Ben Silverman's Electus, MTV, P&G and Actress America Ferrera to Produce Interactive TV Show

MTV Networks and veteran producer Ben Silverman's Electus studio on Monday announced plans to develop and produce "the first-ever multicultural, interactive series built for the digital age for MTV." The series, entitled "Pedro & Maria" and billed as a "modern-day Romeo & Juliet" story, will be executive produced by Silverman and by actress America Ferrera ("Ugly Betty") and her production company, Take Fountain; co-executive produced by Quiara Alegria Hudes (author of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, "In the Heights") and by Ian Kleinert and Jarred Weisfeld of Objective Entertainment; and written by Hudes. It will be financed via a product integration deal with Procter & Gamble. Electus will own all international distribution rights for the show, including TV, motion picture and digital.

According to Electus, the new, bilingual (English/Spanish) show--which was created by Silverman--will be "the first-ever interactive telenovela, developed for both television and the Web." It will allow viewers to vote and decide on the direction that its storylines and characters will take, the company says, and will utilize a range of English- and Spanish-language social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, to encourage viewer participation.

Procter & Gamble Productions will serve as a co-producer of the new show with MTV and Electus, and will create original commercials and what it calls "branded entertainment opportunities" for several of its health and beauty brands in and around the show and across multiple media platforms. "Electus is at the forefront of the evolution of content and by partnering with them for a project like 'Pedro & Maria' we can truly explore innovative and creative branded entertainment opportunities for a multicultural audience," Rich DelCore, P&G's director of branded entertainment, said in a prepared statement. "Ben has played a critical role in transforming the traditional advertising model and creating unique links and unprecedented collaboration between content production, advertising, and marketing across the board and we are thrilled to be working with him on this project." Added Silverman: "World-class marketers, content creators and top producers are beginning to recognize that their individual success relies heavily on their ability to join forces to create content platforms that are both engaging and entertaining, while delivering a compelling message for their audience. America Ferrera, MTV and P&G are leading this charge alongside us with a groundbreaking new interactive platform that allows us to tap into this growing and important demographic."

In other scripted programming-related interactive TV news:

• A new iPhone/iPod touch/iPad application, dubbed "InHouse," has been launched for the primetime Fox Network medical drama, "House." The free app, which is available in the Apple App Store, will offer a range of video and photo content, both during the show's current season and during the summer. During the remainder of the show's current run, the app will offer new, episode-specific supplemental material that will be posted Mondays at 8:00PM ET/PT (i.e. concurrently with the show's broadcast). The material is slated to include exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, photos that "capture never-before-seen moments on the set," alternative music selections considered for each episode, writer selections of favorite "House-isms" specific to that episode, a video blog in which "House" writers provide an insider's perspective on the creation of each episode's script, and a weekly giveaway of items featured in that episode and signed by the cast. Then, when the current season ends (i.e. starting Monday, May 24th, again at 8:00PM ET/PT), the app will begin offering an original alternative series, entitled "Nurse Jeffrey." The series will consist of three-minute weekly episodes ("appisodes") that have been written by "House" staff writers and that are billed as being "presented in an 'Upstairs, Downstairs' style of storytelling." While the app will initially be available only in the US, it is slated to eventually launch internationally.
• CBS has announced the fourth season of "Ghost Whisperer: The Other Side," its online companion series for the show, "Ghost Whisperer." Once again, the series will feature interactive companion games ("gamisodes"), created by CBS Interactive. "As each webisode of 'Ghost Whisperer: The Other Side IV' ends, the video player disappears and immerses viewers into an interactive game where they follow clues that lead them to the identity of a mysterious ghost seen in the Web series," CBS explains in its press materials.