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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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[10/22/20 - 01:21 PM]
The ID Films Premiere of "The Witmans" Explores the Harsh Realities of the United States Sentencing Its Children to Life Without Parole
Look for the two-hour event Tuesday, December 1 at 9:00/8:00c on Investigation Discovery.
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[10/22/20 - 12:00 PM]
Video: Showtime(R) Releases Trailer and Poster Art for New Docu-Series "The Reagans"
The four-part series contextualizes the legacy of Ronald and Nancy a generation later while exploring the palace intrigue of the Reagan White House years.
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[10/22/20 - 10:47 AM]
Video: "Voices of Fire" - Official Teaser - Netflix
The series, from executive producer Pharrell Williams, launches November 20.
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[10/22/20 - 10:30 AM]
HBO Max Highlights - November 2020
New additions include "12 Dates of Christmas," "Full Bloom," "I Hate Suzie," "Valley of Tears" and "Veneno"; plus the HBO Max bows of "Titans" and "Young Justice" (both on November 1).
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[10/22/20 - 10:06 AM]
TBS Orders New Season of Top-Rated Comedy Anthology Series "Miracle Workers"
The network has tapped Dan Mirk and Robert Padnick to serve as showrunners for the newest installment.
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[10/22/20 - 10:00 AM]
"Saturday Night Live" Extends Its Unprecedented Run with Consecutive Shows During Its 46th Season
In addition to the previously announced five shows in a row (October 3 through October 31), there will now be an additional sixth original "SNL" on November 7.
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[10/22/20 - 09:32 AM]
Video: "Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square" Starring Christine Baranski - Official Trailer - Netflix
The musical also features Treat Williams, Jeanine Mason, Josh Segarra, Mary Lane Haskell, and many more talented folks.
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[10/22/20 - 09:30 AM]
Lifetime Joins the 94th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade(R) with Holiday-Themed Inaugural Float
The festive float inspired by the network's popular "It's a Wonderful Lifetime" holiday movie event, featuring 30 new movies premiering through Christmas.
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[10/22/20 - 09:18 AM]
Video: Official Hulu Trailer - "Run"
There's something unnatural, even sinister about the relationship between Chloe (newcomer Kiera Allen) and her mom, Diane (Sarah Paulson).
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[10/22/20 - 09:01 AM]
Video: Showtime(R) Announces Premiere Date for "Your Honor" and Debuts Second Trailer
The 10-episode legal thriller stars Cranston as Michael Desiato, a respected New Orleans judge whose teenage son, Adam (Hunter Doohan), is involved in a hit-and-run that leads to a high-stakes game of lies, deceit and impossible choices.
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[10/22/20 - 08:19 AM]
Wednesday's Broadcast Ratings: FOX, World Series Stay on Top
Coverage of Game 2 holds off the competition in total viewers and adults 18-49.
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[10/22/20 - 08:02 AM]
Video: "The Liberator" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A diverse, deeply brave crew of ragtag soldiers become some of the most heroic fighters of the European invasion in World War II.
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[10/22/20 - 08:00 AM]
Country Music Legend Charley Pride to Receive the 2020 Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at "The 54th Annual CMA Awards"
Previous recipients of the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award include Willie Nelson (2012), Kenny Rogers (2013), Johnny Cash (2015), Dolly Parton (2016) and Kris Kristofferson (2019).
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[10/22/20 - 07:23 AM]
VH1's Tiffany "New York" Pollard Returns for "I Love New York: Reunited" Hosted by Vivica A. Fox Airing Monday, November 23rd at 8:00pm ET/PT
Plus: look for "Hollywood Exes: Reunited" on Tuesday, November 24 at 8:00/7:00c.
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[10/22/20 - 07:16 AM]
Video: "The Prom" - Official Teaser Trailer - Netflix
Directed by Ryan Murphy, "The Prom" is the spectacular, big-hearted film adaptation of the Tony-nominated Broadway musical.
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