TIM OGIER / ABCIt's not TV. It's Oprah.
After nearly two decades in bed with ABC, Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films has signed an exclusive three-year deal to develop and produce scripted programming for pay cabler extraordinaire HBO.
"This is the perfect partnership for Harpo Films," Winfrey said in a statement.
It's not half bad for HBO, either.
The deal will bring Winfrey-branded and -approved series, miniseries, movies and documentaries to the cable net's airwaves and will go into effect in 2009, when Harpo's current deal with ABC expires, ending a partnership of nearly 20 years.
"ABC was always incredibly supportive of us, it is much more about the opportunity HBO affords us," Harpo Films president Kate Forte said. "There are natural limitations to network television...which obviously HBO does not have to deal with."
It's unclear whether Winfrey will appear onscreen in any of her forthcoming projects with HBO, as she did with her most recent small-screen Harpo production, the reality ratings hit Oprah's Big Give.
It's also unclear what network limitations were holding Harpo back and what new direction, if any, upcoming productions may take.
In the meantime, the deal will have no impact on the launch of OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, which will focus mostly on unscripted fare.