Farley’s Task: Make ‘FABLife’ Stand Apart

Disney-ABC’s FABLife with Tyra Banks and four other co-hosts will have a distinctly different look and feel from daytime television’s other panel talk shows when it debuts in mid September, according to newly named executive producer Shane Farley. His background includes co-executive producing CBS Television Distribution’s Rachael Ray and producing Warner Bros.’ Rosie O’Donnell Show.

For starters, that’ll include what he says will be the best-looking set on daytime TV.

Moreover, unlike other panel talk shows, Banks and her co-hosts, model/food-social media enthusiast Chrissy Teigen, fashion designer Joe Zee, interior decorator Lauren Makk and do-it-yourself expert Leah Ashley will move around the set handling segments related to their area of expertise.

“It’ll be a combination of information and entertainment,” says Farley. “It’s not five talking heads talking about the day’s news. They’re lifestylists, which is what we’re calling them.

“Daytime viewers want to connect with the co-hosts and learn something. That’s what they get from this show. You walk away with information that you can apply to your everyday life.”

The co-hosts will appear together for each episode’s opening segment. In other segments, one or more co-host will go to areas on the set designed around their specialty.

Banks will focus on beauty and will occasionally host a recurring segment to inspire would-be entrepreneurs.

“People see Tyra as a supermodel who’s an expert on beauty,” says Farley. “But she also went to Harvard Business School. So, the business side of beauty is very important to her. She wants to help young entrepreneurs, so we’ll do segments focused on that.”

The show will sometimes have celebrity guests.

FABLife is cleared in some 90% of TV homes, including on launch group ABC Television Stations’ eight stations, such as WABC New York, KABC Los Angeles and WLS Chicago. In many markets, FABLife will air at 2 p.m. or 3 p.m.

The show will start taping in late August. “I have time to shape the show,” says Farley. “We’re right at the beginning stages of pre-production. Our producers start next week, which is when we’ll start having creative meetings.”

Earlier this week, Farley was named executive producer on FABLife with Rebecca Mayer. She produced the FABLife pilot that Disney-ABC executives pitched to stations.

Karl Newton and George Davilas were named senior supervising producers.

“Like our talent on air, our producers each bring a certain expertise to the table,” says Lisa Hackner, executive vice president of daytime and syndicated programming at ABC Entertainment. “Shane has years of experience in daily talk both in cable and broadcast. He will work hand-in-hand with co-EP Rebecca Mayer who has a cable reality background and was integral in crafting a distinct daytime show.

“They understand the daypart, they understand the audience and they also understand the lifestyle genre.”