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[RatskyWatsky]

AMC Orders Drama Series ‘Lodge 49’ Produced By Paul Giamatti

AMC has given a 10-episode straight-to-series order to drama Lodge 49, from creator Jim Gavin, showrunner Peter Ocko and executive producer Paul Giamatti.

Lodge 49 — about a young knucklehead from Long Beach who joins a dusty old fraternal lodge — was one of three drama projects AMC identified in spring 2015 for potential straight-to-series orders, along with The Son and Goliath. All opened writers rooms and produced scripts. Of the three, The Son advanced to the next stage, landing a straight-to-series order, though AMC brass felt there was enough of a promise in Lodge 49 to take another stab, bringing in an experienced showrunner in Ocko and going through the process again by setting up a new writers room this past spring.

Meanwhile, the other drama that opened a writers room in early 2016 with an eye toward a possible series order, Strange Angel (fka Marvel), will not be going forward.

(Based on George Pendle’s book Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life Of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside, the drama tells the story of Jack Parsons, a brilliant rocket scientist and co-founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. While a pioneer in research that had only recently been dreamed up in science fiction, his bright future gave way to ruin as Parsons headed down another, darker path into the occult community of mid-century Los Angeles.)

 

[Cornballer]

- HBO Orders Drama Series From Keshet & Hagai Levi To Film In Israel With Michael Lombardo Producing

HBO has given a 10-episode series order to a drama about the tragic events involving the disappearance of three teens that unfolded in Israel two years ago.

Created by The Affair and In Treatment co-creator Hagai Levi and Noah Stollman, the untitled series, a co-production between HBO and Keshet International’s Keshet Studios, will be filmed on location in Israel next summer and will primarily be directed by award-winning Israeli filmmaker Joseph Cedar (Beaufort, Footnote).

It will be executive produced by former HBO president Michael Lombardo in his first series gig since he stepped down from his executive post to segue to producing.

Based on actual events, the untitled series dramatizes the tragic torrent of violence that followed the disappearance of, and intensive search for, three Israeli teens during the summer of 2014. The show follows an idealistic investigator for the Shin Bet (the Israeli equivalent of the FBI) as he deals with the ramifications of violent reactions on both sides of the escalating conflict. A new command position thrusts him into a confrontation that undermines his faith and worldview, leading to a dramatic conflict between his values and the actions of those closest to him.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

- HBO Orders Drama Series From Keshet & Hagai Levi To Film In Israel With Michael Lombardo Producing

Sounds interesting!

 

[Dan]

HBO's new leadership is getting shit done.

Lodge 49 doesn't sound like much of anything to me.

 

[Cornballer]

Lodge 49 doesn't sound like much of anything to me.

Yeah, I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the premise and what might be interesting about it.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Lodge 49 doesn't sound like much of anything to me.

“Lodge 49 is a show that defies easy categorization,” said Joel Stillerman, President of Original Programming and Development for AMC & Sundance TV. “It is, at once, a show about a loveable loser, the idea that life can be magical if you look at it from the right angle, what it means to be on the fringe, and the importance of community. It’s also incredibly funny, poignant and truly entertaining”

It sounds like one of those heartwarming broadcast network dramedies.

 

[Dan]

Yeah, I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the premise and what might be interesting about it.

I was trying to come up with something. John from Cincinnati without the Christian supernatural elements? Bored to Death minus the detective work?

.

Either there's something really good in there, or it's code for "we don't know why anyone would care about this either, but we need content."

“It is, at once, a show about a loveable loser, the idea that life can be magical if you look at it from the right angle, what it means to be on the fringe, and the importance of community. It’s also incredibly funny, poignant and truly entertaining”

Makes me think it would be a halfhour Showtime comedy, but still missing a hook.

 

[biosnake20]

‘Succession’: Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong & Kieran Culkin Lead Cast Of HBO Drama Pilot From Adam McKay

Brian Cox (The Slap), Jeremy Strong (Zero Dark Thirty) and Kieran Culkin (Scott Pilgrim vs The World) are set to star in HBO’s drama pilot Succession. Sarah Snook (Steve Jobs), Nicholas Braun (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) and Matthew Macfadyen (Ripper Street) round out the cast of the project, directed and executive produced by The Big Short’s Adam McKay.

