BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The upcoming Lindsay Lohan series on OWN will be more documentary than reality show. OWN and Harpo Studios Presidents Erik Logan and Sheri Salata told journalists attending the annual Television Critics Association press tour that filmmaker Amy Rice will direct the series.
Rice directed on the 2009 documentary By the People: The Election of Barack Obama. The series will be produced by Pilgrim Studios and Oprah Winfrey will appear on the show.
It’s another sigen of why Winfrey’s OWN has gone from red to black: The former talk show host turned cable network owner saw her OWN channel turn a profit in the second quarter – six months ahead of schedule.
In an interview, Logan expanded on plans for the show saying, “part of what makes this opportunity very exciting (is) because I don’t think it’s gonna be anything that anybody expects.”
Logan said Winfrey is currently on vacation and with Lohan still in rehab the direction of the series will unfold once the two begin talking. The partnership will begin with an exclusive interview to tape and air in August, followed by an eight-part series slated to air in 2014.
As for reports of a $2 million dollar deal for Lohan to agree to do the show, Logan and Salata would not comment. The Lohan “get” is just one in a long line of big interviews that Winfrey has managed to snag since launching OWN — the biggest arguably being with Lance Armstrong in February.
“Here’s another little secret,” said Salata. “Oprah, we’re finding out, is quite the booker herself. Oprah booked Lance Armstrong.
“The truth is it’s such a huge advantage. It is competitive to get interviews especially exclusive and first ones but what a huge advantage. You’re gonna sit down with Oprah Winfrey and she’s gonna help you tell your story.”
Winfrey has also interviewed Beyonce, Rihanna and Whitney Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina not long after the death of her mother. OWN is now the fastest growing cable network in America for women ages 25-54. With programming like Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s about former Ikette Robbie Montgomery and Iyanla: Fix My Life, OWN has proven to be very popular with African-American women which Logan said they appreciate but want to build upon.
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