• January 13, 2004

The WB Tuesday said it would premiere a new sitcom and bring back "High School Reunion" to its schedule in March. The sitcom, "The Help," will premiere at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, March 5. It's being billed as a satire on class warfare between servants and their employers. "High School Reunion" is a reality-based series focusing on 17 former high school classmates in Texas and Hawaii. Separately, The WB announced plans to produce its first made-for- television movies, starting with a feature based on the Samantha character in the popular "American Girls" series. Tapped for the job is Tana Nugent Jamieson, who will become senior vice president of programming/made-for- television movies. Jamieson, who had been working at TBS, has developed "red Water," the highest-rated basic cable movie and has worked on a JFK Jr. biopic, among others. "Broadcast television has largely abandoned the long- form genre to cable, particularly with content directed at younger viewers," said Jordan Levin, co-chief executive officer of The WB. "We have had success with theatrical presentations and have decided that this would be a great time to expand into original production."