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Post-trial, Jackson clan wants TV time

Zap2it.com

June 16, 2005

LOS ANGELES - So now that Michael Jackson has been acquitted of child-molestation and other charges, the singer and his family are going to retreat to private life for a while and let the media storm that surrounded the trial die down. Right? Sorry. This being the 21st century, the family now wants to tell its story in a prime-time TV series.

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that a representative for the Jackson family has contacted several broadcast and cable networks about an unscripted series that would document how the family came together to support Michael during the case. The pitch was reportedly made last week -- before jurors acquitted Jackson.

The show, which would likely run six episodes, would focus in part on how Jackson's parents, Joe and Katherine, and his siblings worked to reshape the family's image after the revelations about Michael Jackson's strange life during the case. That would indicate that cameras were trailing the family during the trial. Unclear at the moment is how prominent a role Michael Jackson would play in the show and how many other family members have agreed to appear on camera. It's also uncertain whether a network, despite the favorable verdict for Jackson, would want to be associated with him at this point.

Additionally, unscripted shows featuring celebrities seem to be on the wane at the moment. "The Osbournes," which kick-started the subgenre, and "Newlyweds" have left MTV, and the just-completed "Britney & Kevin: Chaotic" drew only meager ratings for UPN.