Written by Jesse Armstrong, Succession follows the saga of the Roys, a fictional American global-media family that is not only rich and powerful but also powerfully dysfunctional. The drama will explore family loyalty, international business, and the perils of power in the 21st century. The plot has been drawing parallels to the ongoing real-life saga of the Redstone media clan.

 

[berzeli]

Aubrey Plaza’s ‘Nightmare Time’ Gets Pilot Order At TBS

TBS has given a pilot order to Nightmare Time, a comedy horror anthology from Parks and Recreation alum Aubrey Plaza.

Written by Plaza, Darcy Fowler, Kieran Valla, and Seth Kirschner, Nightmare Time is set in Aubrey Plaza’s Nightmare Clinic, where celebrity guests check in to overcome recurring nightmares.

According to the logline: Every episode features two insane nightmares, inspired by the horrors of modern society and uses tropes and touchstones of the horror genre to guide audiences through its absurd universe. Thanks to advanced technology, we’re able to peer into their restless minds, and witness their nightmares in real time. But what is “real” anyway? Maybe it’s all just a nightmare in Aubrey’s mind. One endless nightmare that could eventually destroy her and the entire world.

 

[berzeli]

‘Bonfire Of The Vanities’ Series From Chuck Lorre & Margaret Nagle Being Developed At Amazon

Amazon has put in development a small screen version of The Bonfire of the Vanities, an event series based on Tom Wolfe’s 1987 book, from Chuck Lorre, Red Band Society creator Margaret Nagle, and Warner Bros. TV. for launch on Amazon Prime Video.

Nagle will write and executive produce alongside Lorre. Mother Jones’ Washington bureau chief David Corn is serving as a consultant.

Um. But why? Don't they remember what happened the last time someone tried to adapt this?

 

[Dan]

‘Succession’: Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong & Kieran Culkin Lead Cast Of HBO Drama Pilot From Adam McKay

It's so odd that HBO passed on David Milch's show and then moved to explore this nearly identical concept.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

It's so odd that HBO passed on David Milch's show and then moved to explore this nearly identical concept.

Oh. Oh yeah. They passed on that David Milch show. The Money, was it?

...

Spoiler

.................

 

[RatskyWatsky]

‘In Cold Blood’-Based True Crime Docuseries Set At SundanceTV

Capote’s “nonfiction novel” In Cold Blood chronicled the brutal murder of the Clutter family in a small Kansas town in 1959, the resulting investigation, convictions and executions of Perry Smith and Richard Hickock. The series, produced and directed by Emmy and Peabody-winning documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Paradise Lost Trilogy), will present a 360-degree view and re-examination of the crime and subsequent events.

 

[berzeli]

Andrew Haigh Dives Into ‘The North Water’ Limited Series From See-Saw, BBC

45 Years helmer Andrew Haigh has boarded See-Saw Films’ limited series The North Water which is being developed with the BBC. He will adapt and is attached to direct the six-part mystery/survival drama that’s based on the 2016 book by Ian McGuire.

The North Water tells the story of Patrick Sumner, a disgraced former Army surgeon who signs up as ship’s doctor on a whaling expedition to the Arctic. On board, he meets Henry Drax, the brutish harpooner whose amorality has been shaped to fit the harshness of his world. Hoping to escape the horrors of his past, Sumner instead finds himself on an ill-fated journey with a murderous psychopath.

Could be v. cool.

 

[Cornballer]

- YouTube Red Orders Drama Pilot From Doug Liman, Sci-Fi Action Series From Dwayne Johnson

YouTube’s new subscription service YouTube Red is ramping up its programming slate, ordering its first drama pilot, Impulse from Doug Liman, along with a sci-fi action series from Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. The service also renewed Joey Graceffa’s popular reality adventures series Escape the Night for a second season, as well as handing another season to Foursome, the sequel to Burnie Burns’s Lazer Team movie, and greenlighting a season two of Scare PewDiePie.

