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

Busty

Banned

Though having Bill Lawrence at the helm feels like a bit of a get for such a project I just don't see this having a chance in hell of getting picked up. Where would this even fit into CBS' schedule? Could it be a 'summer action' show?

At a stretch this feels likes it's a FOX show, not CBS.

Let's see what happens, didn't they pass on the Beverly Hills Cop pilot at the last minute?

Yup, that however was largely down to corporate in fighting. Les Moonves hates the guy running Viacom and wanted to fuck with him any way possible. There was no way a Paramount TV show was going to be on CBS. Or at least..., so they say.
 
- Deadline: Starz Developing Mystery Drama ‘The Disappearance’ From Amblin TV
Starz has put in development The Disappearance, a mystery/thriller drama from novelist/TV writer/journalist Nick Antosca (Hannibal) and Amblin Television. The project, written by Antosca, tells the story of Alice Grimson who is overjoyed when her teenage son Josh shows up seven years after being kidnapped. She and her husband Tom set aside long-simmering tensions in their marriage to help Josh in his struggle to resume a normal life. But when she connects his return to a series of horrific local murders, Alice begins to wonder if Josh knows something he’s not telling them. Determined to protect her son, she digs deeper into what really happened to him while he was missing — and she enters a nightmare that threatens her life and everything she holds dear.
 

TheOddOne

Member
- Deadline: Fox Buys Brothers Comedy From Andrew Mogel, Jarrad Paul & Nick Stoller As Put Pilot.
Fox has handed a put pilot deal to The Grinder, a single-camera comedy from Andrew Mogel, Jarrad Paul and Nick Stoller. Mogel and Paul will write Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Pauland executive NickStolle rproduce the project from 20th Century Fox TV, which revolves around two brothers. Stoller is a nonwriting EP and might direct.

The project marks a Fox reunion for Mogel and Paul, who created the network’s short-lived 2001 toon Allen Gregory with Jonah Hill. Repped by UTA, Mosaic and Ziffren Brittenham, the pair most recently wrote and directed the feature D Train, starring James Marsden and Jack Black.

Stoller directed the summer pic Neighbors and wrote Sex Tape and the recent Muppets movies. He is repped by UTA and attorney Bryan Wolf.
- Deadline: Fox Nabs Family Dramedy From Krista Vernoff & John Wells As Put Pilot.
Studio City, an hourlong project from former Grey’s Anatomy executive producer John Wells 5Krista Vernoff and John Wells, has landed at Fox with a put pilot commitment. Set in present-day Studio City, CA, the family dramedy described as “The O.C. meets Shameless” was inspired by Vernoff’s real-life experience growing up as the daughter of a drug dealer to the stars. John Wells Prods. and Warner Bros. TV, where the company is based, are producing.

The project expands Vernoff’s relationship with Wells and Warner Bros. after writing three episodes for the third season of Showtime’s dysfunctional-family dramedy Shameless, developed and executive produced by Wells through Warners. Vernoff and Wells executive produce Studio City with JWP’s Andrew Stearn.

CAA-repped Vernoff most recently wrote and executive produced the E! drama pilot Songbyrd. This marks the second put pilot commitment for CAA-repped JWP this season. The company also has The Devil’s Advocate, based on the 1997 feature, at NBC.
 

TheOddOne

Member
- Deadline: Legendary TV Developing Series Based On Computer Game ‘Myst’
The Stranger is coming to your house. Legendary TV & Digital Media has inked a deal with Cyan Worlds to develop a TV series and companion video game based on the popular PC franchise Myst. Launched in 1993,Myst was the best-selling PC title ever until it was eclipsed by The Sims in 2002. The first-person game play follows the Stranger, who uses a book to travel to the island of Myst, where he must find and follow clues that unlock different self-contained mini-worlds. The game has spawned a slew of sequels and a trilogy of novels. Cyan said that teaming with Legendary on the TV project means “finally being able to express in a visual linear medium the rich story that the Myst franchise is dripping with.”

“Cyan’s goal in working with Legendary is not just to create a compelling TV drama but to develop a true transmedia product that will include a companion video game that extends the story across both media,” the company said. “Seventy percent of tablet owners use their device while watching TV at least several times a week. Cyan sees the potential to push the boundaries of interactive storytelling to a new level.”
- Deadline: ‘Five Ghosts’ Comic Eyes Adaptation As Syfy Series With Writer Evan Daugherty.
I’ve learned that Syfy is finalizing a deal to develop a drama series based on Five Ghosts, the comic created by writer Frank J. Barbiereand artist Chris "Snow White And The Huntsman" - Los Angeles Screening. The TV adaptation will be written by hot feature writer Evan Daugherty (Ninja Turtles, Divergent, Snow White and the Huntsman) who will executive produce with BenderSpink’s Chris Bender and Jake Weiner, with Jake Wagner serving as producer for Universal Cable Prods. and BenderSpink.

