HOFF TO A FLYING START THIS FALL
C21 Media
October 19, 2005

After staffing up for growth, San Francisco-based factual outfit Hoff Productions is heading into the autumn with a string of new shows in the works for the likes of Fox Broadcasting, National Geographic, Discovery and TV One, writes Jonathan Webdale.

Set up in 1994 by its namesake, Hoff Productions now has its hands full this fall with a packed slate, including pilots, high-definition specials and several series. This crop of new programmes comes at a time when the company is looking to sow the seeds for its future growth by moving into new areas and stacking its executive roster.

With a remit to explore new opportunities, Lisa Mao, the firm's recently appointed director of development, will oversee new series and specials, while at the same time managing marketing and distribution. Mao moved to Hoff Productions from Indigo Films, where she was also responsible for development, producing shows for the likes of National Geographic Channel, The History Channel and Travel Channel.

"Lisa's network background, creativity and broad knowledge of the cable industry make her a great asset to Hoff Productions's development team," said Hoff. "The television landscape has grown and become extremely diverse along the way. Having someone with Lisa's experience will help us reach an increasingly complex client base."

Shirley Tatum, a Hoff Productions staffer since 2000, has been appointed to the new position of creative director. This role expands on her previous job of senior writer, overseeing all scripts for Hoff Productions series such as I, Detective, produced for Court TV, and Command Decisions for The History Channel. In her new role, Tatum's focus will be on getting new series and specials off the ground.

On the series side of things, the company has two pilots under way: Interrogation Room, for Fox TV Studios and Fox Broadcasting; and Home Theatre Revolution, a new twist on the makeover genre for Discovery Home Channel.

Interrogation Room, due to air in November, is being billed as a chilling psychological series that exposes the dramatic showdowns between cops and killers. Using videos of actual interrogations, blow-by-blow commentary by the detectives and insights from forensic psychologists, the series attempts to shine a light on the tactics detectives use to get confessions and convict criminals.

Set to air this winter, Home Theatre Revolution follows a reputed guru on the art of turning one's home into a cinema. In each episode, Theo Kalomirakis promises to transform one family household into an audio-visual sensation.

In full series, Hoff Productions is producing When Disasters Strike (3x60') for National Geographic US, with Rive Gauche also on board. Set to debut on NatGeo US at the beginning of 2006, the Q&A doc format is described as a cross between an extreme weather documentary, a primetime drama and a quiz show. Set to air early in 2006 on TV One in the US, Wet Paint (4x30') is a docu-soap about specialty painting firm Maurice's Pieces, whose clients span gangsters with their cars, Hell's Angels with their choppers, American football players with helmets and kids with bicycles.

"This is an exciting time for Hoff Productions as we add Fox and TV One to our umbrella of clients," said Hoff, whose company has also been a keen standard-bearer of high definition. "We've been producing HD programming for more than five years now. We've got our systems down. We understand the production process. And we know how to make it work within our clients' budgets."

This focus has prompted a green light for two new specials. Mega Structures: Berlin Wall (1x60'), with NGC-US and Off the Fence, tells the story of the division between East and West Germany from the wall's erection to demolition. And Monster Truck Tech (1x60'), for National Geographic Channel, does exactly what it says on the packet, looking back over two decades of souped-up 4x4s.