Sundance Doubles Down on Nonfiction Programming

Seven new and returning series on tap for 2011

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/1/2011 12:56:03 PM

Sundance Channel, the independent network acquired by Rainbow Media in 2008, plans to double its amount of nonfiction programming in 2011, to 75-80 hours, the network said at its upfront event for press in New York on Tuesday.

The channel will roll out seven new and returning series throughout 2011 designed to serve its "poptimist" audience - viewers who are situated between emerging culture and the mainstream.

The first of these new series, the previously announced All on the Line, will launch at the end of March. The show features Elle Creative Director Joe Zee as he attempts to help struggling designers grow their businesses. Another designer-focused show is Garo Unleashed, about an East Village fashion designer who shows his clients how to use fashion as a form of self-expression.

Also joining the lineup is Quirky, which showcases 24-year-old entrepreneur Ben Kaufman, whose website Quirky.com brings new product inventions to market. And based on the performance and book series Mortified, Shoebox Sessions has host Dave Nadelberg dig up mementos of a celebrity's past to reveal who they are today.

Ludo Bites America follows classically trained French chef Ludo Lefebvre and his wife/business partner Krissy as they travel the country setting up pop-up restaurants at local eateries. The series has already shot its first episode in Mobile, Ala., and future episodes will take the duo to South Carolina and West Texas, among others, says Michael Klein, Sundance Channel SVP original programming and development. The show will continue shooting until June for a summer launch.

In development is Diva of Distressed (working title), which follows billionaire Lynn Tilton as she attempts to flip failing small businesses and get small town communities back to work.

Sundance also announced it has renewed Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys for a second season to premiere at the end of 2011.