• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

TV Pilots |OT| The Season's Dead, But Development Hell is Forever

So, I made this thread last year when Fox hadn't murdered pilot season like they murdered Firefly. Pilot season, undoubtably, will become less of a thing with one of the major players not participating this season.

But even more importantly... I feel like we're getting to a point where we might need a TV |OT| in Community where we can roll all of this together into one thread. Obviously, Ratsky's amazing "what is premiering when" threads should keep going in Off-Topic, but this seems like something that should happen.

What does everyone think?

OT Community feels like a graveyard to me.

But hey, I will follow you into the breech and so on and so forth.
 

ivysaur12

Banned
OT Community feels like a graveyard to me.

But hey, I will follow you into the breech and so on and so forth.

I post in OT Community a lot, so maybe I'm just used to it. It just feels like, at this point, there is a TV-GAF Community that might be better served in one big thread like those that can exist in the OT Community.

And honestly, the OT has become a little too mucked up with official threads for shows anyway. Not like those would stop, but maybe it'd be better to remove at least a few TV threads from here.
 
franklinavenue said:
This just in: #FX has ordered a comedy pilot created by and starring Zach Galifianakis, and co-written by Louis C.K #tca14





But even more importantly... I feel like we're getting to a point where we might need a TV |OT| in Community where we can roll all of this together into one thread. Obviously, Ratsky's amazing "what is premiering when" threads should keep going in Off-Topic, but this seems like something that should happen.

What does everyone think?
I guess my initial concern is that there's too much to discuss to contain in one thread, plus I'd like some coverage on new pilots and interesting tv business news in the OT. But we could spinoff independent threads for newsworthy stuff from time to time sort of how PoliGAF does it. Let me think about it, and I'm very curious to hear what other TV GAF folks have to say about it.
 

ivysaur12

Banned
I guess my initial concern is that there's too much to discuss to contain in one thread, plus I'd like some coverage on new pilots and interesting tv business news in the OT. But we could spinoff independent threads for newsworthy stuff from time to time sort of how PoliGAF does it. Let me think about it, and I'm very curious to hear what other TV GAF folks have to say about it.

No, I understand. Sometimes I feel like I come to the OT and it's a wall of TV threads (usually for shows) and the Cancellation thread has sort of become a catch-all TV thread anyway. I was thinking more of a Poli-GAF model, where there are still Poli-GAF threads in the OT.

It was just a thought. That wasn't me trying to backseat mod, I just thought it might actually help and might be fun to have more of a "community" thread.
 
It was just a thought. That wasn't me trying to backseat mod, I just thought it might actually help and might be fun to have more of a "community" thread.
I didn't take it that way. It's not a bad idea, and I always welcome the input. If TV-GAF has ideas on this, feel free to post them or send me a PM. If, at some point, the threads need some restructuring, we'll figure it out.
 
Well, as long as individual show threads stay in OT, I don't mind personally. I'm still grumbling about my Hawkguy thread moving there and mostly drying up.
 
I definitely wouldn't mind some kind of dedicated TV Gaf thread in OT Community. I use the Gaf subscription feature so the actual location of threads doesn't affect me one way or another. But there is so much information that I can see things getting lost in the shuffle.

However, perhaps if the thread was specifically a TV Development thread? I mean it seems like there's already constant development year round and with Fox officially bowing out of the traditional Pilot process there's definitely a real possibility we'll see other networks follow suit. Particularly if Fox does well with their new approach. Perhaps we could even use such a thread to discuss the creation/import of web series? I mean Hulu makes deals to bring a lot of overseas originals to the US (Misfits, Spy, Wrong Mans, The Thick of it, etc..) and that Lonely Island/Fox deal is aimed at Web development as well along with the normal more independent web productions. I mean could that work?

We could still have individual show OT's and a cancellation thread just to keep the thread from being overloaded but could that help consolidation/organization a bit?
 

beat

Member
OT Community feels like a graveyard to me.

But hey, I will follow you into the breech and so on and so forth.

I interact with GAF more through the threads I'm subscribed to than new threads in either OT or OT Community. <shrug>

A thread for general TV business makes sense; at least it would merge the pilot season thread with the cancellations thread and I feel like creation/destruction of shows are related issues anyways.


I kinda want a betting pool on how many Asians/Asian-American actors will star, with a side bet on number of Asian/AsAm guest actors who'll have more than four lines, say.