First published in 2013 by Image Comics, Five Ghosts chronicles the travels of treasure hunter Fabian Gray and his rare ability to harness the ghosts of five literary characters, referred to as “The Wizard”, “The Archer”, “The Detective”, “The Samurai” and “The Vampire”. Daugherty is repped by UTA and BenderSpink.
 
- Deadline: ‘American Horror Story’ Companion Series ‘American Crime Story’ From Ryan Murphy Set At FX – O.J. First Topic
FX and Ryan Murphy are expanding the American Horror Story franchise with another anthology series, this time focused on some of the biggest true crime stories ever. Fittingly, the new series, American Crime Story, is launching with one of the most famous cases in the past few decades: the murder trial of O.J. Simpson. FX has given a 10-episode, straight-to-series order to American Crime Story: The People Vs. O.J. Simpson.

Based on the book The Run of His Life: The People V. O.J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin, the first American Crime Story installment will be directed by Murphy from a script by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (The People Vs. Larry Flynt).

Murphy and fellow AHS co-creator/executive producer Brad Falchuk executive produce along with Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson (The Hunger Games) as well as Alexander & Karaszewski and Dante Di Loreto. Filming begins early next year in Los Angeles. FXP and Fox 21, the cable division of 20th Century Fox TV where Ryan is based, are producing.
 

beat

Member
a really bad idea from NBC.
The 1989 Cameron Crowe Gen X film will be remade as a “follow-up series” for Generation Y. According to Deadline, "The 'Say Anything' series picks up ten years later. Lloyd (Dobler) has long since been dumped by Diane (Court) and life hasn’t exactly turned out like he thought. But when Diane surprisingly returns home, Lloyd is inspired to 'dare to be great' once again, get Diane back and reboot his life."
 
- Deadline: ‘Say Anything’ Series Not Going Forward After Cameron Crowe Objection
Less than 24 hours after NBC closed a deal for a TV series based on the Cameron Crowe’s 1989 movie Say Anything…, the project has been shelved by studio 20th Century Fox TV. The move comes after Crowe strongly objected to the series that he had been reportedly blindsided by. Both Crowe and the film’s star John Cusack took to Twitter to express their displeasure, with Crowe telling his followers that he was trying to kill the show.

20th TV focused on developing a Say Anything TV series, based on a title owned by its sister studio, earlier this season and brought in writer Justin Adler and producer Aaron Kaplan to develop the comedy as part of Adler’s blind script deal. I hear that after my story announcing the Say Anything series ran yesterday afternoon, Crowe called Kaplan to voice his objections. Realizing that Crowe did not know about the comedy series and was against it, Kaplan and Adler pulled out of the project, with 20th TV making the official decision to pull the plug this morning.

It is unclear exactly where communication broke — sources close to the studio stress that 20th TV did reach out to Crowe and efforts were made to bring him in the loop while sources close to the filmmaker are adamant that he had never heard of the series until yesterday.

Sources say that Crowe wouldn’t necessarily have been opposed to the idea as he had been open to revisiting his prior work, but was taken aback by the fact that the project had been put together without his knowledge or input.

Legally, 20th TV could’ve proceeded with the series without Crowe’s consent but the studio executive did not want to do it without his blessing as their intention all along had been to have his consent.

In the end, the disconnect made continuing with the project difficult for everybody, leading to the studio’s decision to kill it.
 

TheOddOne

Member
- Deadline: Scarlett Johansson To Star In ‘Custom Of The Country’ Limited Series For Sony TV
Sony Pictures TV is bringing together one of the biggest movie stars, Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers, Lucy, Her), and the work of one of the most celebrated American novelists, the Pulitzer Prize winner Edith Wharton (The Age Of Innocence) for a limited series project that is about to hit the marketplace. Johansson is set to star in and executive produce the eight-episode period series, from Charles Finch’s Pink Sands, which is based on Wharton’s 1913 novel The Custom Of The Country.

Eyed for a cable run, possibly on premium cable, it will be written by British playwright-screenwriter Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons, Atonement) from his original screenplay. Hampton originally wrote a feature script adaptation of Custom Of The Country almost two decades ago, reportedly for Michelle Pfeiffer who had starred in the 1993 feature Age Of Innocence, based on Wharton’s book. It was published in 2002 as part of a collection of Hampton screenplays.

