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[12/26/08 - 06:43 PM]
Development Update: Week of December 22-26
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) |
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LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- The latest development news, culled from recent wire reports:
Looking to keep track of all the various projects in development? Click here to visit our signature "Devwatch" section. There visitors can view our listings by network, genre, studio and even development stage (ordered to pilot, cast-contingent, script, etc.). It's updated every day!
BITCHES (FOX, New!) - Feature writer Michael Dougherty ("Superman Returns") has scored a hefty script commitment from the network for a new drama about a quartet of female friends in New York who are werewolves. The project, which has a penalty attached should it not move forward to pilot, is set up at Warner Bros. Television. Writer/producers Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts ("Pushing Daisies") have been tapped to supervise Dougherty and executive produce. No other specifics were given.
GILMORE GIRLS (The CW) - One day after filing a lawsuit against CBS over "Two and a Half Men" (see below), Warner Bros. Television itself has been sued by producer Gavin Polone over "Gilmore Girls." The breach-of-contract lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims the vertically integrated Time Warner companies Warner Bros. Television and The WB "have colluded to defraud the originator of hit 'Gilmore Girls' television series with a scheme that rivals the greed and bravado of any story line defendants could script." Hofflund/Polone, Polone's company with Judy Hofflund, alleges the "modified adjusted gross," the money the show earns after costs are deducted, for "Gilmore's" first six seasons was modified by the studio - through "collusion among defendants to set below-market license fees" and a series of improper charges - which cut into Hofflund/Polone's profits as a result. A third-party audit commissioned by Hofflund/Polone in October 2006 alleges that number was understated by $45.5 million and the company has asked for "tens of millions of dollars" in damages as a result. Warner Bros. has yet to comment on the suit.
LOST & FOUND (NBC) - Australian actor Damon Herriman ("All Saints") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, which centers on Tessa Cooper (Katee Sackhoff), an offbeat LAPD detective who, after butting heads with higher-ups, is sent as punishment to the basement to work on John and Jane Doe cases. He'll play Anthony Yeckel, an oddball civilian consultant to the police's lost-and-found department who has an obsessive love of old detective TV shows. Brian Cox and Josh Cooke also star in the Universal Media Studios/Wolf Films-based hour, which Michael Engler is directing from a script by creator Chris Levinson.
TWO AND A HALF MEN (CBS) - Warner Bros. Television filed a $49 million breach of contract lawsuit against CBS on Tuesday. Said suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims the network owes Warner Bros. additional fees toward the production deficit carried by the studio. The "deficit recoupment" was understood to be tied to "Men" hitting certain ratings milestones as specified by the show's original four-year license agreement signed in 2003. The suit indicates the studio incurred a $61.1 million deficit over the course of the first four years of the show (for instance CBS paid $750,000 per episode during "Men's" first season while Warner Bros. actual cost to produce the show came in at $1.22 million), a cost which CBS would cover should "Men" finish as a top 10 show. Additionally, should "Men" finish in the top five in its fourth season, CBS would pay an additional $650,000 more per episode in the fifth and sixth seasons (with a downward scale from there). "CBS has reaped the benefits of the tremendous success of 'Two and a Half Men" but wants to deny Warner Bros. the right to its agreed-upon share," Warner Bros. said in a statement. CBS countered with simply, "Wow, I wonder what they got the other networks for Christmas."
UGLY BETTY (ABC) - "Dexter" co-star Lauren Velez has booked a multi-episode arc on the Thursday dramedy. She'll play Elena, a nurse that enters the lives of the Suarez family, whom reports speculate will be linked to a major plot development. It's not clear when her first episode will air.
UNTITLED MARIA BELLO PROJECT (HBO, New!) - Maria Bello ("The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor") is set to topline a potential new drama at the pay channel about a woman who's forced into a life of crime to support her three teenage sons after her husband is killed. Gary Lennon ("The Shield") is penning the hour, which sees the woman using her sons as henchmen, leading them all down a destructive road. Bello herself will executive produce alongside Lennon, Gavin Polone and John Carrabino.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[08/16/17 - 12:11 PM]
OWN Announces New Drama Series from Academy Award-Winning "Moonlight" Writer/Producer Tarell Alvin McCraney
Haunted by the death of his closest friend, and relied on by his hardworking mother to find a way out of poverty, a 14-year-old prodigy from the projects must choose between the streets that raised him or the higher education that may offer him a way out.