(Also, it's a US production, odds are the show is performed mostly in English, fine by me. But I predict the Asian characters will speak mostly in accented English and the Italian/Portuguese characters will speak with a Midwest/Californian accent or at most British.)

.... okay, I think I've gotten all the cynicism out!
 
So, I made this thread last year when Fox hadn't murdered pilot season like they murdered Firefly. Pilot season, undoubtably, will become less of a thing with one of the major players not participating this season.

But even more importantly... I feel like we're getting to a point where we might need a TV |OT| in Community where we can roll all of this together into one thread. Obviously, Ratsky's amazing "what is premiering when" threads should keep going in Off-Topic, but this seems like something that should happen.

What does everyone think?

Yeah. We need one big TV thread.
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
So, I made this thread last year when Fox hadn't murdered pilot season like they murdered Firefly. Pilot season, undoubtably, will become less of a thing with one of the major players not participating this season.

But even more importantly... I feel like we're getting to a point where we might need a TV |OT| in Community where we can roll all of this together into one thread. Obviously, Ratsky's amazing "what is premiering when" threads should keep going in Off-Topic, but this seems like something that should happen.

What does everyone think?
As someone who is a member of what is essentially Anime |OT|, I think it's a good idea. Especially since there are a lot of shows with OTs that just don't get any play (rip Treme).

I didn't take it that way. It's not a bad idea, and I always welcome the input. If TV-GAF has ideas on this, feel free to post them or send me a PM. If, at some point, the threads need some restructuring, we'll figure it out.
Maybe talk to duckroll about adapting the Anime OT format?

Anime is a bit different because it definitively runs in four seasons per year, so it's easy to "refresh" the thread once a new season starts. But I feel like TV-GAF is probably slow enough that you could probably have an August-to-August thread that covers a year in (American) television.
 
- Kyle Chandler To Star In Netflix’s Thriller Drama Series From Todd A. Kessler, Daniel Zelman, Glenn Kessler & Sony TV
Sought-after TV leading man Kyle Chandler is off the market for this coming pilot season. I’ve learned that the Friday Night Lights alum, who already had received a ton of pilot offers, has signed on to star in Netflix‘s 13-episode psychological thriller from Damages creators Todd A. Kessler, Daniel Zelman and Glenn Kessler and Sony Pictures TV. Written and executive produced by the Kessler brothers and Zelman in their follow-up to the acclaimed FX/DirecTV legal thriller starring Glenn Close, the untitled series centers on a family of adult siblings whose secrets and scars are revealed when the black sheep oldest brother returns home. Netflix and Sony would not comment, but I hear Chandler will play the married middle brother who takes care of the family. The deal comes after a lengthy courtship, with the project landing Chandler for the role that he had been considered the prototype for. Filming is slated to begin in late March in the Florida Keys.
 
- EW: Fox orders gun running drama series
Fox is taking on the controversial topic of the gun trade with a new drama project.

The broadcaster has ordered Runner, which is described as being “to guns what [the film] Traffic was to drugs.”

The logline: “We find our way into the traditionally masculine world of Arms Dealing through the unexpected lens of a woman. After a simple twist of fate, Lauren Marks learns her husband is not the person she believed him to be. Faced with the harsh reality that her life is forever changed, she goes on a truth seeking journey that entrenches her in a US/Mexican war over weapons and terrorism.”

Runner is from writer Michael Cooney (Identity) and producer Peter Horton (Grey’s Anatomy).

Fox also ordered Red Band Society, a project that includes Steven Spielberg among its executive ranks. The logline: “A group of teenagers meet as patients in the children’s wing of a hospital and become unlikely allies and friends in this comedic young soap. It represents a completely inspired way into young soap, a comedic one-hour, a hospital show, and a (surrogate) family drama.”

Runner has received a commitment from the network for “further investment towards series production this summer,” while Red Band Society is a “firm go” as a series.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
In one of her first projects as a producer, former HBO entertainment president Sue Naegle has come on board Cinemax's 'Outcast', the exorcism drama project from The Walking Dead‘s Robert Kirkman.

aegle has a relationship with Kirkman. She is known for her love for supernatural and horror fare and is a fan of Kirkman’s graphic novel The Walking Dead. As an HBO development executive, she went aggressively after the property and had talks with Kirkman.

HBO got very close to a Walking Dead deal, which was championed by Naegle. It ultimately didn’t make, and AMC snagged the comic book for what would become the biggest series on television.

Source

Wow, I had no idea HBO was that close to getting The Walking Dead.
 