All were announced today at Mipcom’s Media Mastermind section during a keynote by Susanne Daniels, Global Head of Content for YouTube. She was joined by Lionsgate TV Chairman Kevin Beggs and Burnie Burns, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Rooster Teeth.

Hourlong action-thriller Impulse from Universal Cable Productions, marks the first deal between UCP and YouTube. Liman (Bourne Identity, Live. Die. Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow) is attached to direct and executive produce along with Hypnotic’ s producers David Bartis and Gene Klein (Suits). Jeffrey Lieber (Lost, NCIS: New Orleans) is writing the pilot which is scheduled for production before the end of year. Based on the third novel in the Jumper series by Steven Gould, Impulse features a rebellious 16-year-old girl who has always felt different from her peers and has longed to escape from her seemingly quaint small town. When a local drug dealer attempts to assault her, she discovers she has the extraordinary ability to teleport. This newfound power confirms her conviction that she really was different from everybody else, but it now makes her the focus of those who want to control her.

YouTube also ordered eight episodes of a sci-fi action thiller from Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions, and Studio71, the digital entertainment company and multichannel network of ProSiebenSat.1. Set in the not-too-distant future, the half hour series, tentatively named Lifeline, is about a little known life insurance company that sends its agents forward 33 days in time to prevent the accidental deaths of its clients. The company’s best man, Charlie Hooks, has never missed a save – until one case changes his life forever. Corridor Digital’s Sam Gorski and Niko Pueringer will direct, with premiere slated for 2017 on YouTube Red.

“This series makes good on our commitment to tap into the biggest and brightest emerging creators on YouTube,” said Daniels. “He is a global super star, and while you may not think of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as a big YouTube star, he has certainly become one in a few short months. We are thrilled to have him driving this very ambitious series forward.”

 

[Cornballer]

- Tracy Morgan Comedy From Jordan Peele Gets TBS Series Order

Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock alum Tracy Morgan is officially returning to series television with a comedy that has received a 10-episode straight-to-series order at TBS.

The project, created and executive-produced by Jordan Peele (Key & Peele) and John Carcieri (Vice Principals), was originally set up at FX with a pilot order. It suddenly became available about a month ago when FX brass opted not to proceed with the pilot after receiving the final script. The project was taken to the marketplace, sparking interest from multiple networks. It came down to TBS and Comedy Central, which has history with Peele through the Emmy-winning Key & Peele.

The existing pilot script will be rewritten for the TBS series, which Morgan executive produces along with Eric and Kim Tannenbaum (Two and a Half Men) and Joel Zadak of Principato Young (Key & Peele). The series will be produced by Studio T, TBS & TNT’s in-house production studio.

In the untitled series, after being released on good behavior from a 15-year prison stint, Tracy (Morgan) is shocked to see just how much the world has changed in his absence. Returning to his newly-gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood, Tracy discovers that his former girlfriend has married an affable, successful white man, who is helping raise his twin sons he never knew existed. Wanting nothing more than to connect with his kids, but having neither the money to support them nor himself, Tracy falls back on the skills he learned in prison to make ends meet while treading on unfamiliar territory.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Andrew Haigh Dives Into ‘The North Water’ Limited Series From See-Saw, BBC

Could be v. cool.

Yeah, that sounds really exciting.

- Tracy Morgan Comedy From Jordan Peele Gets TBS Series Order

I guess that means his FX(X) series is dead?

 

[Norwegian Rudo]

I guess that means his FX(X) series is dead?

They've moved it to TBS, but I believe this basically is his FX series.

 

[Cornballer]

They've moved it to TBS, but I believe this basically is his FX series.

I thought the same thing, but then I checked this quote from 2014 which seems to imply there were two at one point? Not sure if his accident caused a bunch of this to be shifted around.

FX ordered a bunch of stuff from the team of Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton.

Scripts and pilots for:
* Harder, written by Scott Marder and Glenn Howerton
* We’re Good, Thanks, written by Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Artemis Pebdani and Charlie Day, with Ellis and Pebdani attached to star
* Blow Up Dolls, written by and starring Sarah Solemani

Series order for an untitled show starring Tracy Morgan, which is different than the previous show he had in development for FX. That's being written by McElhenney, Day, Howerton, and Luvh Rakhe. 10 episodes, set to premiere alongside the next season of It's Always Sunny in January 2015.

