals Up to Series appeared first on TVHackr.