TheOddOne

Member
- Rashida Jones To Topline Steve Carell’s TBS Comedy Pilot ‘Tribeca’
Departing Parks & Recreation original cast member Rashida Jones has lined up her next series vehicle, signing on to play the lead in TBS‘ single-camera comedy Tribeca, co-created and directed by Steve Carell. Co-written by Carell and his wife, actress Nancy Carell, Tribeca is a satirical look at a police procedural anchored by Angie Tribeca (Jones), an outspoken 10-year veteran of the LAPD’s elite RHCU (Really Heinous Crimes Unit).

The project explores an eccentric but brilliant group of people who investigate crime, reveal way too much personal information, and refuse to rest until justice has been served…sort of. A lone wolf, Angie is not thrilled when told she has to work with a partner. The Carells are executive producing the pilot through their Carousel TV, with production tentatively scheduled for February/March.

Jones had been in high demand since word leaked in that summer that she would be leaving Parks & Recreation. The actress, repped by UTA and attorney James Adams, had been very busy as a producer via her shingle with Will McCormack Le Train Train. In its first year under a deal at Warner Bros TV, the company has sold six project and recently landed its first pilot order for comedy A to Z at NBC. Picking a starring vehicle outside of her deal was somewhat surprising but I hear Carell actively pursued her, and she sparked to the premise of the show.
 

TheOddOne

Member
TBS seems to finally be doing well for itself. It will be interesting to see their lineup in a few years.
Yeah, they seem to be attracting good talent.

I need to catch up on TBS's Ground Floor, which has been getting some praise from here and there.
 
- Deadline: Jaimie Alexander To Co-Star In Ryan Murphy’s HBO Pilot ‘Open’
Thor‘s Jaimie Alexander has joined Ryan Murphy‘s HBO pilot Open as a series regular. Additionally, Alexander is in negotiations to topline the indie Money Is Money with Luke Bracey. Open, which Murphy co-wrote with Lauren Gussis, is described as a modern, provocative exploration of human sexuality and relationships. It centers on five central characters played by Michelle Monaghan, Scott Speedman, Wes Bentley, Anna Torv and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Alexander will play Claire, the postpartum-suffering, pill-popping Stepford wife of Evan (Bentley).
I like the cast for this, but I haven't watched much of Ryan Murphy's stuff over the years.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
TNT Acquires ‘Transporter’ Series For Fall

TNT has picked up the first and upcoming second season of the international series, which will debut on the network in fall 2014.

Season 2 is going into production on February 26, with shooting planned for Morocco, the Czech Republic and Canada. Based on Luc Besson’s Transporter film franchise, the series stars Chris Vance as professional transporter Frank Martin, who can always be counted on to get the job done — discreetly.

The project has had a bumpy ride: It was picked up by Cinemax in early 2011, but the project suffered several setbacks during the filming of its first season, including a showrunner change and a production shutdown when Vance was sidelined by an injury. Cinemax ultimately opted not to air the series but, based on the solid performance of the first season in France, Canada and some Fox International territories, the producers decided to proceed with a second season, with The X-Files veteran Frank Spotnitz as new showrunner.

Holy shit, I can't believe this is finally getting a US air date!
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
ABC ordered three drama pilots:
From executive producer Matt Miller (Chuck), Forever centers on Dr. Henry Morgan, New York City's best medical examiner, but what no one knows is Henry studies the dead for a reason -- he is immortal. With the help of Detective Jo Martinez, the layers will be peeled back on Henry's colorful and long life through the cases.

Miller penned the pilot, with Lin Pictures' Dan Lin and Jennifer Gwartz executive producing. Warner Bros. TV produces.
Exposed, based on a Scandinavian format, follows an investigative journalist who will stop at nothing to uncover the truth -- including making questionable alliances. Love & Other Drugs screenwriter Charles Randolph will pen the Universal TV project, with executive producers Peter Traugott and Rachel Kaplan.
ABC has also added drama pilot The Visitors, from Amblin Television. Based on a Ray Bradbury short story called Zero Hour, the drama hails from Dawn Olmstead's Grady Girl banner. Soo Hugh (Under the Dome, The River) will pen the script for the ABC Studios entry, which landed at the network with a script commitment in November.

Hugh will executive produce the drama that is described as a race against the clock to defeat an unseen alien enemy out to destroy the world by using the Earth's most precious resource: children. Amblin TV's Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank -- who also oversee Under the Dome -- will executive produce the drama, marking a reunion for them with Hugh.