*shrugs*

 

[torre_avenue]

In the most welcome/unexpected news of the week, Freeform has ordered a pilot for a comedy show about two Indian women. Shoutouts to representation.

Qritten by Roy and Dibai, Brown Girls centers on the relationship between Rimmi, an Indian-American aspiring beauty vlogger, and Devi, a young woman who has recently emigrated from India. Brought together by family, Rimmi and Devi instantly clash over their different views on modern life and love while slowly realizing they both have something to learn from one another.

It does sound super cliche and like another Broad City derivative, but hey I'm all for more Indian people on TV that don't have comical accents or as a doctor, cab driver, terrorist, or IT guy.

 

[TheOddOne]

- Vulture: Darren Aronofsky’s MaddAddam Is ‘All Written,’ But Not Moving Forward at HBO.

An HBO rep confirmed to Vulture that the network is no longer developing the Aronofsky-backed project MaddAddam. Based on Atwood’s trilogy of books, Oryx and Crake, Year of the Flood, and MaddAddam, the series is set in a futuristic period of man-made tyranny, destruction, and plagues.

At a New York Film Festival event last week, Aronofsky told Vulture the series “is all written. We are working hard on it, and trying to figure it out.” He said, “We are still in play.”

 

[RatskyWatsky]

They've moved it to TBS, but I believe this basically is his FX series.

Oh, how strange. FX seemed really committed to it.

- Vulture: Darren Aronofsky’s MaddAddam Is ‘All Written,’ But Not Moving Forward at HBO.

Maybe Starz will pick it up?

 

[Dan]

MaddAddam should follow Aronofsky's Riverview Towers, which started at HBO before moving to AMC and dying there.

I thought the same thing, but then I checked this quote from 2014 which seems to imply there were two at one point? Not sure if his accident caused a bunch of this to be shifted around.*shrugs*

My understanding is that there was Morgan's pre-accident FXX show, and this entirely different Jordan Peele one that came to life this January. The first was never resumed post-accident, and now the Peele one went into turnaround and ended up at TBS.

 

[zeitgeist]

- Vulture: Darren Aronofsky’s MaddAddam Is ‘All Written,’ But Not Moving Forward at HBO.

Damn, I saw this today too. I literally just finished reading these and was so excited to get updates about this show.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Netflix Nears Series Order For Racially-Charged Drama From ‘The Killing’ Creator

In Seven Seconds, written by Veena Sud, tensions run high between African American citizens and Caucasian cops in Jersey City, where a teenage African American boy is critically injured by a cop.

Seven Seconds is nearing a 10-episode order, with negotiations on the pickup going on for almost a year now.

The two sides had been deep in negotiations on Seven Seconds when 20th TV parent 21st Century Fox last month filed a lawsuit against Netflix, alleging “illegal poaching” of Fox 21 employees, a claim Netflix has vigorously denied. The ongoing litigation has had no baring on the Seven Seconds deal, which is expected to close.

 

[Dan]

- THR: Jennifer Lopez Sets Futuristic Bio-Terror Drama at NBC (Exclusive)

NBC is reteaming with Jennifer Lopez for a futuristic procedural.

The network has handed out a script order to drama C.R.I.S.P.R., which is being produced by the Shades of Blue star, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

C.R.I.S.P.R.— aka " clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats" — is a procedural thriller set five minutes into the future that explores the next generation of terror: DNA hacking. If the project moves forward, each episode will explore a bio-attack and crime — from a genetic assassination attempt on the president to the framing of an unborn child for murder. The show's central character is a scientist with the CDC who is paired with an FBI agent. In the same vein of Castle, romance will blossom between the scientist and the FBI agent as they team to bring down a diabolical genius with a twisted God complex: her former boss. The drama will see mentor and protégé battle for control over the human genome in a game of cat and mouse in which the future of our species may rest and all disease could one day be eradicated.

Anthony Cipriano (Bates Motel) will pen the script and executive produce alongside Lopez and her Universal Television-based Nuyorican Productions.

...

 

[Funky Papa]

That sounds delightfully horrendous.