Custom Of The Country is described as a scathing story of ambition featuring one of the most ruthless heroines in literature, Undine Spragg, who will be played by Johansson in her first major TV role. Undine is as unscrupulous as she is magnetically beautiful. Her rise to the top of New York’s high society from her nouveau riche roots provides a provocative and thoroughly modern commentary on the upwardly mobile and the aspirations that eventually cause their ruin.
 
- Deadline: Fox Nabs Space Drama From Len Wiseman & Scott Rosenbaum As Put Pilot
Sleepy Hollow co-creator/executive producer Len Wiseman has teamed with Gang Related executive producer/showrunner Scott Rosenbaum for a sci-fi drama, which has received a put pilot commitment from Fox. The project hails from 20th Century Fox TV where Wiseman’s Sketch Films is based for television. It also marks the first sale under a two-year overall deal Rosenbaum has just signed with 20th TV.

Described as “The Dirty Dozen in deep space”, the untitled drama is set in a foreseeable future, where companies have begun to colonize sections of our known galaxy. A mercenary search and rescue team is dispatched to investigate a distress signal from a prison transport that has crashed on an uncharted planet. This unlikely group of heroes will now have to work together when they encounter a much greater challenge on this mysterious planet than they could have anticipated. Wiseman and Rosenbaum executive produce, with Rosenbaum writing/showrunning and Wiseman set to direct. Wiseman, best known for the Underworld feature franchise, has a perfect TV directing record, with both pilots he has helmed, Hawaii Five-0 and Sleepy Hollow, going to series.
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
My favorite part of that description is that they say the premise is taking place in the "foreseeable future". I'm really not sure that's what "foreseeable" means.

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- THR: 'In the Heat of the Night' Remake in the Works at Showtime
Showtime and MGM Television are developing a new project based on the 1967 Oscar-winning film by Norman Jewison, In the Heat of the Night, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Tate Taylor, who helmed The Help and the James Brown biopic Get On Up, will write and direct, as well as executive produce. Warren Littlefield (Fargo) and John Norris will also serve as executive producers, with The Littlefield Company's Ann Johnson.
In the Heat of the Night is an exploration of character and race set in modern-day Mississippi, which happens to be Taylor's home state.

The 1967 feature was based on the 1965 John Ball novel that centered on a white man and a black man working together to solve a murder investigation in a racially hostile Southern town. It starred Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger and Warren Oates, and was released around the time the U.S. Civil Rights Movement was taking shape. In the Heat of the Night won five Academy Awards in 1967, including best picture, best actor for Steiger and best adapted screenplay.

Of course, this has been on TV previously, with an NBC/CBS series in the late 80s and early 90s.

Showtime is determined to make people think it's 1990 again.
 
- Variety: Amazon Studios Wants Big Comedies, Ready to Pay $4 Million for Pilots: Sources
Amazon Studios, its appetite whetted for half-hour comedies, is now looking to fund a big-budget, high-profile laffer to anchor its next wave of original series — and rival Netflix for attention-grabbing properties.

The studio has indicated pilot budgets for its next comedies will be between $2 million and $4 million, but that it would be willing to go higher for a larger action-adventure comedy, according to industry execs familiar with the plans. Rather than traditional sitcoms, Amazon Studios is looking for cinematic half-hour shows; a hypothetical example would be a series reboot of a blockbuster movie franchise, per sources.

An Amazon Studios rep declined to comment. “We don’t comment on rumors,” the rep said.

With such budgets, Amazon would be spending in the range of what broadcasters pay for top-shelf comedies as opposed to the more modest budgets SVOD players have spent to date on half-hour originals. The focus on comedy also would differentiate Amazon from Netflix, which has focused more on one-hour dramas, although Amazon Studios is clearly interested in smart dramas as well.

Word of the company’s bigger eyes for comedy comes after the debut of Jill Soloway dramedy “Transparent,” (pictured, above) which has drawn critical praise for its nuanced portrayal of transgendered people; and season two of Garry Trudeau’s “Alpha House” starring John Goodman set to debut later this month.

Amazon Studios recently greenlit Steven Soderbergh’s comedy “Red Oaks” along with drama “Hand of God” to full series, while it ordered additional scripts of Whit Stillman’s Americans-in-Paris comedy “The Cosmopolitans.”

Over all, Amazon expected to spend more than $100 million on original productions in the third quarter, CFO Tom Szkutak told investors in July.

