‘thirtysomething’ Pair to Produce 3 ABC Series

The two producers of the ABC yuppie drama series “thirtysomething,” Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, have agreed to supply the network an additional three series over the next five years.

But in a blow to MGM-Pathe Communications, Zwick and Herskovitz will not produce the new series at the studio, which has financed “thirtysomething” for four years. They will take the series commitments to another studio for financing.

Zwick and Herskovitz were the sole major prime-time TV series producers left at the studio after it was taken over last year by Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti’s Pathe Communications. Financially strapped MGM has had a hard time bargaining for creative talent in Hollywood because of fears that it would not be able to pay its bills.

The deal also signals ABC’s ongoing strategy of striking exclusive deals with major TV-program producers. In recent years, it has reached similar agreements with such costly producers as Steven Bochco, James Brooks and the husband-wife team of Neil Marlens and Carol Black.

“We’ve enjoyed extraordinary artistic freedom at ABC,” Zwick said. “That’s what they offered us, and we look forward to maintaining that.”

ABC has committed to buying a minimum of three 13-episode series from Bedford Falls Co., the production company owned by Zwick and Herskovitz. The first series is likely to be a half-hour show developed in association with Jill Gordon, co-executive producer of “The Wonder Years.”

The network has also agreed to provide Bedford Falls a loan to cover any production deficit on one of the series--the difference between what it costs to make the show and what the network is willing to pay for broadcast rights. Zwick and Herskovitz have not decided which studio will finance the other two series.

Zwick acknowledged that financial instability at MGM was one of the reasons that he and his partner decided against financing their ABC program commitments there. After the Parretti takeover, “some of the contractors on our show have experienced problems with late payments,” Zwick said.

MGM will continue to finance production of “thirtysomething” if it is renewed for a fifth season. The studio, which has produced 88 episodes of the series, is losing about $250,000 per episode.

Generally, a series requires 100 episodes before reruns can be syndicated to local TV stations and foreign markets. But the syndication market for one-hour shows has been soft for several years, and increasingly reruns are being sold to cable networks at discounted rates, making it difficult for MGM to earn significant profits from the series.

Further, a renewal of “thirty-something” is not guaranteed. Although it has been a critical hit, it has never attracted a wide audience. This season it ranked 60th in the weekly prime-time ratings.

Despite the financial and management problems at the studio, MGM’s television division, under the direction of veteran producer David Gerber, has managed to sell six pilots to the networks as possible new fall series. Two are being produced in association with Fred Silverman, the former president of NBC and an executive producer of the series “Jake and the Fatman.”