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| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television production Television syndication |
| Predecessor | Geffen Television |
| Founded | December 1994; 30 years ago (1994-12) |
| Founders | Steven Spielberg Jeffrey Katzenberg David Geffen |
| Defunct | September 6, 2013; 12 years ago (2013-09-06) |
| Fate | Folded intoAmblin Television |
| Successors |
|
| Headquarters | , United States |
| Parent | DreamWorks Pictures |
| Divisions | DreamWorks International Television DreamWorks Television Animation (1996–1999) |
DreamWorks Television was an Americantelevision distribution andproduction company based inUniversal City,California, that was a division ofDreamWorks. The company was active from December 1994 to September 6, 2013.[1]
DreamWorks Television was formed in December 1994 as DreamWorks Pictures agreed to a$200 million seven-year television production joint venture with theCapital Cities/ABC.[2] The company was set up to produce series for broadcast networks, cable channels and first run syndication with no first look forABC, but financial incentives favored ABC.[3] The first show,Champs, was scheduled as a mid-season replacement for ABC. Dan McDermott was named division chief executive in June 1995.[4] DreamWorks Television's first success wasSpin Cityon ABC.[3]The Walt Disney Company bought Capital Cities/ABC in February 1996.[5]
In 1997, DreamWorks Television had a falling-out withNBC over the development of various television shows.[6] The dispute was eventually settled, and went to being a development slated for NBC in 1998.[7] In 1998, DreamWorks struck a deal withParamount Domestic Television to syndicateSpin City for off-net syndication.[8]
In 2002, the company's joint venture agreement with ABC ended. This agreement was replaced by a development agreement withNBC with a first look clause, financing for series pickups by the network while taking a financial stake in the show. DreamWorks Television could finance shows sold to other outlets, and NBC paid an annual fee to it.[3]
In December 2005, it was announced thatParamount Pictures' parent companyViacom was purchasing DreamWorks' live-action film and television divisions, with the $1.6 billion deal being finalized at the beginning of February 2006.[9] The deal also included a six-year distribution agreement withDreamWorks Animation, which split into its own separate company in October 2004.[9] DreamWorks' live-action film and television divisions briefly operated as labels of Paramount, before becoming independent entities again in late 2008.[10]
Much of the pre-2008 DreamWorks Television catalogue is currently owned and distributed worldwide byParamount Global Content Distribution with the exception of the programsLine of Fire,Carpoolers andOliver Beene (distributed byDisney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution),Las Vegas (distributed in North America byNBCUniversal Syndication Studios and internationally byMGM Worldwide Television Distribution),Father of the Pride (distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios),Off Centre (distributed byWarner Bros. Television),Band of Brothers (distributed byHBO Enterprises),Miracle Workers (distributed byLionsgate Television), andRescue Me (distributed bySony Pictures Television); Paramount also co-distributesThe Job (with Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution),Boomtown (with NBCUniversal Syndication Studios in North America and MGM Worldwide Television Distribution outside North America) andAlienators: Evolution Continues (North American joint distribution withWildBrain; international joint distribution to the series has been held by Sony Pictures Television and WildBrain).
| Title | Years | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Champs | 1996 | ABC | Co-production withUbu Productions |
| High Incident | 1996–1997 | Co-production with Johnson/Pavone Productions (season 1), Nothing But Net, Inc. (season 1) and Downwell Productions (season 2) | |
| Majority Rules[11] | KPNX | ||
| Spin City | 1996–2002 | ABC | Co-production withUbu Productions andLottery Hill Entertainment |
| Ink | 1996–1997 | CBS | Co-production with Shukovsky English Entertainment and Addis/Weischer Television |
| Arsenio | 1997 | ABC | Co-production withDavid Rosenthal Productions andArsenio Hall Communications |
| Toonsylvania | 1998–1999 | Fox Kids | Produced byDreamWorks Television Animation |
| Invasion America | 1998 | The WB | |
| Anna Says | 1999 | Co-production with Lottery Hill Productions | |
| It's Like, You Know... | 1999–2000 | ABC | Co-production with 42 Pound Productions and EWH3 Productions |
| Freaks and Geeks | NBC | Co-production withApatow Productions |
| Title | Years | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Pacific | 2010 | HBO | Miniseries; co-production withPlaytone and HBO Entertainment |
| Falling Skies | 2011–2013 | TNT | Seasons 1–3 only; seasons 4–5 produced byAmblin Television |
| Smash | 2012–2013 | NBC | co-production with Madwoman in the Attic, Inc. (season 1) andUniversal Television |
| The Americans[13] | 2013 | FX | Pilot; co-production withFox Television Studios andFX Productions |
These are television series produced byDreamWorks Animation (DWA) that were distributed by DreamWorks Television around the world. In 2004, the animation division of DreamWorks was spun off as a separate company (and now bought byNBCUniversal in 2016) and thus animated shows from after 2004 do not apply here.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)DreamWorks Television is also credited as an executive producer on the pilot, which is being produced by Fox Television Studios and FX Productions.
