a&e shows

A&E Network announced its programming slate today, which includes 11 returning series and the launch of 10 new ones by the end of 2011. After wrapping the first season of Storage Wars, which averaged 2.8 million viewers per episode, A&E has ordered eight episodes of the spin-off series Storage Wars: Dallas. The cable net is also picking up the new series InLaws, Ship Happens and Boar Hunters as the first of 10 new series planned for 2011.

A&E says it has 40 original series concepts in the works, including projects from producers like Ryan Seacrest (Keeping up with The Kardashians), Ryan Murphy (Glee), Mark Burnett (Survivor) and Michael Davies (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire), among others. It also ordered Coma, a miniseries from executive producers Ridley and Tony Scott for Memorial Day 2012.

“Last year marked an unprecedented seventh consecutive year of growth at A&E, the longest growth streak in cable,” said Bob DeBitetto, President and General Manager of A&E Network and BIO Channel, in a statement. “Our new development slate remains true to our unique brand of authentic, dramatic and emotional storytelling, will ensure that we maintain our position as a premium entertainment network and drive our continued growth for the coming year.”

Here’s more info on the new series:

InLaws (working title), premieres third quarter 2011: “A&E shines a light on married couples that are at the boiling point with their overbearing in-laws. Each episode will feature a spouse in between their parents and the person they married, desperate to save their relationships. Seasoned relationship experts will come in and use unconventional tactics to make them face their issues.”

Ship Happens (working title), fourth quarter 2011: “There’s a rare breed of independent truckers that have discovered the fortunes of transporting things that traditional carriers won’t touch, such as airplanes, herds of goats, homes, and so on. This new series explores the cutthroat world of these competitive shippers: people who ship odd sized packages for big bucks.”

Boar Hunters (working title), third quarter 2011: “The Campbell clan has a unique family business: hog hunting. Down in Texas, patriarch Jerry Campbell is joined by level-headed son Robert and firecracker daughter Krystal as they respond to troubled farmers whose crops and cattle are being threatened by an invasion of feral hogs.”

Storage Wars: Dallas, third quarter 2011: “A&E’s top-rated nonfiction franchise is heading to Dallas, Texas where the units, bankrolls, and buyers are bigger. Following four Dallas storage unit hunters, this series has all the intrigue of the original “Storage Wars” in a landscape chock-full of cowboys and oil tycoons.”

Comaminiseries: “From the team behind A&E’s Emmy-nominated miniseries “The Andromeda Strain,” and the hit drama series “The Good Wife,” comes this modern day retelling of the bestselling novel by Robin Cook and film by Michael Crichton. “Coma” is a medical thriller about a doctor who discovers that something sinister is going on in her hospital after routine procedures send more than a few seemingly healthy patients into comas on the operating table.”

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