On March 31 Variety reported NBC Universal’s announcement that it is launching a scripted drama about the world of pro wrestling. The WWE series, “Pinned” is set to be produced by Universal Content Productions and World Wrestling Entertainment. As per Variety, NBC describes the drama as, “An adrenalized upstairs-downstairs soap that gives a behind-the-scenes look at a fictional wrestling promotion and the unforgettable characters that populate it.”
Much is still to be determined surrounding the drama. NBC Universal has not announced, as yet, which network the drama will be aired on. Of course, one viable and natural choice would be its streaming service, Peacock, which hosts the WWE Network.
WWE Pinned Announced
“Pinned” is not WWE’s only ongoing scripted dramatic project. In July 2021, WWE announced the scripted drama “The United States vs. Vince McMahon”. Co-produced alongside Blumhouse television, the series is a fictionalized portrayal of Vince McMahon’s 1994 trial in the wake of Dr. George Zahorian’s 1991 indictment for providing steroids to pro wrestlers.
With both dramas, WWE is utilizing its uniquely preeminent place in the canon of pro wrestling, and its storied and sometimes controversial history, as fodder for fictional televised stories.
Elsewhere, under its WWE Studios, and formerly WWE Films, brand WWE has focused on producing a variety of mostly family-friendly and action-adventure projects in the past. Recent co-productions include the Netflix collaboration “Escape the Undertaker”, an interactive comedic horror film in which The New Day must escape “The Dead Man”’s clutches. WWE Studios also collaborated with Netflix in 2020 on the film “The Main Event”, in which a tween receives prodigious in-ring talent upon finding a magical wrestling mask. It features WWE talent such as The Miz. Another streaming release, on streamer Paramount+, was 2021’s Rumble. The digitally animated family film stars WWE superstars Roman Reigns and Becky Lynch as voice talents for two of the ensemble cast’s animated characters.
While these projects drew on the personas of WWE’s superstars or had a family-friendly pro wrestling theme, if “Pinned” and “The United States vs. Vince McMahon” are any indication WWE now seems to be pivoting towards a dramatic shift in tone for scripted co-productions.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network and Peacock.
