CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- NBC Enterprises plans to bring 10 of its series to DVD by the end of 2003 as the network has signed distribution deals with MGM, Lions Gate, A&E Home Video, Starlight Home Entertainment and Imavision Direct.
Lions Gate will distribute the bulk of NBC Enterprises' releases, with "Will & Grace: The Complete First Season" hitting stores on August 12 as well as the retail debut of the limited series "Kingpin" on July 22. (NBC Enterprises had previously offered the product only on its ShopNBC.com web site.) Following those two releases will be the complete first and second seasons of "Saved by the Bell" on September 2.
The company will also be behind a host of "Saturday Night Live" releases including a five-disc "Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Collection" on July 15. Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler and Molly Shannon will also get their own "spotlight" releases that same month as well as re-issues of the Time Life Video showcases of Chris Farley, Mike Myers and Dana Carvey.
Other distribution deals in the works:
-- A&E Home Video is set to release "Homicide: Life on the Street - The Complete First and Second Seasons" on May 27 while the company will also be behind "Profiler: The Complete First Season" on June 24.
-- Canadian-based Imavision Direct will release complete seasons of the beloved 1974-83 series "Little House on the Prairie" later this year. A portion of series' run had previously been released in non-season format on DVD.
-- MGM Home Entertainment will be behind the DVD bow of the network's telefilm "It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie," also later this year.
-- NBC Enterprises plans to issue "Providence: The Complete First Season" through a yet-to-be-announced distributor in October.
-- Also in October, episodes of the syndicated home improvement series "Rebecca's Garden" will be released by Starlight Home Entertainment.
More announcements are expected in the coming weeks as NBC is in talks with such companies as Artisan Entertainment to distribute even more product. Among the possible titles: "Crossing Jordan," "Ed" and "The Pretender." For a complete listing of NBC Studios' titles, click here.
Please note that the above paragraph does NOT mean Artisan will release "Ed," "Crossing Jordan" or "The Pretender" on DVD. All it states is that NBC is talking to other DVD distributors to release more product and that these titles are simply those NBC owns and COULD end up being released on the format. We apologize for any confusion.
This article was updated on April 8 with additional dates.
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