A&E, History Channel and Lifetime – Projects announced at Upfronts

A&E Networks, which is enjoying a banner year thanks to the success of Duck Dynasty, Vikings and The Bible, unveiled a slate of new projects at its upfront presentation Wednesday, including a miniseries about Houdini starring Adrien Brody in the title role and reality shows about the real-life Hatfields and McCoys and stay-at-home dads.

A&E will air Modern Dads follows four stay-at-home dads (some married, some single) and the trials and tribulations they go through in their daily lives. The network has also picked up Those Who Kill, a serial killer drama based on a Danish series, produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer and starring Chloe Sevigny and James D’Arcy. It will premiere in 2014.

New programming for the History Channel includes a reality series based on the real-life Hatfields and McCoys. Piggybacking on the networks’ 2012 miniseries about the feuding families, Hatfields & McCoys, the new show will track two clans as they debate going into business together.

Adrien Brody will also star as Houdini in a two-day miniseries about the escape artist. A premiere date was not announced. Another scripted miniseries, Sons of Liberty, will focus on the events surrounding the Revolutionary War.

Lifetime unveiled Hillbetties, a country music reality show about aspiring female musicians, and announced that its previously-announced miniseries Bonnie and Clyde — starring Emile Hirsch and Holliday Grainger in the title roles, as well as Holly Hunter and William Hurt — will premiere simultaneously on A&E, Lifetime and The History Channel later this year.

The network also aired clips of previously-announced series Devious Maids, the new soap from Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry, which premieres in June, and Witches of East End, starring Jenna Dewan-Tatum and Julia Ormond, which will premiere later this year.

Devious Maids – Full Set of Promotional Photos (Part 2)

Devious Maids – Full Set of Promotional Photos

The Client List 2×06 Promo “Unanswered Prayers” (HD)

The Client List 2×05 Promo “Hell on Heels” (HD)

The Client List 2×04 Promo “My Main Trial Is Yet To Come” (HD)

The Client List Season 2 “All You Need Is Love” Promo (HD)

The Client List 2×03 Promo “Cowboy Up” (HD)

The Client List 2×02 Promo “Who’s Cheatin Who”

The Client List Season 2 Promo “Simply Irresistible” (HD)

The Client List “Undress” Promo (HD) Sexy Jennifer Love Hewitt

Army Wives Season 7 Promo “Here Comes Trouble” (HD)

The Client List – Season 2 – New Cast Promotional Photo

The Client List Season 2 “Super Hot” Trailer

The Client List Season 2 “Irresistible Jennifer Love Hewitt” Teaser (HD)

Drop Dead Diva Cheats Death, Scores Season 5 Renewal From Lifetime

The diva still has a pulse!

Six weeks after Lifetime pulled the plug on Drop Dead Diva, the network has renewed the dramedy for a fifth season.

According to  Deadline, which first broke the news, Diva’s producer Sony TV came up with a more feasible “financial model” for the show, paving the way for Lifetime’s about-face.

The Client List Season 2 “Love Is Back” Promo (HD)

Army Wives Season 7 Promo

Alicia Silverstone to Star as Free-Wheeling HR Boss in Long-Gestating Lifetime Pilot

Formerly Clueless one Alicia Silverstone has signed on to headline the Lifetime pilot HR, lifting a cast contingency on the project and allowing it to move forward with production,  Deadline reports.

Silverstone will play the Director of Human Resources for an international conglom who, after suffering a brain injury, adopts a less-rigid and more bold approach to her job.

HR was initially greenlit as a pilot last summer — along with the Renee Zellweger-produced Cinnamon Girl (recently snuffed), The Secret Lives Of Wives (also snuffed) and Witches Of East End (fully cast and ordered to series) — with a contingency placed on the casting of the lead role.

Silverstone’s TV credits include a Season 1 arc on Clueless co-star Jeremy Sisto’s Suburgatory, a Childrens Hospital appearance and the ill-fated 2006 NBC sitcom The Singles Table.

Army Wives – Season 7 – Cast Promotional Photos