VH1 SERIOUS ABOUT SERIES

VH1 got behind the music. Now, they're getting behind some programming.

The network's Sr. VP Original Programming & Development Lauren Zalaznick says MTV's sister channel will debut new programming that includes reality-based shows, animated comedy series, documentaries and original full-length films.

"We're continuing to take advantage of the sheer breadth we feel music programming can expand to. And we're attracting some of the industry's best directors, producers and artists. And if there's a strike, we'll be, um, showing a lot of videos."

•Slated to debut over the next nine months are new programs "Cover War," a game show hosted by Paul Shaffer that pits cover bands against each other; "What's My 20?," a weekly series counting down viewers' 20 all-time "greatest" videos in a variety of categories; "VH1 Undercover," a weekly comedy series that puts a musical spin on "Candid Camera"; and "Strange Frequency," a "Twilight Zone"-like pop-music horror/suspense anthology series.

•A number of pilots are currently in production, including "Hollywood Hills," a reality-based show about a developing artist's relationship with the music industry from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine TV; "Camp Chaos," an animated sketch comedy based on the popular website, and "Pulling The Strings," executive producers James Brolin and Barbra Streisand's much-anticipated series about the patriarch, played by Brolin, of an entertainment empire taken over by a huge corporation.

•Additional pilots are on tap from "Four Weddings and a Funeral" director/producer Mike Newell ("Forever Young") and KISS' Gene Simmons, "GoodFellas" writer Nicholas Pileggi and "The Godfather" producer Albert S. Ruddy, based on Fred Dannen's essential book, "Hit Men."

•There's also "VH1's Sessions," with Alexandra Wentworth as a therapist for rock stars; "B-Side," a half-hour sitcom about two wedding DJs and "Bands, Brawn and Blister," a "Survivor"-esque reality series which places bands "in situations filled with physical, mental and emotional danger."

•VH1 will air feature-length made-for-TV movies on Def Leppard, MC Hammer and salsa dancing, with documentaries on the history of black music, the ’80s, and pop music and sexual attitudes from the ’50s to present-day.