The Bible and Vikings made History last month in more ways than one. Both the religious miniseries and the period drama helped the channel ascend to the No. 1 spot among cable networks during March. That means less than a year after Hatfields & McCoys launched History into the scripted world, the channel is now three-for-three with original dramas.
History has come a long way from the days when it was mostly known for running...
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When a young programming executive at the History channel first pitched the idea of following a group of Louisiana Cajuns who hunt alligators, "the poor guy got laughed out of the room," says the network's president, Nancy Dubuc. But instead of dropping the idea, he kept bringing it up — and kept getting laughed at.
"But by the fourth meeting, you had to pause," Dubuc says. "If somebody is as passionate as he was about something, what's the harm in letting them run with it?" That germ of an idea turned into Swamp People, an unlikely hit that ...
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