LOS ANGELES, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- PBS' "Masterpiece Theater" is searching for corporate funding after long-time sponsor Exxon Mobil of Houston ends its support at the season's end.
PBS needs approximately $7 million to support "Masterpiece Theater," said Pat Mitchell, PBS president. Even if a corporate sponsor is not found, Mitchell said the series would continue for the next two seasons with PBS' support, according to Monday's Hollywood Reporter.
Before its 1999t merger with Exxon, Mobil had underwritten the series for years.
In other PBS news, the public broadcaster announced a new series, "PBS Hollywood Presents," starting production Monday in New York.
The show stars Richard Dreyfuss as a veteran policeman working Manhattan's Upper West Side. Rita Moreno, Blair Brown and Rosie Perez also will star in the show, which will be shot live in real-time in two 45-minute segments to simulate a live telecast.