It may become my new hatewatch now that The Strain is nearing its final season.

 

[berzeli]

Roger Ailes Limited Series In the Works From Tom McCarthy & Blumhouse Based On Gabriel Sherman Reporting

Roger Ailes is getting the Spotlight treatment. The recently ousted Fox News topper will be the subject of a limited series from Oscar-winning Spotlight co-writer/director Tom McCarthy, Blumhouse Television (Emmy-winning The Jinx, The Normal Heart) and journalists Gabriel Sherman and Jennifer Stahl.
...

McCarthy will executive produce and shepherd the series, giving it instant cred as he recently spearheaded the Oscar-winning journalism investigation movie Spotlight. Sherman and Stahl will write and co-executive produce.

 

[KonradLaw]

That sounds delightfully horrendous.

It may become my new hatewatch now that The Strain is nearing its final season.

What's with The Strain hate? I'm catching up on it and S2 has been pretty damn fun.

 

[Cornballer]

- AMC Picks Up Series ‘Loaded’, Partnering With Channel 4; Mary McCormack To Star

AMC has partnered with Channel 4 on the upcoming eight-episode comedic drama series Loaded. AMC will be the U.S. network for the series, which it will co-produce with Channel 4, Hillbilly Television and Keshet UK.

Loaded, an English-language version of the Keshet International award-winning series Mesudarim created by Muli Segev and Assaf Harel, was originally commissioned by Channel 4 in January, with Jon Brown (Veep) tapped as writer and executive producer. The series now has set its main cast as it is gearing up to start production early next month for a premiere on Channel 4 and AMC in 2017.

Jim Howick (The Aliens), Samuel Anderson (Doctor Who), Jonny Sweet (Babylon), Nick Helm (Uncle) and Mary McCormack will star on the show, whose first three episodes will be directed by Ian Fitzgibbon (Moone Boy).

This marks the second series collaboration between AMC and Channel 4 following the sci-fi drama Humans as international co-productions are becoming a growing part of AMC’s series portfolio.

Called by executive producers Kate Norrish and Polly Leys “Like Downtown Abbey with nerds,” Loaded revolves around the lives of tech entrepreneurs and friends Josh (Howick), Leon (Anderson), Watto (Helm) and Ewan (Sweet), who have just sold their start up videogame company for hundreds of millions of pounds. Overnight, the four 30-something friends are transformed from “people who play games” to “serious players in the game.” Amid a raging hurricane of money, excess and “millionaire’s guilt”, Loaded is about friendship, ambition, gluttony, the peculiar distaste for other people’s success and how money can put even life-long friendships to the test.

“A smart and somewhat light-hearted look at all of the things that can go wrong when you’re suddenly very, very rich; and very, very young felt like a perfect show for our times,” said Joel Stillerman, president of programming, AMC and SundanceTV. AMC currently is exploring the the software industry world with drama series Halt and Catch Fire.

 

[Cornballer]

- ‘Mad Men’s Matthew Weiner Returning To Series TV With Weinstein Company & Amazon

Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner is returning to television with a high-profile new series. After heated bidding between six entities, we have learned that the project has landed at The Weinstein Company and Amazon to air on the streaming service, in a $70 million commitment for eight-episode straight-to-series order. Series will be co-financed by TWC and Amazon.

All parties just confirmed the deal to Deadline. Said Weiner: “In a time when there are so many options for entertainment, it’s been tremendous to see how Roy Price and Amazon have taken center stage by distinguishing themselves through bold choices. I am truly excited to have this opportunity to work with risk takers like them and Harvey and The Weinstein Company who have a proven, longstanding commitment to creative voices and innovation.”

After re-creating the 1960s in his iconic AMC series Mad Men, Weiner is turning his attention to present day with the untitled series, which we hear is contemporary anthology set in multiple locations worldwide. Weiner is creating, writing and executive producing. He also is expected to direct about half the episodes in the first season, we hear.

 

[berzeli]

- ‘Mad Men’s Matthew Weiner Returning To Series TV With Weinstein Company & Amazon

I'm very, very, very excited.

And it's cheaper than Vinyl!

