Cable’s Showtime Turns an Aggressive 21

“From Slowtime to Showtime.”

That’s not the motto of television’s Showtime network, but executives at the pay-cable channel can recall a few years when prominent agents and producers would joke about Showtime’s pace when it came to putting original movies and programming on the fast track.

In the universe of cable television, Showtime, which is celebrating its 21st anniversary this month, was regularly overshadowed for several years--in viewership and industry credibility--by the flashy behemoth of HBO and that network’s arsenal of provocative and award-winning original movies involving A-list talent and filmmakers.

Showtime still trails in viewership--9.5 million subscribers to HBO’s 22 million, according to Paul Kagan Associates, a media consulting firm. But in terms of production, Showtime honchos say those slow days are over. Armed with an aggressive programming slate that includes a swarm of original series, an onslaught of original films and a growing roster of top-name talent, Showtime is positioning itself for the big time.

“We started telling the creative community that they should take Showtime very seriously, and we’re getting to the point where they are taking us seriously,” said Jerry Offsay, president of programming for the Showtime Networks, which also include The Movie Channel and Flix pay-TV services. “We are establishing ourselves, taking chances and sticking our necks out.”

Offsay said the kudos and controversy surrounding Showtime original movies such as last year’s “Bastard Out of Carolina,” “Losing Chase,” “Hidden in America” and this year’s “Mandela and de Klerk” and “Riot,” about the 1992 Los Angeles riots, have helped raise Showtime’s profile.

The development of more than 100 original movies, placing shows in unusual settings and awarding creative freedom to established writers and directors has also boosted Showtime as the network pursues talent and filmmakers, he said.

“We wanted our motto to be that viewers would be missing something if they were not watching Showtime,” Offsay said. “Between Showtime and The Movie Channel, we’re producing five times as many movies as we were in 1994. We’ve tried to appeal to every audience, with thrillers, science fiction, thought-provoking dramas. We can make a better case for ourselves now.”

With the staggered premiere of four new drama series this month and next, Showtime will produce more dramas than any other pay-TV service, said Offsay. The first of those dramas, “Dead Man’s Gun,” a western anthology series with “Twilight Zone” overtones about the different owners of a cursed gun, debuted Sunday. Henry Winkler is the executive producer of the series.

This Sunday, Showtime will premiere “The Hunger,” an edgy, adult anthology series created by directors Ridley Scott (“Alien”) and Tony Scott (“Top Gun”). The following two Sundays will feature the respective debuts of “Stargate SG-1” starring Richard Dean Anderson (“MacGyver”), which is based on the 1994 science-fiction movie, and “Fast Track,” set in the stock-car racing world and starring Keith Carradine.

Original movies planned for August include a new version of “12 Angry Men” with an all-star cast including Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, Hume Cronyn and Edward James Olmos, the urban drama “Color of Justice” with Gregory Hines and Judd Hirsch, and the self-explanatory true-life comedy “Elvis Meets Nixon.”

Industry insiders said the aggressiveness of Showtime’s strategy is well-timed, considering the gradually eroding viewership of network television and the search for alternatives to traditional TV fare.

“Viewers are running off to cable because they are turned off by what’s on the networks, and Showtime seems to be riding that wave,” said Jeffrey Flathers, an analyst at Paul Kagan Associates. “Given HBO’s success in the arena of original programming, it may be the wave of the future.”

Actress Anjelica Huston, who directed last year’s Showtime film “Bastard Out of Carolina,” said she was pleased with how Showtime treated her in her directorial debut.

“Jerry and everyone was very protective of me and particularly interested in maintaining the integrity of the piece,” said Huston, referring to a controversy that erupted over the movie because of scenes involving the rape and molestation of a child. The movie was originally developed at Showtime but wound up getting made at TNT. When executives there asked for alterations to two scenes of brutality, however, Huston argued that the moments were vital to the story and the Turner network allowed it to go back to Showtime. “Bastard Out of Carolina” was Showtime’s highest-rated film last year.

Producer-writer Larry Gelbart (“MASH”), who is producing “Fast Track” for Showtime, said, “I applaud Showtime. Any network that invites other than routine programming is welcome. Jerry was very receptive to the project. In the real world, networks and companies that put up a great deal of money for a project will have a great deal to say about it. Showtime is no exception, but they’re not as micromanager-minded.”

The current push for product is not the first time Showtime has sought to establish a more distinctive identity. In 1994, Showtime departed from its policy of monthly specials as a principal attraction to present a “full-service menu” of weekly comedies, including “Howie Mandel’s Sunny Skies,” “Full Frontal Comedy” and “Twisted Puppet Theatre.” None of those shows survived.

Offsay said the turnaround for Showtime came with the 1995 production of “Hiroshima,” a three-hour dramatization about the first atomic bombing that attracted critical acclaim. Subsequent original films such as “Mr. and Mrs. Loving,” “In the Presence of Mine Enemies” and series such as “The Outer Limits” have attracted further attention.

“Showtime is continuing to evolve,” said John Symes, president of MGM Worldwide Television, which is Showtime’s biggest supplier of programming and the producer of “Stargate SG-1” and “12 Angry Men.” “Jerry Offsay, through necessity, needed to redefine the service from the ground up. But he’s done that. It’s an ideal creative environment that’s beginning to bear fruit.”

But even with the current push by Showtime, the network is not throwing down the gauntlet at HBO.

Said Offsay: “HBO makes good programming. We’re not competing with them as much as setting our standard and keeping to that standard. The movies we have done in the last year and a half are as good or better than any other network. Our main challenge is to get the word out that something is going on at Showtime, and it seems to be working.”