• Los Angeles Times, Sunday, November 15, 2009 7:58 PM

Fox Television Studios was formed to develop new, less expensive approaches to making and financing network-level shows for cable TV. Now the studio, producer of hit dramas "Burn Notice" and "White Collar" for USA Network, is evolving into what could become the new model for network TV production.

At Fox Television Studios actors and writers are paid less, 11-day production schedules have been crammed into seven days, and costly digital effects are often replaced by old-fashioned stunts. Its strategy is to co-produce shows with international partners willing to commit to a series right from the start -- bypassing the expensive and uncertain pilot process -- and sell the completed shows to a U.S. network. A similar model has been used to finance production of independent films before they find a distributor.

Last summer, for example, Fox Television Studios was able to sell 13 episodes each of the dramas "Mental" and "Defying Gravity" to Fox and ABC, respectively, with backing from several international partners. But results were mixed. Neither show survived past its summer run. From a financial standpoint, however, it wasn't a disaster since both shows were fully protected.

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