Fox ordered six episodes of comedy Weird Loners:
Weird Loners is the story of four relationship-phobic people who are unexpectedly thrust into each other’s lives and form an unlikely bond in a Queens, New York townhouse. Michael Weithorn will pen the script and executive produce the 20th Century Fox entry alongside Jake Kasdan.

and another three comedy pilots:
Sober Companion centers on a charming, but self-destructive attorney who finds his world turned upside down when a court-appointed, and highly unconventional, sober companion takes control of his life.

David S. Rosenthal and Jennie Snyder Urman penned the script and will executive produce the CBS Television Studios entry.

[this is multicam - Dan]

Dead Boss is based on the British series created by Sharon Horgan and Holly Walsh and described as a comedic mystery that finds overachiever Helen Stephens wrongfully convicted of murdering her boss and forced to rely on her train wreck of a sister to prove her innocence.

Horgan and Walsh will executive produce alongside Aaron Kaplan and Patricia Breen, who will pen the script for the Warner Bros. Television and Kaptial Entertainment effort.

[this is single-cam - Dan]

The network also lifted the cast contingency on comedy Here's Your Damn Family -- aka the untitled Ricky Blitt comedy from exec producer Steve McPherson and Johnny Galecki, tapping Jane Kaczmarek to star in the lead. The ICM and Greenlight Management-repped actress w ill play Carol Gordon, a single mother for two decades of a son, Richard, who is pushing 30 and still lives at home and has no plans to leave. She's described as a warm, attractive, bright, witty and principled woman who's a little insecure when it comes to the opposite sex -- almost forgetting, after all these years, just how great a catch she really is.

NBC ordered two comedy pilots:
The network on Thursday handed out pilots order to Lifesaver, a multicamera comedy from Friends alum Wil Calhoun, and The Pro, starring Rob Lowe, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

From Universal Television, Calhoun will pen the script and executive produce Lifesaver alongside Peter Traugott and Rachel Kaplan. The comedy asks the question: How you get rid of the most maddening person in the world after he's given you a kidney? It's described as an odd couple comedy in which two polar opposites become inextricably linked.

It marks Traugott's second pilot order this season, joining ABC's untitled Jeff Lowell romantic comedy.

The Pro, meanwhile, is a single-camera comedy from ABC Studios and Universal Television that stars Parks and Recreation's Lowe. It's set in and around a tennis and golf club, and stars Lowe as a former doubles champion who is reunited with his ex-partner after a public feud that left them both floundering in life.

Peter Huyck and Alex Gregory (King of the Hill, Frasier) will pen the script and executive produce via their overall deal with ABC Studios. Lowe, Karey Burke, Marc Gurvitz and Todd Holland will also exec produce, with the latter on board to direct the pilot.
 

beat

Member
I might watch Dead Boss and Weird Loners. Sober Companion, .... maybe, but multicams aren't really my thing for the most part. Whether it's the artificiality of it or the related fact that it's not where the writing talent is, I dunno.

The Pro might be good. Rob Lowe certainly has comedic talent, and it'll be nice if he can show that in a different way that Parks and Rec's Chris Traeger character.

Lifesaver will almost definitely fail in casting or execution, because "the most maddening person in the world" is usually not someone you want to watch as a main character. Sure, you can point to Will & Grace's Karen and Jack, but I feel like there are a lot more sitcoms where that kind of character is just unbearable for both the audience and the straight man character.



Apparently Benched wasn't ordered to series until today. Well, good for them! I got to watch an early version of the pilot and it was decent. Definitely had a bit of the usual sitcom pilot flailing, but hopefully they'll be able to focus on a few key things as they go to series. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/usa-orders-eliza-coupe-comedy-673784 And hey, John Enbom of Party Down is gonna showrun.

edit for FX news: http://splitsider.com/2014/01/fx-or...-brett-gelman-and-jenny-slate-coming-in-july/

Cable network FX announced they've picked up two new comedies today. The first, called Married, stars Nat Faxon (Ben and Kate) and Judy Greer (Arrested Development) as two best friends trying to save their marriage amidst arguing and sex troubles. Brett Gelman (Eagleheart) and Jenny Slate (Parks and Rec) play supporting roles.

FX's second new show, You're the Worst, was created by Weeds writer/producer Stephen Falk and follows two self-destructive people who fall in love and try to date. You're the Worst stars British actor Chris Geere, Aya Cash (The Wolf of Wall Street), Kether Donahue (Pitch Perfect), and Desmin Borges (The Good Wife).

