Fuse slate broadens as NUVOtv merger nears

US cable channel Fuse is expanding its slate ahead of absorbing sister net NUVOtv later this year.

Fuse is developing new scripted, reality competition, dance and comedy shows – including one from NUVOtv chief creative officer Jennifer Lopez – as part of its 2015/16 line-up.

Fuse Media will then launch a music-themed cable and digital channel, FM, later this year. Fuse has to this point been known as a primarily music-themed network, but is diversifying to attract a more general millennial audience.

The developments come a year after NUVOtv owner SiTV Media acquired Fuse from Madison Square Garden Company and rebranded as Fuse Media.

Fuse is developing scripted series Hey! It’s Fluffy, an irreverent comedy from Latin comic Gabriel Iglesias that will be produced by The Fluffy Shop; and Wilder Walderrama-fronted street dance reality competition show King of the Floor, which Electus is producing.

Transcendent follows girls at the Asia San Francisco Cabaret that were born boys. World of Wonder Production (RuPaul’s Drag Race) produces.

Saturday Morning Fever, from Relativity Media, is a weekend show in which hopeful teens line up outside a Philadelphia TV station to dance for a place on Dancing on Air.

3 Arts Entertainment is behind battle-style comedy roast series Rell Roast Battle, while a new series from actress and singer Lopez is being produced under her Nuyorican Productions banner.

New NUVOtv shows will continue rolling out until it becomes part of Fuse.

“From the biggest events and festivals that make the music landscape so compelling, to unique looks at artists and performers pushing boundaries in comedy, fashion, digital and beyond, Fuse will bring ‘New Young Americans’ the content that fuels their passion, and converts fans into influencers,” said Fuse Media president Bill Hilary.

“Our new line-up reflects the interests and diversity of a millennial generation who set their own trends and whose tastes know no cultural boundaries.”