At this point, Amazon Studios wants to have fewer projects in development, while upping the number that are going into production, sources said. On an annual basis, the company’s target is to fund four to six pilots and three to four series orders.
 

beat

Member

hire good writers. Shoot, if they're getting buzz for Transparent, why is their next move to do something more like a broadcast sitcom? Esp when most of the really good sitcoms from the past season were on cable?

(BTW, not only do I want to plug You're The Worst here, but note that it had a small budget and looked _amazing_ thanks to great directors. There were moments in the s2 premiere of Brooklyn Nine-Nine that looked cheaper and worse than YTW, honestly.)

http://splitsider.com/2014/10/leslye-headland-and-cosmopolitan-are-developing-an-nbc-comedy/

The writer and director of 2012's Bachelorette has teamed up with the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan for a new NBC comedy. THR reports that the network has given a script commitment to a single-cam series written by Headland that follows "a failed political blogger who restarts her life in New York as the 'sex' editor for a prestigious and provocative women's magazine."
 

Wiktor

Member
Hey..Amazon:
Better-Off-Ted.jpg

You're welcome.
 

Wiktor

Member
I hope so. Amazon needs A-list actors and directors if they want to take their stuff to the next level and compete with the likes of House of Cards and Orange. Their pilots have stunk of cheapness.
Bosch didn't. Very nicely shot show that managed to give LA unique vibe, which is quite an acomplishment considering how often that city is shown on TV.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
hire good writers. Shoot, if they're getting buzz for Transparent, why is their next move to do something more like a broadcast sitcom? Esp when most of the really good sitcoms from the past season were on cable?

I know, right?

"Transparent has been a huge success! For our next series, let's do the exact opposite of what made Transparent a huge success!"
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
It seems like the Uncle Buck remake might not happen either, with the estates of both John Hughes and John Candy speaking out against it. I hope the Real Genius reboot fails too.

"What if we made a big budget Transparent? Hear me out! We should add a laugh track and make it a sitcom. PROFIT!"

THROW MONEY AT IT
 

TheOddOne

Member
- IGN: Animal Planet Options IDW Comic "The Other Dead"
Animal Planet has its sights set on its own scripted zombie television show, only it's not what you think.

The network announced it has acquired exclusive rights to develop the graphic novel The Other Dead into a scripted television series.

The Other Dead, originally published by IDW Publishing in 2013, is a zombie tale from creators Joshua Ortega (Gears of War, Star Wars, Spider-Man) and Digger Mesch (Agent 88 and X-Men) with a twist, as an assorted cast of characters—including President Obama—fight to survive against nightmarish undead animals while beset by a hurricane in Louisiana.

“Zombie animal meets Animal Planet?” Ortega said. “Sounds like we have some serious undead fun ahead of us.”

The Other Dead is an attempt to diversify the Animal Planet’s programming with “different, dynamic genres” according to a statement released by the network. The series will be developed by Animal Planet Vice President of Development Kurt Tondorf.

“Our stylistic and creative ambitions as a network happily found their echo in the pages of The Other Dead,” Tondorf said.

Animal Planet is targeting the first quarter of 2016 for the show’s premiere.
 

TheOddOne

Member
- PR: Syfy Developing Futuristic Drama 'Incorporated' With Matt Damon & Ben Affleck's Pearl Street Films
SYFY GETS INCORPORATED WITH MATT DAMON AND BEN AFFLECK’S PEARL STREET FILMS

NEW YORK— October 13, 2014. Syfy announced today it is partnering with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Pearl Street Films and CBS Television Studios to develop Incorporated, a futuristic espionage thriller set in a world where corporations have seemingly unlimited power. This will be the story of one man’s efforts to beat the system.

David and Alex Pastor (“Selfless”, “The Last Days”) will write the pilot. Ted Humphrey (“The Good Wife”) will serve as executive producer/showrunner, with Damon, Affleck and Jennifer Todd also executive producing. Pearl Street Film’s Margaret Chernin will serve as associate producer.
 

