Thursday, March 28, 2024

Facebook Enters Scripted Television with Nicole Byer’s ‘Loosely Exactly Nicole’

Nicole Byer attends the MTV Press Junket in New York City at Le Parker Meridien on October 26, 2016 in New York City.
Nicole Byer attends the MTV Press Junket in New York City at Le Parker Meridien on October 26, 2016 in New York City.

*Facebook is moving into the scripted television realm with an assist from Nicole Byer’s former MTV series “Loosely Exactly Nicole.”

The show was cancelled four months ago following a low-rated first season. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Facebook is nearing a deal to revive the family comedy as part of its push to bulk up on original video programming.

Via THR’s Lesley Goldberg and Natalie Jarvey:

“Loosely Exactly Nicole” will be among the tentpole projects that Facebook uses to lure viewers to its new video tab. It’s an effort that began six months ago with the hiring of CollegeHumor founder Ricky Van Veen as global head of creative strategy to jump-start Facebook’s video ecosystem.

Facebook is lining up two types of programming for its video tab, according to sources familiar with their plans. They include shortform series from digital producers such as BuzzFeed and Vox Media and a handful of signature, television-quality series that Facebook is calling “hero” projects. For those top-tier shows, Facebook is said to be looking to spend about six figures per episode for full ownership, which would give it the ability to release them to its global audience of 1.9 billion monthly active users. Terms of its expected deal for for Loosely Exactly Nicole are unclear.

“Loosely Exactly Nicole,” inspired by the life and comedy of Byer, launched on MTV last September, drawing just 360,000 total viewers, before ending in October with less than 150,000 viewers.

Sources say a writers room has already begun on the revived version and some of the cast and all of the creative team — including creator and showrunner Christine Zander — are poised to return. MTV is no longer involved in any capacity.

Additional details about the project are being kept under wraps as Facebook preps an expected summer launch for its video slate.

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