Television bigwigs Mark Burnett and Roma Downey already have several things on their plate, what with Burnett heading MGM Television as its newest president and his wife Downey helping him in the company as its third in command.
Now, they are planning to coordinate with auto-racing sports company NASCAR to develop a scripted television drama that would focus on the racing world.
According to the Las Vegas Sun, the power couple spoke to NASCAR executives and race car drivers last week to discuss what stories they would pursue in the drama and select their desired backdrops for the sports franchise.
"We have wanted to develop an original, scripted drama inside our sport for some time but have been waiting to find the right partner," Zane Stoddard, NASCAR vice president of entertainment marketing and content development revealed in the company's website.
"Mark and Roma are two of the biggest, most well-respected names in Hollywood. They share our vision for this project, and we are very excited to collaborate with them on the show," added Stoddard.
Meanwhile, Burnett and Downey said that there is so much potential for creative storytelling involving the race track and its drivers, and they are optimistic that they will be able to produce a great show with NASCAR.
"From the first time we got to attend NASCAR, we fell in love with their racing world. The teams, the drivers, the fans, it's an electric atmosphere and is quintessentially American," said the couple, who will also serve as executive producers for the new show. "This is a dream come true."
With 14 regular season races in 2015, the NASCAR Spring Cup Series broadcasts were able to generate an average of 6.5 million viewers per event. On the other hand, their worldwide programming reaches viewers from 175 different countries and territories, and are broadcast in 25 languages each week.
