(Variety) A clutch of new American TV shows with movie-like qualities could be a very good bet for foreign TV buyers.

That?s the hope, anyway, of the major Hollywood suppliers as they brace for the arrival of some 600 foreign TV station buyers this weekend.

The buyers are in town for the annual 10-day marathon known as the L.A. Screenings -- an informal showcase event that?s the first opportunity each year for foreign broadcasters to view -- and possibly acquire -- new fall TV shows from the six American networks.

Among the just-greenlit series Hollywood distribs are hoping to sell for big bucks abroad are two theatrically inspired actioners from Warner Bros. -- ?The Fugitive? and ?Freedom? -- Disney?s ?CSI,? Fox?s ?Dark Angel? and Paramount?s ?Special Unit 2.?

Movie people

All five of these series have movie people behind them, generally a plus with foreign buyers who like their American imports to be strong on visuals, with plenty of edge and action -- and not too much talk.

?We think we?re in a great position with our actioners this go-round,? Warner Bros. Intl. TV prexy Jeffrey Schlesinger said. ?For instance, the movie ?The Fugitive? was a huge hit for our studio abroad, and many of those same qualities have been brought to the series.?

Vet movie producer Arnold Kopelson (?The Fugitive? movie was his), has an exec producer credit on the series, which will air Friday nights on CBS. Pic was based on a hit ABC series that ran from 1963-67.

Action producer Joel Silver has an exec producer credit on the FX-laden ?Freedom,? which is for the UPN netlet Stateside.

Similarly, ?Titanic? director-writer-producer James Cameron is behind Fox?s most high-profile action series, ?Dark Angel,? a post-apocalyptic story centered on a genetically engineered heroine.

Fox Intl. exec VP Marion Edwards said, ?The pilot looks great. We expect buyers to be enthused.?

Edwards? studio has been one of the most successful suppliers of U.S. shows to foreign TV outlets in recent years. By many accounts, the hour drama ?The X-Files? has brought in more money from abroad than any other series in its history.

Mouse moves

Over at Disney, the international TV division will be banking on deals for its movie-like drama ?CSI,? which is also on CBS Friday nights. Fast-paced skein about a team of forensic investigators is produced by actionmeister Jerry Bruckheimer (?Armageddon?).

Walt Disney Intl. TV prexy David Hulbert pointed out that ?series with movie names do at least help you get the door open with buyers.?

Hulbert noted that his company is also fielding a drama toplining movie actor Gabriel Byrne, ?Madigan Men,? and a sitcom starring movie actress Geena Davis, ?Geena.?

And finally, Paramount?s ?Special Unit 2? boasts a ?Men in Black?-like visual feel, which should pique buyers? curiosity.

While the theatrical underpinnings of series like these will at least guarantee initial interest from buyers, other quality dramas can have a hard time raking in the big bucks abroad because they?re either too talky or too American in subject matter.

Foreign station buyers are quick to say, for example, that they personally appreciate shows like Dick Wolf?s ?Law and Order? and David E. Kelley?s ?The Practice,? but they don?t typically fork out really big bucks for such series.

?Our viewers simply can?t always follow these very talkative series,? one continental European buyer said.

The Hollywood majors rake in some $4 billion a year from foreign sales of TV shows and movies to broadcasters and cable channels abroad.

Tentative approach

In recent editions of the L.A. Screenings, however, buyers have not clamored for what they?ve seen. Aside from the Canadians, who must make their purchases on the spot because they set their fall schedules at the beginning of June, most key station buyers prefer to wait until they can see how U.S. shows perform domestically.

The last competitive bidding frenzy for a U.S. show during the Screenings came five years ago when Stephen Bochco?s stylish ?Murder One? was on offer.

The heavyweight U.S. suppliers are hoping this go-round will be different.

?I think a lot of foreign clients will be pleasantly surprised: The level of product is up -- and the excitement may be back,? Fox?s Edwards said.

Richard Sattler, an L.A.-based consultant to a clutch of Euro broadcasters, also noticed a refreshing innovation in some of the sitcoms picked up by the U.S. networks last week.

Several comedies, Sattler points out, are breaking out of their studio-bound surroundings, and that new openness -- think ?The Steven Weber Show? and ?DAG? -- could attract foreign buyers.

While mainstream TV clients like the BBC, France?s TF1 and Germany?s RTL have become picky as they assess U.S. product, newcomer satellite, cable and digital terrestrial players are expected to step up with offers.

Hot is hot

Bottom line, however, is that it really helps to have a hot show that multiple buyers in a territory want. That happened in 1993 for Fox?s ?NYPD Blue,? again in 1994 for Warners? ?ER? and for Fox?s ?Murder One? five years ago -- but not since.

?There?s definitely a polarization in the international market,? Paramount Intl. TV prexy Gary Marenzi said. ?The big successful shows get picked up in most major territories, while others just sit there and sit there -- and don?t get picked up.?

Marenzi said that Hollywood suppliers that don?t have a hot show are going to have an increasingly tough time of it.

Britain?s BBC, for example, is still drawing auds with ?The Simpsons,? ?Buffy the Vampire Slayer? -- and even ?Star Trek.? The Beeb simply doesn?t have that many slots opening up for American shows.

In addition, a number of foreign buyers got burned in recent seasons, having snapped up series from top-tier writer-producers. ?Brooklyn South,? ?Millennium? and ?Snoops,? for example, all turned out to be over and out in short shrift on U.S. nets.

Taking the long view

As a general rule, foreign buyers are looking for long-running franchises, preferably dramas. Such shows fetch up to $600,000 an episode all told from foreign buyers, but only A-list series rake in that amount.

Sitcoms generally bring in much less, though there are exceptions.

Warner Bros.? ?Friends? will cost the studio much more to produce now that each of the half-dozen leads will pocket $750,000 an episode. But such trendy, young-skewing sitcoms tend to do well with upscale audiences in English-speaking territories.

Britain?s Channel 4, in fact, paid Warner Bros. upwards of $200 million last year to lock up rights to that show along with ?ER,? ?The West Wing? and ?Third Watch.?