TBS Superstation and Columbia TriStar Television Distribution Turn Best-Selling The Worst-Case...

Entertainment Writers & TV Writers

ATLANTA--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--March 27, 2001

Craig Piligian of Survivor to Serve as Executive Producer

TBS Superstation is re-teaming with Columbia TriStar Television Distribution (CTTD), producer of the network's Ripley's Believe

The announcement was made today by Bill Cox, senior vice president of programming for the Superstation, and Russ Krasnoff, president of programming and production for CTTD.

TBS Superstation has ordered 22 episodes of the one-hour series, to be titled WORST-CASE SCENARIO, from CTTD which, with Craig Piligian, acquired the highly sought-after rights to the property from Chronicle Books. Piligian, who is co-executive producer of CBS' Survivor and Survivor: The Australian Outback, will serve as executive producer. WORST-CASE SCENARIO will make its premiere in early 2002, exclusively on TBS Superstation.

"We had multiple offers from broadcast and cable networks for the series, due to huge, broad-based popularity of the book and Craig's proven track record," said Krasnoff. "TBS Superstation ultimately stood out as the best fit, in part to the superb job they have done scheduling, marketing and branding Ripley's Believe It or Not!(R)."

"The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook has captured the imagination of the public by showing people how to escape seemingly inescapable situations," said Cox. "This new series is a perfect fit for TBS Superstation's Regular Guy audience, and we are excited to have Columbia TriStar Television Distribution, the producers of our successful Ripley's Believe It or Not!(R), on board to bring this innovative concept to television."

The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, written by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht, tackles the world's most extreme situations in which people could find themselves, from jumping off a burning roof to winning a wrestling bout with an alligator. Published in 1999, the book's tone--tongue-in-cheek, yet informative--drove it into numerous printings and onto the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble bestseller lists. Two editions of "The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Calendar" weekly planners have been published as well.