Cable Linking Up With Made-For-TV Movies

One of the hottest new couples in Hollywood these days is Wendy Wasserstein and Ted Turner.

No, Turner has not left wife Jane Fonda for the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Heidi Chronicles.” The relationship is strictly business. Wasserstein is bringing a film version of her hit play, about a baby-boomer woman coming of age in a male-dominated culture, to Turner’s TNT cable channel this fall.

But the marriage between such high-end pop culture and basic cable has the Hollywood community buzzing about a major change taking place in television for adults. Simply put, if you want to see smart made-for-television films this year, forget the networks and PBS. That’s where they used to be. Where you’ll find them now is on cable.

Specifically, you’ll find them on TNT, HBO and Showtime, which are overtaking the networks and PBS in the presentation of films and miniseries. (This change mirrors the success that cable, specifically TBS and the Discovery Channel, has had in the past two years in the area of documentaries and nonfiction television.)

“It’s absolutely true that cable is now the place for thoughtful, serious films,” Wasserstein said. “When some of my friends heard about what I was doing with ‘Heidi,’ they said, ‘Why are you doing it on cable?’ And I said, ‘Where else would I do it but cable?’ “

Dozens of top writers, producers, directors and stars have echoed Wasserstein’s remarks in news conferences and interviews promoting their cable projects. While some of their words can surely be dismissed as hype, their very presence makes the case.

Even Ed Harris, Gary Sinise and Armand Assante, stars from two of the summer’s biggest theatrical films, are talking about their made-for-cable movies that will premiere in coming months.

Upcoming films such as “The Heidi Chronicles” and “Hiroshima,” with socially conscious themes and top-flight talent, are the kind of films that used to make for big events on ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS. Their presence on cable is not totally new. In 1993, for instance, HBO had four of the five made-for-TV movies nominated for Emmys, including such blockbusters as “Barbarians at the Gate” and “Stalin.”

But that was HBO, one of the most expensive premium cable channels. It was in a league of its own. Today that league includes HBO, Showtime, Disney and such basic cable channels as TNT, Lifetime, USA and the Family Channel. All are making films, with several dramatically increasing their output.

Last year, for example, Showtime made 12 films. This year, it is going to make about 50, according to executive vice president Steven Hewitt.

Most striking in this cable-network shift is the contrast between the performers involved.

Cable has found seasoned, top-notch actors for its movies. The networks are trotting out an endless parade of unknown 20-something actors to promote fall sitcoms - many of whom look like clones of NBC’s “Friends.”