TheOddOne

Member
- THR: CW Prepping Charles Darwin Drama, CBS Readying Gothic Horror Show
The CW has handed out a script commitment for the drama that focuses on a 21-year-old Darwin, and his childhood friend Capt. Fitzroy's journey through the Amazon to return the woman they both love to her native home. During the journey, they encounter a land ripe with political conflict, mysterious creatures, mythical cities and dangerous foes beyond their wildest imagination. The drama is based on Darwin and FitzRoy's five-year voyage on the HMS Beagle, which established the former ahead of his Origin of the Species.
Second, Karp will co-write CBS' Modern Gothic alongside David Reed (Revolution, Supernatural). The drama is described as a modern-day reimagining of classic gothic horror stories as contemporary mysteries in which a doctor — Dracula's Abraham "Bram" Van Helsing — investigates the supernatural horrors that modern science fails to explain. Jon Turteltaub's Junction Entertainment will exec produce the CBS Television Studios drama, with Karp and Reed on board as co-EPs; Dan Tischler will also exec produce. The project stems from Junction's two-year pact with CBSTVS.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
The CW has handed out a script commitment for the drama that focuses on a 21-year-old Darwin, and his childhood friend Capt. Fitzroy's journey through the Amazon to return the woman they both love to her native home. During the journey, they encounter a land ripe with political conflict, mysterious creatures, mythical cities and dangerous foes beyond their wildest imagination. The drama is based on Darwin and FitzRoy's five-year voyage on the HMS Beagle, which established the former ahead of his Origin of the Species.

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PLEASE cast me as the lead in this CW PLEASE
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
- THR: Netflix Rebooting Care Bears With New Animated Series
Netflix continues to stock up on nostalgia-laden fare, this time with a reboot of the iconic Care Bears franchise.

The animated Care Bears and Cousins is expected to premiere in 2016, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos announced the revival in an interview with CNN Money, explaining that the streamer has gravitated toward well-known children's franchises because they are "trusted brands."
 
What in the dang?




Speaking of oddball ideas:

- Deadline: Mena Suvari To Topline WE TV Thriller Drama Series ‘South Of Hell’
I’ve learned that Mena Suvari is finalizing a deal to play the lead in WE tv‘s second original scripted series, thriller drama South Of Hell from Sonar Entertainment and Blumhouse Television. The show, which has an eight-episode straight-to-series order for a 2015 premiere, comes from top horror producers Jason Blum and Eli Roth, in their first pairing. A supernatural thriller set in Savannah, GA, South Of Hell focuses on Maria Abascal (Suvari), a stunning demon-hunter-for-hire whose power stems from within. Like those that she hunts, Maria is divided within herself, struggling with her own demon, Abigail, who resides inside of her, feeding on the evil Maria exorcises from others. Maria and Abigail share a soul and a destiny, but as Maria desperately tries to overtake Abigail, she will discover how far Abigail will go to remain a part of her.
 

TheOddOne

Member
Awww yisss.

- THR: Steve McQueen Drama Lands HBO Pilot Order, Casts Its Star
Nearly a year after it was first put in development, HBO is moving forward with its Steve McQueen drama.

The premium cable network has handed out a pilot order to Codes of Conduct and tapped newcomer Devon Terrell to star, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Codes of Conduct is described as a provocative exploration of a young African-American man's experience entering New York high society, with a past that may not be what it seems.

Terrell will star as Beverly Snow, a young man from Queens who is as talented as he is ambiguous. His self-confidence enables him to break into the social circles of Manhattan's elite, testing the boundaries of access and social mobility. Throughout the series, Beverly's ability will grant him access to a life larger in every way than the one to which he was born. His chameleon-like approach to life will test his nerve as he takes his future into his own hands.

McQueen (12 Years a Slave) co-wrote the pilot script alongside World War Z's Matthew Michael Carnahan. Both will exec produce alongside See-Saw Films' Iain Canning and Emile Sherman (The King's Speech, Top of the Lake) and Russell Simmons, via the latter's overall deal with HBO. McQueen will direct the pilot, which is McQueen's first foray into television. Canning and Sherman produced McQueen's Shame, with the former also exec producing the Oscar winner's feature debut, Hunger.
 
- Deadline: Marc Cherry & Neal Baer Team For Prep School Spy Drama At the CW
In a top level showrunner pairing, Desperate Housewives and Devious Maids creator/executive producer Marc Cherry has partnered with Under the Dome showrunner Neal Baer for an action-adventure mystery drama project, Cheerleader Death Squad, which has been set up at the CW through CBS TV Studios where Cherry and Baer have overall deals. Cherry and Baer will co-write the script with Blue Bloods executive producer Dan Truly, and the trio will executive produce alongside Cherry’s partner in Cherry/Wind productions, Sabrina Wood.

Described as “Heathers meets Alias“, Cheerleader Death Squad centers on a disgraced CIA agent-turned-teacher at an elite Washington DC prep school. When he realizes that his students have high level access through personal connections, he trains a select few to be his eyes and ears into the world of international espionage and help him earn his way back into the agency.
 
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