Reality TV guru Mark Burnett reportedly has talked with Martha Stewart about remaking her U.S. TV series once she finishes her prison term.
I'm very interested in reinventing her show, Burnett said in Monday's New York Daily News about Martha Stewart Living, the popular TV show pulled when Stewart got into legal trouble.
The fundamental core will have to remain the same. It has to be about Martha helping people -- cooking, lifestyles, that kind of thing. There's a lot she has to get through in the short run, so I look forward to working with her in 2005. Right now, she needs space, Burnett said, alluding to Stewart's five-month prison sentence for her conspiracy and obstruction of justice conviction stemming from an insider trading investigation.
Last week Stewart said she is ready to begin her prison term rather than wait for an appeal.
Burnett created Survivor, The Apprentice and The Restaurant. His latest reality series, The Contender, debuts in November on NBC.
Mark Burnett, producer of "The Apprentice" and "Survivor," will be executive producer of Martha Stewart's new show. Her image backed him during Wednesday's announcement.
Martha Stewart will star in a daily one-hour daytime television show before a live audience after her release from jail, the media and housewares company she founded said Wednesday.
The program will begin broadcasting in the second half of 2005. It will be produced by Mark Burnett, the creator of such shows as "The Apprentice" and "Survivor," Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. and General Electric's Co.'s NBC said at a news conference in New York.
The show will feature celebrity guests and include Stewart's tips on cooking, entertaining and decorating. Its format also "allows audience members and special guests to interact with Martha," the companies said.
The program will air on local NBC-owned television stations.
Martha Stewart, who controls the company through ownership of 30 million shares, started a five-month jail sentence in October and will serve another five months in home confinement. She will be allowed to work 48 hours a week during that period.
Burnett's "The Apprentice" and "Survivor: Vanuatu" are two of television's most popular programs for viewers 18 to 49 years old, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Martha Stewart Living is moving forward to try to rebuild its image and reverse losses following Stewart's obstruction of justice conviction. The company's television unit saw third-quarter sales plunge 67 percent after it stopped airing Stewart's daily show in mid-September.
Shares of Martha Stewart Living rose $1.55 to close at $24.43. The stock has more than doubled this year on optimism that Stewart's return to the company in March and Kmart Holdings Inc.'s purchase of Sears, Roebuck and Co. will reverse losses.
Stewart and her former Merrill Lynch & Co. broker, Peter Bacanovic, were convicted of lying to authorities investigating her sale of ImClone Systems Inc. stock.
09-21-2004 07:56 AM
