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Give him a (commercial) break

By CHASE SQUIRES
Published July 28, 2005

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - David E. Kelley, one of a handful of TV producers whose name is usually associated with "hit," says he's as upset as viewers are about the increasing number of commercials on television.

When he started writing shows in the 1980s (L.A. Law) he had 48 minutes to spin his yarn, the other 12 went to commercials.

Now, it's down to 41 minutes.

"If there's anything that makes me envious of cable television and want to run to that world, it's the intrusion of commercial breaks," he said Tuesday at the summer gathering of the Television Critics Association. "We're now down to eight-minute acts before a Dodge Ram commercial comes pounding in. It makes for very, very difficult storytelling."

Kelley said he has complained to executives at networks where he has been under contract for years with long-running shows such as The Practice and Boston Legal, but to no avail.

He said the question is whether a premium outlet such as HBO would want one of his shows. He said he prefers to hint at sex rather than show it, and use clever language rather than profanity.

Perhaps there's room for compromise, he mused.

"I would love to explore ideas to buy some of that time back, whether it's co-producing with a sponsor who will trade off that co-producing credit for giving you maybe a couple minutes back so you can get it up to 43 or 44 minutes," Kelley said. "That's something I would entertain."

[Last modified July 28, 2005, 01:09:17]