Welcome to the new image that Lifetime is looking to adapt for viewers: the fempire. After being consistently characterized as bad women’s television, Lifetime is looking to rebrand its image, going from women who are in trouble to women who kick butt and are able to take on the world, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Not only is the popular summertime show UnReal coming back for its second season this summer, but the network is looking to amp up its original programming. UnReal is even getting the spinoff treatment, as the show has produced a web series that focuses on Faith and her girlfriend, Amy. Faith was one of the contestants looking for love on UnReal‘s version of The Bachelor before realizing that she had feelings for her best friend.
The network is also developing a new scripted series inspired by Selena Gomez’s life, which will be produced by Gomez, Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti.
The network has also ordered a two-hour pilot called Sea Change, which centers on a 17-year-old girl who moves in with her mother after her father dies and she learns about an island legend that is actually true. The potential new series is based off the young adult novel of the same name.
And like most other networks are doing, Lifetime is looking into producing an anthology series that is tentatively going to be titled A Midsummer’s Nightmare, which is described as each season focusing on a different William Shakespeare play that will be modernized and will be a horror-mystery.
For movie lovers, Lifetime will still be in the movie business, as UFC fighter Ronda Rousey will be making three movies for the network.
The change at Lifetime is coming about after Executive Vice President Liz Gateley wanted to change the way the network was viewed – by women of all different demographics. To do this, Gateley wanted to focus more on creating relatable characters. Part of the way that Gateley is doing this is to create a “fempire” in the various series that the network puts out, meaning the shows would be more about female empowerment than a damsel in distress type of show or movie.
Welcome to the fempire indeed.