 

[Cornballer]

- HBO Picks Up ‘Cormoran Strike’ Drama Based On J.K. Rowling’s Crime Novels

HBO has acquired US and Canadian rights to Cormoran Strike, BBC One’s high-profile new limited series based on J.K. Rowling’s bestselling crime novels, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The project had been rumored to be heading to HBO since BBC One announced it in fall 2015. The two networks are frequent collaborators, and HBO also carried BBC One’s miniseries adaptation of Rowling’s novel Casual Vacancy.

British actor Tom Burke (War and Peace, The Musketeers) stars in Cormoran Strike, which will air as three separate event series, the three-hour The Cuckoo’s Calling, two-hour The Silkworm and two-hour Career Of Evil. Filming starts this fall in London.

Cormoran Strike centers on Strike (Burke), a war veteran turned private detective operating out of a tiny office in London’s Denmark Street. Though he’s wounded both physically and psychologically, Strike’s unique insight and his background as an SIB Investigator prove crucial in solving three complex cases which have eluded the police.

Ben Richards (The Tunnel) wrote The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm, and Tom Edge (The Last Dragon Slayer) wrote Career of Evil. Michael Keillor (Line Of Duty) will direct The Cuckoo’s Calling.

And it's cheaper than Vinyl!

Heh

 

[Norwegian Rudo]

I'm very, very, very excited.

And it's cheaper than Vinyl!

Can't possibly be any good. That's barely half the budget of The Get Down...

Stana Katic to star in new crime drama for AXN. No, I didn't know what AXN was either. Apparently it's an international channel owned by Sony.

Taylor Kitsch to star as David Koresh in a Waco miniseries for Spike.

Netflix have bought a Scandinavian post-apocalyptic drama from the company behind Borgen.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

- AMC Picks Up Series ‘Loaded’, Partnering With Channel 4; Mary McCormack To Star

Sounds a bit like Silicon Valley...

- ‘Mad Men’s Matthew Weiner Returning To Series TV With Weinstein Company & Amazon

Megaton, and a huge get for Amazon.

A bit disappointed it's an anthology though. I have all the faith in the world that it will be good though.

 

[KonradLaw]

- HBO Picks Up ‘Cormoran Strike’ Drama Based On J.K. Rowling’s Crime Novels

I love those types of shows Jack Taylor, Falcon, Wallander, Zen etc

 

[RatskyWatsky]

AMC Buys ‘Dietland’ Drama From Marti Noxon & Skydance For Series Consideration

In a competitive situation, AMC has landed Dietland, a drama series project from Skydance Television. Written and executive produced by (UnREAL co-creator) Marti Noxon, the project is based on the 2015 novel by Sarai Walker. AMC is putting it on a straight-to-series track under its model that involves the opening of a writers room for a series production order consideration.

Set against the backdrop of the beauty industry, Dietland is part character drama and part revenge fantasy that explore society’s obsession with weight loss and beauty.

Sounds interesting!

 

[Cornballer]

- Showtime Nabs ‘American Gigolo’ TV Series Adaptation From Paramount TV, Jerry Bruckheimer & Neil LaBute

Paramount TV and Jerry Bruckheimer Television’s TV American Gigolo series adaptation has landed at Showtime for development. Playwright Neil LaBute is has set to write the show – a drama set in present day which is inspired by the iconic 1980 film that embodied the “wish fulfillment” glossy culture of Los Angeles.

Paramount TV originally joined forces with Bruckheimer, who produced the film noir classic starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton, to explore a TV series adaptation in 2014.

Executive producing the American Gigolo series are Jerry Bruckheimer Television’s Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman. KristieAnne Reed serves as co-executive producer; and James Oh as producer. The film’s writer-director, Paul Schrader, is an executive consultant.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

‘Marlowe’ PI Drama In Works at the CW

Written by Devon Greggory (CSI: Cyber), Marlowe is not based on the famous Raymond Chandler character Philip Marlowe but on the real-life African-American private investigator — a Jamaican immigrant and World War I veteran — who allegedly inspired him. Marlowe is a character-based procedural with a modern feel and contemporary soundtrack and follows Samuel Marlowe from the mansions and red carpets of Beverly Hills to the jazz clubs and back alleys of Little Harlem, where he navigates crimes, mysteries and social issues ripped from today’s headlines through the prism of 1937 Los Angeles.