FX has ordered 10 episodes of each show, and they're both expected to premiere in July.
 

kulapik

Member
Tvline: NBC Orders DC Comics’ Constantine and Mysteries of Laura Procedural

It's from two weeks ago but surprisingly no one posted it. Constantine... blergh. Mysteries of Laura (hope they change the name) is an adaptation of a Spanish TV show that is pretty good. I think (and I'm not the only one)that Carrie Preston would be great for this role. It's cast-contingent so we'll see.
 

beat

Member
NBC Orders Money Pit Pilot
Good lord, NBC. Stop. Sit down, and please, just start looking for low concept comedies that are written by funny people on the cusp of breaking through and definitely stop looking for hooks back to the 1980s or 1990s.

(So basically, something like BFFs, which had the creative potential to go somewhere. I know it had low ratings, but it got the three week six episode burnoff treatment, so we can't exactly point to its ratings as actual proof of failure IMO.)

For all I know, Justin Spitzer is a funny guy, but the idea of turning Money Pit into a series just seems so silly.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
Cinemax's Blanco Taps Franka Potente, Plus Vets of Prison Break, Orange

Copper‘s Franka Potente, Prison Break‘s Amaury Nolasco, House of Cards‘ Sebastian Arcelus, Orange Is The New Black‘s Elizabeth Rodriguez and Boardwalk Empire‘s Erik LaRay Harvey have joined the cast of Cinemax’s drama pilot Blanco.

The potential series follows uptown gangster nicknamed Blanco (Evil Dead‘s Shiloh Fernandez) who uses his status as a confidential informant to turn the tables on law enforcement and build his criminal empire.

Potente, Nolasco and Arcelus will play Blanco’s girlfriend, brother and lawyer, respectively, while Rodriguez and Harvey portray NYPD detectives.

Audrey Esparza (The Following) and Alex Hernandez (Law & Order: SVU) round out the cast as Blanco’s brother’s girlfriend and Blanco’s associate Nando.

Nice cast!
 

TheOddOne

Member
CBS Orders Drama Pilot From Justin Lin, Nick Santora
CBS has given a pilot order to a drama from writer Nick Santora and helmer Justin Lin about a network of super-geniuses.

“Scorpion,” from CBS TV Studios, revolves around an eccentric genius who leads an international team tasked with guarding against complex threats of the modern age.

Santora wrote the pilot and exec produces with Lin (pictured), who is on board to direct. Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (“Sleepy Hollow,” “Fringe”) are also exec producers with Heather Kadin of the pair’s K/O Paper Products banner.

Lin, who has directed four pics in the “Fast and the Furious” franchise, is also attached to direct two other pilots for Fox this cycle, the Shawn Ryan/Davey Holmes project and Dwayne Wade comedy “Three the Hard Way.”

Santora is known for co-creating the A&E drama “Breakout Kings” and for his run on Fox’s “Prison Break.”
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
Starz Officially Greenlights LeBron James Basketball Comedy

“Survivor’s Remorse,” a comedy set in the world of professional basketball, has been officially greenlit by Starz and will air at the end of this year, the cabler announced today.

It follows young phenom Cam Calloway, who signs a multi-million dollar basketball contract and moves to Georgia with his cousin Reggie. Situations with opportunistic family members and the duo’s strong ties to their impoverished neighborhood ensure.

This will be Starz' first comedy since 2010's godawful Gravity.
 

beat

Member
Oh, LeBron's show is a comedy? I think it's hilarious that both he and Dywane Wade have sitcoms in development.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
Series Adaptation Of DC Comic ‘DMZ’ From ‘Mad Men’s Andre & Maria Jacquemetton at Syfy

Former Mad Men executive producers Andre and Maria Jacquemetton have teamed with Gravity producer David Heyman for a drama series based on the DC comic book DMZ, which has landed at Syfy.

DMZ is set in the near future and centers on a young man trapped in Manhattan, which has been turned into a demilitarized zone (DMZ) after a second American civil war. The comic book series, created by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli, was launched by DC Entertainment’s Vertigo imprint in 2005 and ran until 2012 for a total of 72 issues.
 

beat

Member
FX will adapt John Scalzi's Redshirts for a limited series:
Set in the 25th century, Redshirts follows the adventures of five new recruits on the Starship Intrepid who come to realize that the ship's crewmembers are dying at an alarming rate. Their investigation leads to the mind-bending discovery that a science fiction television show, produced in the early 21st century, has somehow "intruded" upon their reality and "warped" it. In other words, the lives of the crew are following the course of a television narrative over which they have no control. "Redshirts is a madcap, hyper-meta tale," Shestack said. Added Kwapis, "If Jorge Luis Borges had been a staff writer on the original Star Trek, he would no doubt have concocted a story like Redshirts."
 

