Tilt - a new poker show from "Rounders" producers
Another reason to hate not being able to get the Worldwide Leader in Sports.
ESPN Antes Up for Poker Drama
Tue Aug 24, 2004 02:48 AM ET
By Andrew Wallenstein
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - ESPN, which managed to offend the NFL with an edgy football drama, is back in the game with a project set in the world of high-stakes poker.
The sports network has ordered 13 episodes of "Tilt," which chronicles the lives of six fictional gamblers in the months preceding the World Series of Poker. Casting is expected to commence next month, with shooting slated for mid-November.
It comes from executive producers Brian Koppelman and David Levien, who last delved into the poker world in "Rounders," the 1988 film they co-wrote.
"Tilt" is ESPN's first scripted-series bet since "Playmakers," the controversial football drama benched in February after one season partly because the National Football League didn't take kindly to the show's unflattering depiction of professional athletes.
But "Playmakers" was a solid first effort for ESPN in the series arena, averaging 2.2 million total viewers over 13 episodes, including more than 1 million in ESPN's core demographic of men 18-49.
ESPN is touting "Tilt" as a more complementary addition to its schedule, which already boasts high-rated, male-skewing coverage of the World Series of Poker. Poker-themed programing also has been a hit for cable channels including Travel Channel, Bravo and Fox Sports Net.
"We thought a drama was a logical next step for the genre," said Mark Shapiro, executive vp programing and production. "When you have lightning in a bottle, you convert it into a six-pack."
Though ESPN licenses the rights to World Series of Poker coverage in similar fashion to its NFL contract, Shapiro does not anticipate the card tournament's organizers will have any problems with any unflattering aspects of the show. "It isn't an issue," he said.
"Tilt" will be scheduled Thursdays at 9 p.m., a time slot already crowded by hit series including CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and NBC's "The Apprentice 2." But Shapiro is confident viewers are open to new options now that "Friends" has vacated Thursdays.
Koppelman and Levien will write and direct the pilot and pen some other episodes. Their credits include "Runaway Jury," "Knockaround Guys" and the upcoming "Josiah's Canon."
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
ESPN Antes Up for Poker Drama
Tue Aug 24, 2004 02:48 AM ET
By Andrew Wallenstein
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - ESPN, which managed to offend the NFL with an edgy football drama, is back in the game with a project set in the world of high-stakes poker.
The sports network has ordered 13 episodes of "Tilt," which chronicles the lives of six fictional gamblers in the months preceding the World Series of Poker. Casting is expected to commence next month, with shooting slated for mid-November.
It comes from executive producers Brian Koppelman and David Levien, who last delved into the poker world in "Rounders," the 1988 film they co-wrote.
"Tilt" is ESPN's first scripted-series bet since "Playmakers," the controversial football drama benched in February after one season partly because the National Football League didn't take kindly to the show's unflattering depiction of professional athletes.
But "Playmakers" was a solid first effort for ESPN in the series arena, averaging 2.2 million total viewers over 13 episodes, including more than 1 million in ESPN's core demographic of men 18-49.
ESPN is touting "Tilt" as a more complementary addition to its schedule, which already boasts high-rated, male-skewing coverage of the World Series of Poker. Poker-themed programing also has been a hit for cable channels including Travel Channel, Bravo and Fox Sports Net.
"We thought a drama was a logical next step for the genre," said Mark Shapiro, executive vp programing and production. "When you have lightning in a bottle, you convert it into a six-pack."
Though ESPN licenses the rights to World Series of Poker coverage in similar fashion to its NFL contract, Shapiro does not anticipate the card tournament's organizers will have any problems with any unflattering aspects of the show. "It isn't an issue," he said.
"Tilt" will be scheduled Thursdays at 9 p.m., a time slot already crowded by hit series including CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and NBC's "The Apprentice 2." But Shapiro is confident viewers are open to new options now that "Friends" has vacated Thursdays.
Koppelman and Levien will write and direct the pilot and pen some other episodes. Their credits include "Runaway Jury," "Knockaround Guys" and the upcoming "Josiah's Canon."
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Comments
you'll have lots of poker stars making appearances and furthur raising the profile of the game.
I have one guaranteed episode: they will have one show where one of the pros plays dumb and gets into a game of strip poker with some real hotties and invariably ... generates the type of tv that gets good ratings
Don't forget these sure-fire episodes:
1. Degenerate guy perilously balances his gambling addiction with a family life that is on the rocks. On the eve of the WSOP, he is faced with the toughest choice of his life - his family (championed by the typical Gretchen Mol-wet blanket type girl), or his shot at glory.
2. Hustler guy picks the wrong time to bust out his chops at a game with some young triads. After taking them for some big dough, he must go on the lam. The guy who played "Jonny Tran" from the Fast and the Furious and "Diamond Face" from the last James Bond movie would be perfect.
3. Super hot single mother chick tries to juggle her familial duties with her poker career, while making sure to not completely emasculate her new boyfriend, who hates gambling! Possibly, single mother's son has autism, and hilarity ensures when he goes all rainman on her regular Sunday afternoon game.
4. Newly graduated computer geek tries to take his on-line successes onto the big stage, but gets sucked in to the high life way too easily and knocks up a hooker, gets VD and gets crippled in a bizarre lawnmower accident.
5. Hot shot handsome guy's girl is murdered, he battles drug addiction, he quits poker to work at the Home Depot, he mentors a young stock boy into a world-caliber player, and he overcomes incredible odds to win the WSOP.
I saw a little blurb about this Tilt show last nite while watchin WSOP, looks like it will at least get the poker junkies watchin a show or 2.