Sounds like a nice change of pace for The CW.

 

[Cornballer]

- FX Buys Political Serio-Comedy ‘Flatlands’ From ‘American Splendor’ Duo

FX has put in development Flatlands, an hourlong serio-comedy from Oscar- and Emmy- nominated filmmakers Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (American Splendor, HBO’s Cinema Verite) and Likely Story.

Co-written and to be directed by Berman and Pulcini, Flatlands is set in a multi-ethnic, old-school corner of Brooklyn where a bored PTA mom reinvents herself as a local political kingpin who will do anything — including dismantling her family — to attain power. Berman and Pulcini executive produce with Likely Story’s Anthony Bregman and VP Jeff Stern. FX declined comment.

Springer Berman and Pulcini — Oscar-nominated for their adapted screenplay for American Splendor and Emmy-nominated for directing the HBO movie Cinema Verite — recently wrote and directed 10,000 Saints, starring Asa Butterfield and Hailee Steinfeld, and the Kristen Wiig starrer Girl Most Likely. They are repped by CAA, Anonymous Content and attorney Paul Brennan.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Robert De Niro & Julianne Moore To Topline David O. Russell TV Series

The project has landed at Amazon with a $160 million, two season deal.

Each season will consist of eight episodes, all written and directed by Russell. Details about the show are sketchy, but we hear it is a mafia crime series.

 

[Cornballer]

- Fox Nabs ‘The Passage’ Vampire Drama From Liz Heldens, Matt Reeves & Scott Free With Big Commitment

Fox has given a pilot production commitment to The Passage, a drama series based on Justin Cronin’s fantasy book trilogy. The high-profile project hails from Liz Heldens (Friday Night Lights), Felicity co-creator Matt Reeves, Scott Free and 20th Century Fox TV.

Written by Heldens, with Reeves set to direct, The Passage begins as a character-driven government conspiracy thriller and morphs into a post-apocalyptic saga with vampires. The series spans over a century and focuses on a young girl named Amy who must save the human race.

The Passage‘s road to the screen started in 2007 when, in a fierce bidding situation among film studios and top producers, Fox 2000 landed the first book — then half-written — for $1.75 million for Scott Free to produce. Originally developed as a feature, the producers eventually determined that the property would be better served as a TV series. The project migrated to sister studio 20th TV, which, working with Scott Free, attached Heldens because she loved the books and she hit it off with the producers.

The Passage trilogy by Cronin includes the best-selling eponymous first book, published in 2010 by Random House’s Ballantine Books, which was followed by The Twelve in 2012 and The City of Mirrors earlier this year.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

- Fox Nabs ‘The Passage’ Vampire Drama From Liz Heldens, Matt Reeves & Scott Free With Big Commitment

The Passage‘s road to the screen started in 2007

Sounds about right.

 

[Cornballer]

Sounds about right.

Heh. I can't believe they optioned it for that much before it was published. Anyway, I finished the series this year and enjoyed it thoroughly. I'd prefer that it went to a cable channel given some of the material involved, but we'll see what Fox can do with it.

 

[Cornballer]

- 'Y: The Last Man' FX Series Taps Showrunner

FX has found its man for Y: The Last Man.

The cable network has tapped Michael Green to serve as showrunner on its planned adaptation of graphic novel Y: The Last Man, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Green, who is currently co-showrunning Starz's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods alongside Bryan Fuller, will co-write the script for Y: The Last Man alongside comic book creator Brian K. Vaughan. The project, eyed as an ongoing drama series, is still in development. FX declined comment.

Y: The Last Man ranks as one of the most beloved and critically acclaimed comic book series of all time. The Vertigo title was first launched in 2002 and revolves around Yorick Brown — the last surviving human with a Y chromosome — and his Capuchin monkey, Ampersand. The series follows escape artist Yorick after the mysterious plague as he sets out to find what might have wiped out the world's male chromosomes. The series, written and created by Vaughan and artist Pia Guerra, ran for 60 issues and has been collected in multiple graphic novels.