TheOddOne

Member
- USA Passes On Pilots ‘Horizon’ & ‘Divide & Conquer’
I’ve learned that two of USA Network’s pilots, drama Horizon and comedy Divide & Conquer, are not going forward. The pilots, both from Universal Cable Prods., are being shopped elsewhere. Horizon was a big swing and a major departure for USA, being a period alien drama. Written by Bridget Tyler, exec produced by The Walking Dead‘s Gale Anne Hurd and directed by Yves Simoneau, Horizon is set during the height of World War II when a secretary at the FBI (Ruth Bradley) becomes the only person standing between Earth and an alien invasion. Penned by Peter Ocko, Divide & Conquer was clearly eyed as a companion to USA’s high-profile acquisition Modern Family. It too is a family comedy, about four children on a path to adulthood and their parents. USA has four other drama pilots, Complications, The Novice, Rush and Sean Jablonski, and one comedy, Love Is Dead, as half-hour pilot Benched was recently picked up to series.
 

TheOddOne

Member
Why wouldn't they shop Horizon to Syfy since it should garner interesting due to the premise alone?
My guess is that is exactly what they are going to do.

- MTV Orders Catherine Hardwicke Drama ‘Eye Candy’ to Series
MTV has handed a 10-episode order to “Eye Candy,” a drama exec produced by Catherine Hardwicke and Jason Blum.

Series stars Victoria Justice and centers on a beautiful but reclusive hacker whose blog exposes everything from terrorist plots to suspected killers. Convinced by her roommate to begin online dating, Lindy (Justice) is targeted by a dangerous cyberstalker and believes one of her suitors to be the culprit. When things take a deadly turn, she teams up with the city’s cyber-crime unit to catch the killer.

MTV has yet to set a premiere date for the series.

Emmy Grinwis penned the pilot for “Eye Candy,” which is based on a novel by R.L. Stine. Hardwicke (“Twilight”) helmed the pilot in addition to serving as exec producer. Other executive producers on the project include Yvonne Bernard and Beth Elise Hawk.
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.
 
mzU5IBS.jpg
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
XBox Developing 1990s Music Series Based On Rapper Nas’ Life

As Nas marks the 20th anniversary of his groundbreaking debut album Illmatic, a half-hour series project loosely based on his life as a hip hop artist in the 1990s is getting off the ground with a deal at XBox Entertainment Studios.

Titled Street Dreams, the project, from Jamie Patricof and Lynette Howell’s Electric City Entertainment (The Place Beyond The Pines), is set in the 1990s in Long Island’s Queensbridge housing complex, where Nas grew up, and takes a look at music, family and the trials and tribulations of the rap game. Street Dreams is being written/directed by Jonathan Levine, who also grew up in New York, spending his formative years in the 1990s.
 

TheOddOne

Member
- HBO Gives Series Order To Comedy Pilot ‘The Brink’ Starring Jack Black & Tim Robbins, From Jay Roach & Jerry Wintraub
In a very quick turnaround, HBO has given a series order to The Brink, its comedy pilot starring Jack Black and Tim Robbins, directed by Jay Roach and executive produced by Jerry Weintraub. Written by former Weeds executive producer Roberto Benabib and his brother Kim Benabib, The Brink is an epic dark comedy focusing on a geopolitical crisis and its effect on three disparate and desperate men: U.S. Secretary of State Walter Hollander (Robbins); Alex Coppins (Black), a lowly Foreign Service officer; and Zeke Callahan (Pablo Schreiber), an ace Navy fighter pilot. These three compromised souls must pull through the chaos around them to save the planet from World War III. Aasif Mandvi, Maribeth Monroe, Geoff Pierson and Esai Morales co-star on the series, executive produced by Roberto Benabib, Weintraub and Roach. Kim Benabib and Susie Ekins co-executive produce.
The pilot was recently completed and only shown to HBO brass yesterday, triggering an immediate seriues pickup. All in all, it took only 4-5 months from the moment Weintraub started working on The Brink to its series greenlight.
 
Top Bottom