Oxygen Picks Up Four New Series, Including Two Competition Shows

Oxygen has given the greenlight to four new projects — two competition series, a docu-comedy and a true crime show — the cable network announced Wednesday.

“Building upon our commitment to creating engaging, relatable content for millennial women, ‘Last Squad Standing,’ ‘The Battle of the Ex Besties,’ and ‘Unprotected,’ are sure to deliver fresh and compelling stories that will resonate with our fan base,” said Rod Aissa, Executive Vice President of Original Programming and Development, Oxygen Media. “And the success of our ‘Crime Time’ line-up proved there is a real appetite for the genre, and we’re excited to serve our audience with more premium content in this space.”

“Last Squad Standing” is executive produced by Lighthearted Entertainment’s Rob LaPlante and Jeff Spangler. Trish Gold also serves as executive producer. In this new series, three groups of friends are put together under one roof to compete against each other through a series of highly competitive tasks that are designed to see just how tight and meaningful these friendships really are. The goal of the game is to keep as many players in, but when a team loses they have to look within their own ranks and determine who should be up for elimination.

“The Battle of the Ex Besties” hails from Fly On The Wall and Fishbowl Worldwide Media with Allison Grodner, Rich Meehan, Rick deOliveira, Haylee Vance and Beth Greenwald on board as executive producers. Best friends share a bond unlike any other, but what happens when your partner-in-crime morphs into a frenemy? Ex BFFs are secretly paired together to participate in challenges that put forgiving and forgetting to the ultimate test. Can two former friends come together to win a lofty grand prize and maybe even rekindle their relationship, or will it be the final nail in their friendship coffin?

“Unprotected” is produced by Propagate with Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens, Kevin Healey and Eric Kutner serving as executive producers. This half-hour doc-comedy follows the Cantarellas, a former crime family raising two teenagers, who have left the witness protection program to settle into the very suburban and retiree lifestyle of their new hometown of Scottsdale, AZ. Over the course of the season, viewers will see them adapting to their unfamiliar surroundings and trying to reform their old criminal habits, but all the while staying true to who they are. From running a legit family business to making new friends, the Cantarellas are putting their wayward past behind them and learning how to live life in the burbs.

“Three Days to Live” is produced by Joke Productions and Lusid Media with Joke Fincioen, Biagio Messina and Zak Weisfeld executive producing. Through stylized re-enactments, viewers will be exposed to events that unfold during the critical 72 hours after someone is abducted. It is said that those who don’t come home within the first three days, almost never do. In vivid, visceral recreations, the series will plunge into these terrifying events and watch detectives race against the clock to find a missing person, solve the mystery and expose the monster who made those three days a living nightmare.

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