J.Lo's 'Maid in Manhattan' coming to ABC as possible series

By RICHARD HUFF
DAILY NEWS TV EDITOR

Thursday, August 14th 2008, 4:00 AM

Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes in the 2002 big-screen comedy 'Maid in Manhattan.'

ABC will dip into the theatrical film well for inspiration for a new series.

The network has ordered a pilot for a dramedy based on the 2002 Jennifer Lopez romantic comedy "Maid in Manhattan," a network source confirmed Wednesday.

Word is Lopez will also be an executive producer, along with Joe Roth and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

It's the network's second in-the-works project based on a big-screen film; the first is a series taken from "The Witches of Eastwick."

The two shows - if they make it to the network's lineup - will mark the latest in a fairly long list of prime-time shows that have been developed from movies.

"The problem often for movie transfers is that the movie is a single premise, and a television show is an ongoing almost organic situation that has to have the ability to go from point A to point B to point C and move on," said Bill Carroll, an analyst at the Katz Media Group.

Put another way, a film story is wrapped up in a couple of hours, while a TV show has the potential to last years.

In the film, Lopez plays a maid from the Bronx who, while working at an upscale hotel, is mistaken by guest for a socialite. Love blooms, and there's a happy ending. The series, according to the Hollywood Reporter, will focus more on the maid and her pals at the hotel, rather than the love affair.

"M*A*S*H" certainly is the most successful series to be based on a film.

Other successful shows were "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "The Dead Zone" and, so far, "Friday Night Lights."

But for every movie-inspired series that lasts more than a season, there are many more that struggled and failed.

NBC's 1990 take on "Working Girl" starred Sandra Bullock, but was only on the air a month. And in 2003, CBS launched "My Big Fat Greek Life," a series that picked up after "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." The show lasted seven episodes.

The reason for the industry's interest in film-inspired shows is simple. There's already a built-in audience if the film was a hit, and, on a smaller level, the title has some familiarity with viewers.

"If you're going to get sampled, you need to have something recognizable," Carroll said. "If you don't get sampled, it's six weeks and god bless, if that.... In the current environment, you need to look to any advantage you can get."