For his part, Green's credits also include the Murder on the Orient Express reboot, tie Blade Runner sequel, Logan and Green Lantern. On the TV side, his résumé includes The River, Heroes, Everwood, Smallville and Kings. He's repped by WME, 3 Arts and Felker Toczek.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Anyway, I finished the series this year and enjoyed it thoroughly. I'd prefer that it went to a cable channel given some of the material involved, but we'll see what Fox can do with it.

Oh, so the books are good? Maybe it stands a chance then!

 

[berzeli]

BBC America Greenlights Dark Thriller Series ‘Killing Eve’ From ‘Fleabag’ Creator

BBC America has greenlit an eight-episode dramatic thriller series Killing Eve from Fleabag and Crashing creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge for premiere in 2018.

Fuck yes.

Based the novellas by Luke Jennings, Killing Eve revolves around Villanelle, a psychopathic assassin, and Eve, the woman charged with hunting her down. Eve is a bored, whip-smart, pay-grade security services operative whose desk-bound job doesn’t fulfill her fantasies of being a spy. Villanelle is an elegant, talented killer who clings to the luxuries her violent job affords her. The two fiercely intelligent women, equally obsessed with each other, go head to head in an epic game of cat and mouse. The series is described as a combination of brutal mischief-making and pathos with sharp humor, originality and high-stakes action.

Fuck. Yes.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

AMC Offers McMafia Adaptation a U.S. Home, Starring James Norton

AMC has partnered with BBC Worldwide to co-produce McMafia, an eight-episode adaptation of Misha Glenny’s best-selling book of the same name.

McMafia follows Alex Godman (to be played by Happy Valley‘s James Norton), the English-raised son of Russian exiles with a mafia history. Having spent his life trying to escape the shadow of that criminal past, Godman builds his own legitimate business and forges a life with his girlfriend Rebecca (The Knick’s Juliet Rylance). But when his family’s past murderously returns to threaten them, he is drawn into the criminal world and forced to confront his values to protect those he loves. As one does.

The cast also includes David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck), Aleksey Serebryakov (Leviathan), Maria Shukshina (Yolki 3) and Faye Marsay (Game of Thrones).

Hopefully they can air it the same time as in Europe and not months later.

BBC America Greenlights Dark Thriller Series ‘Killing Eve’ From ‘Fleabag’ Creator

Fuck yes.

Fuck. Yes.

holy fucking shit into my veins right noww

 

[torre_avenue]

Couple of new shows being developed:

"Treasure" by the folks behind "Grimm", a.k.a. National Treasure the TV show.

Written by Kouf and Greenwalt, Treasure is an action adventure mystery involving a group of Grad Students in Washington DC who accidentally uncover a 40-year-old secret which leads them on a wild ride through real history as they attempt to unravel an unsolved murder, find hidden blood money and avoid being killed by an assassin from the past. Kouf and Greenwalt executive produce with Hayes and Milliner for Uni TV and studio-based Hazy Mills.

"Free Guy" by Matt Lieberman.

EXCLUSIVE: Fox has acquired Free Guy, an action comedy by screenwriter Matt Lieberman. It’s in the vein of The Truman Show, where a bank teller stuck in his routine discovers he’s a background character in a realistic, open-world action-adventure video game and he is the only one capable of saving the world.

I can practically see the trailer now: starts with "Hi, my name is Matt.", couple of shots of player characters doing dumb stuff i.e. creating a traffic jam by going on a rampage or blowing up his car, then that stock "Chuck"-like music where his sister says "Don't you think you could be doing so much more with your life?", and then discovery of prophecy, action shot, action shot, action shot, trailer ends on quippy one-liner.
And a TV series based on Selena is in the works.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

"Free Guy" by Matt Lieberman.

I can practically see the trailer now: starts with "Hi, my name is Matt.", couple of shots of player characters doing dumb stuff i.e. creating a traffic jam by going on a rampage or blowing up his car, then that stock "Chuck"-like music where his sister says "Don't you think you could be doing so much more with your life?", and then discovery of prophecy, action shot, action shot, action shot, trailer ends on quippy one-liner.

This is exactly what it's going to be like.