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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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[10/16/17 - 12:21 PM]
Investigation Discovery and Time Inc. Productions Announce Premiere of New Season of "People Magazine Investigates"
Season two debuts Monday, November 6 at 10:00/7:00c.
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[10/16/17 - 11:35 AM]
Comedian and Writer Wyatt Cenac to Star in Comedic Docu-Series Examining Hot-Button Issues, Debuting on HBO in Spring 2018
The half-hour late-night docu-series will take a satirical look at social and cultural issues from Cenac's unique perspective.
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[10/16/17 - 11:00 AM]
History Honors Veterans Day with New Episodes of "The Warfighters" from Executive Producer Peter Berg on Nov. 11
"The Warfighters" premieres with four back-to-back new episodes on Saturday, November 11 beginning at 8:00/7:00c.
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[10/16/17 - 10:02 AM]
TNT Launches New Psychological Thriller "The Alienist" Jan. 22
Set in 1896 amidst a backdrop of vast wealth, extreme poverty and technological innovation, this psychological thriller stars Daniel Brühl, Luke Evans, Dakota Fanning and Brian Geraghty.
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[10/16/17 - 09:35 AM]
Guest Line-Up Announced for "The Daily Show Undesked Chicago 2017: Let's Do This Before It Gets Too Damn Cold" Including Common, Arne Duncan and Curtis Toler, Lena Waithe and Vic Mensa
As previously announced, "The Daily Show Presents: The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library," which made its debut in New York City in June, will open in Chicago this weekend.
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[10/16/17 - 09:15 AM]
A&E Network to Premiere Six-Part Limited Series "Who Killed Tupac?" on Tuesday, November 21 at 9PM ET/PT
The series follows famed civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump as he conducts, for the first time ever, a no-stone-unturned investigation twenty years after the death of the dynamic and influential rapper and actor.
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[10/16/17 - 09:07 AM]
National Geographic Acquires Cable Syndication Rights of NBCUniversal's "Running Wild with Bear Grylls"
The network also has the first option to air additional seasons of the series produced by Bear Grylls Ventures and Electus, should they be greenlit by NBC.
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[10/16/17 - 09:06 AM]
Hotel Expert Anthony Melchiorri Checks-in to the World's Most "Extreme Hotels"
In Travel Channel's new series "Extreme Hotels," premiering Sunday, November 19, Melchiorri explores unique and breathtaking accommodations in bucket-list locales.
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[10/16/17 - 08:59 AM]
Hallmark Channel's 7th Annual Hero Dog Awards Premieres October 25
The "Oscars for Dogs" features a veritable galaxy of two-legged stars, including hosts James Denton and Beth Stern.
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[10/16/17 - 08:20 AM]
Best of HBO International Series to Arrive on U.S. Service in December
Beginning in December, two series from each of the regions will arrive on the U.S. streaming services HBO GO and HBO NOW as well as HBO On Demand.
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[10/16/17 - 08:16 AM]
Sunday's Broadcast Ratings: "Sunday Night Football" Powers Another NBC Victory
Plus: CBS gets a boost to its lineup with a primetime NFL overrun.
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[10/16/17 - 07:21 AM]
HGTV's "Property Brothers at Home: Drew's Honeymoon House" Premieres on Wednesday, Nov. 22, at 9 p.m. ET/PT
The five-episode series will follow the Scott brothers as they complete a massive renovation of the couple's first home together in Los Angeles.
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[10/15/17 - 09:02 AM]
Saturday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC, College Football Top Demos
The Alphabet wins the night among adults 18-49 while CBS is the most-watched network.
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[10/15/17 - 08:56 AM]
"Saturday Night Live" Generates Season Highs & the Show's 2nd Strongest Week 3 Metered-Market Rating in 6 Years
NBC spins the numbers for Saturday, October 14.
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[10/14/17 - 08:21 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS Takes Home Victory in Viewers, Demos
The Eye's trio of dramas top the night in both categories.
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