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[08/16/17 - 11:44 AM]
Lifetime's Twisted Secrets September Features the Premieres of the Movies "Ten" Starring China Anne McClain, Vampire Flick "Drink, Slay, Love" from Producer Bella Thorne and "Sea Change" Based on the YA New York Times Bestseller
Based on the teen horror novel by Gretchen McNeil, "Ten" is the story of a weekend retreat gone wrong.
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[08/16/17 - 11:41 AM]
Video: Watch the New Trailer for TNT's "Good Behavior"
The new season will premiere Sunday, October 15, now at the later time of 10:00/9:00c.
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[08/16/17 - 10:09 AM]
TLC's "My Giant Life" Returns with a Brand-New Season of Tall Tales to Tell on Sunday, September 17th at 10/9c
Haleigh, Alicia Jay, Katja, Lindsay, Krista and Coco will take viewers inside their everyday lives as they deal with issues that far surpass height than ever before.
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[08/16/17 - 10:05 AM]
Joy Nash Cast as Lead in AMC's Upcoming Series "Dietland"
Set against the backdrop of the beauty industry, this part-character drama and part-revenge fantasy explores society's obsession with weight loss and beauty in a bold, original and wickedly entertaining way.
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[08/16/17 - 10:00 AM]
Carlton Cuse Signs Multiyear Pact with ABC Studios
Under the Genre Arts banner, Cuse will develop projects and collaborate with other writers to bring their visions to the screen under the new agreement.
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[08/16/17 - 09:01 AM]
USA Network and Universal Cable Productions Confirm Spinoff Pilot Starring Gina Torres to Air in the Current Season of "Suits"
When Jessica Pearson is forced to enter the dirty world of Chicago politics, she must rely on her legal wits and valiant relationships from Pearson Specter Litt to navigate this unknown territory.
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[08/16/17 - 08:23 AM]
An All-New Season of "Victoria" Premieres January 14, 2018 on "Masterpiece" on PBS
More than 16.2 million viewers tuned in for "Victoria's" premiere season, making it the
highest-rated drama on PBS in 20 years - second only to "Downton Abbey."
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[08/16/17 - 08:17 AM]
Tuesday's Broadcast Ratings: NBC Continues Its Win Streak
The Peacock, powered by "America's Got Talent," has won Tuesday night for 13 consecutive weeks.
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[08/15/17 - 01:43 PM]
Julian McMahon Joins Cast of Hulu Original Series, "Marvel's Runaways"
While his origins and ultimate intentions are unknown, McMahon will be a pivoltal player in the Runaways' rebellion against their parents.
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[08/15/17 - 01:14 PM]
Showtime Sports(R) to Chronicle the 2017 United States Naval Academy Football Team with Weekly Docu-Series "A Season with Navy Football"
After chronicling The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Florida State Seminoles in its first two seasons, the original franchise returns to reveal a vastly different picture of student-athlete life.
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[08/15/17 - 11:21 AM]
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries' Newest "Garage Sale Mystery Month" Premiere Scores as Highest-Rated and Most-Watched Telecast in Network History
The Hallmark Channel spins the numbers for the week of August 7-13.
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[08/15/17 - 11:20 AM]
Video: Netflix Announces the Launch Date and Debuts Trailer for Original Documentary Short "Resurface"
The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival where it won a Special Jury Mention and will launch globally on Netflix on September 1.
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[08/15/17 - 10:44 AM]
Smithsonian Channel(TM) Calls All Aboard with "Mighty Cruise Ships" and "Mighty Trains"
Look for both series back-to-back beginning Sunday, September 3 at 8:00/7:00c.
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[08/15/17 - 10:31 AM]
2017 "NFL on CBS" Broadcast Pairings Feature Five New Teams Led by New Lead Announce Team of Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson
Beth Mowins will become the first woman to ever call play-by-play for the network's NFL games when she teams with new game analyst Jay Feely to call Cleveland-Indianapolis on September 24.
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