TV PREVIEW
“Family Addition With Leigh Anne Tuohy,” 9 p.m. Friday, Up (formerly GMC Network)
Three years ago, Atlanta-based Gospel Music Channel followed the path of MTV, HLN, TLC and a host of other cable networks and decided to go just by its initials because the network’s mission had changed or expanded beyond its original name.
In this case, GMC dropped its gospel roots in favor of broader family-friendly, “uplifting” entertainment with shows such as “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman,” “Family Ties,” “Moesha” and “The Waltons.”
But co-founder Brad Siegel said research showed most people still thought of GMC in either gospel terms or nothing at all.
So last Saturday, GMC became Up, using a shortened version of the phrase “uplifting.” Potential viewers, he said, were 116 percent more willing to watch a network dubbed Up vs. GMC.
“The most important thing we can do is make the network more accessible,” Siegel said. “We aren’t rebranding per se. Our mission is still the same: showing good people doing good things. We are just changing the name.”
When executives thought of a film that embodied the network’s spirit, the popular Academy Award-nominated 2009 film “The Blind Side,” starring Sandra Bullock, frequently came to mind. The movie, shot in Atlanta, featured Leigh Anne Tuohy, a no-nonsense Memphis foster mom to a young black teen, Michael Oher, who eventually became an NFL star.
So when a production company pitched GMC an unscripted reality series starring Tuohy herself, Siegel said it was a no-brainer.
Called “Family Addition,” the show features Tuohy helping foster families tackle the convoluted foster system to adopt older children. As part of the process, Tuohy also redesigns rooms in their homes to make them more welcoming to the child.
“These are real people with real conflicts without the contrived, salacious narcissism on other programs,” Siegel said.
Up Network ordered six episodes for the first season.
Tuohy said since the film, she’s been offered many reality shows, from “The Amazing Race” to “Undercover Boss.” “We said no to all those,” she said. “This is the first reality show we’re really excited about with a network that has stuck to its convictions.”
The foster care system, Tuohy noted, is riddled with poor judges, bad laws and endless red tape, and she spends a lot of time helping families break through the muddle. This show, she said, will hopefully inspire Americans to adopt worthy children and work to improve foster care laws at the federal and state level.
Up, which has been growing steadily and now reaches 62 million households, also expects to air a dozen original films this year and plans to up that to about 20 in 2014.
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