Sixth-ranked UPN hoping new projects will bring more viewership

LOS ANGELES -- Executives at UPN, the struggling network known for smackdowns, vampire slayers and minority sitcoms, said Sunday they hope to bring projects from Will Smith, Mel Gibson and the rap star Eve to television.

The sixth-ranked broadcast network had difficulty solidifying its disparate viewer base and hopes to do that with high-profile names, said Les Moonves, president of CBS, which oversees UPN.

Shows such as "The Parkers" and "Girlfriends" on Mondays attract predominantly black audiences, he said, while "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" draws its own niche audience on Tuesdays. The Star Trek spinoff "Enterprise" and the new "Twilight Zone" anthology appeal to sci-fi fans on Wednesdays, and wrestling fans tune in Thursdays for "WWE SMACKDOWN!"

Fridays feature a miscellaneous movie each week, and few of the shows have crossover appeal with each other.

"We're trying to bridge the nights so there's a lot more of a flow within the network," Moonves said. "We don't make predictions on how long it's going to take."

Getting big names

One strategy is to get big names associated with UPN, whether as producers or stars.

For instance, Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith are developing a program about a married couple dealing with the husband's first wife and their son, while Mel Gibson is creating a drama about do-gooder con artists who pull different scams each week, said Dawn Ostroff, president of UPN entertainment.

While Gibson and the Smiths are unlikely to star in their shows, rapper Eve would likely take the lead role in her comedy about the fashion world.

The development schedule for those programs remains uncertain, but this season's new releases on UPN include "Platinum," a hiphop drama about a family's music empire, and "Abby," a sitcom starring Sidney Poitier's daughter Sydney Tamiia Poitier.

A new reality show, "America's Next Top Model," stars Tyra Banks as one of the judges.

Moonves and Ostroff said they were uncertain about the future of "Buffy," and said the fate of the show depends on whether series star Sarah Michelle Gellar wants to continue.