Cher, gay icon and mother to Chaz Bono, presented him with GLAAD's Stephen F. Kolzak Award, given to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equality.
Cher could be headed back to TV.
More than 40 years after The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour premiered, Logo took the opportunity of Saturday’s presentation at the Television Critics Association press tour to announce that the iconic singer, actress, writer and producer has signed a development deal with the LGBT-skewing network. Terms of the deal were being kept under wraps until a later date.
There were few details at the time of the announcement, but network senior vp original programming Brent Zacky said that she’s collaborating with comedian Ron Zimmerman for a pilot script set in early 1960s Hollywood.
Zimmerman has been romantically linked to Cher in recent years and counts Shake It Up! and ‘Til Death among his most recent TV writing credits.
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“We read some of the stuff that Cher and Ron had written and it was really terrific,” Zacky told The Hollwyood Reporter, noting it was yet to be decided if Cher would have an on-camera role in the project, which is in development. “We came up with an idea set in Hollywood in the early ’60s, and we’re very excited to see how we get through the process. The deal is brand-new and we’re just getting started on the project.”
The Cher-scripted development project comes as the network is pushing hard into original scripted efforts. Should the Cher project move to series, it would join a roster of original programming that has included Exes and Ohs, Noah’s Arc and Sordid Lives, among others.
“We’re very carefully and hopefully diligently taking a few shots in this arena and we’ll see how it pans out. We’re certainly excited to be in business with an icon like Cher, and Ron, who is a terrific writer.”
The development exec added that the network is open to doing more than the Hollywood drama with the iconic personality, including unscripted.
Logo, which has had Zacky heading up originals for about a year and a half, has thus far focused on unscripted productions and aquiring on-brand scripted efforts. The network recently bought the rights to air OUTtv’s DTLA and also recently acquired syndicated repeats of Nip/Tuck and Bewitched and will soon air episodes of Golden Girls.
