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[12/26/08 - 06:43 PM]
Development Update: Week of December 22-26
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) |
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LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- The latest development news, culled from recent wire reports:
Looking to keep track of all the various projects in development? Click here to visit our signature "Devwatch" section. There visitors can view our listings by network, genre, studio and even development stage (ordered to pilot, cast-contingent, script, etc.). It's updated every day!
BITCHES (FOX, New!) - Feature writer Michael Dougherty ("Superman Returns") has scored a hefty script commitment from the network for a new drama about a quartet of female friends in New York who are werewolves. The project, which has a penalty attached should it not move forward to pilot, is set up at Warner Bros. Television. Writer/producers Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts ("Pushing Daisies") have been tapped to supervise Dougherty and executive produce. No other specifics were given.
GILMORE GIRLS (The CW) - One day after filing a lawsuit against CBS over "Two and a Half Men" (see below), Warner Bros. Television itself has been sued by producer Gavin Polone over "Gilmore Girls." The breach-of-contract lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims the vertically integrated Time Warner companies Warner Bros. Television and The WB "have colluded to defraud the originator of hit 'Gilmore Girls' television series with a scheme that rivals the greed and bravado of any story line defendants could script." Hofflund/Polone, Polone's company with Judy Hofflund, alleges the "modified adjusted gross," the money the show earns after costs are deducted, for "Gilmore's" first six seasons was modified by the studio - through "collusion among defendants to set below-market license fees" and a series of improper charges - which cut into Hofflund/Polone's profits as a result. A third-party audit commissioned by Hofflund/Polone in October 2006 alleges that number was understated by $45.5 million and the company has asked for "tens of millions of dollars" in damages as a result. Warner Bros. has yet to comment on the suit.
LOST & FOUND (NBC) - Australian actor Damon Herriman ("All Saints") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, which centers on Tessa Cooper (Katee Sackhoff), an offbeat LAPD detective who, after butting heads with higher-ups, is sent as punishment to the basement to work on John and Jane Doe cases. He'll play Anthony Yeckel, an oddball civilian consultant to the police's lost-and-found department who has an obsessive love of old detective TV shows. Brian Cox and Josh Cooke also star in the Universal Media Studios/Wolf Films-based hour, which Michael Engler is directing from a script by creator Chris Levinson.
TWO AND A HALF MEN (CBS) - Warner Bros. Television filed a $49 million breach of contract lawsuit against CBS on Tuesday. Said suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims the network owes Warner Bros. additional fees toward the production deficit carried by the studio. The "deficit recoupment" was understood to be tied to "Men" hitting certain ratings milestones as specified by the show's original four-year license agreement signed in 2003. The suit indicates the studio incurred a $61.1 million deficit over the course of the first four years of the show (for instance CBS paid $750,000 per episode during "Men's" first season while Warner Bros. actual cost to produce the show came in at $1.22 million), a cost which CBS would cover should "Men" finish as a top 10 show. Additionally, should "Men" finish in the top five in its fourth season, CBS would pay an additional $650,000 more per episode in the fifth and sixth seasons (with a downward scale from there). "CBS has reaped the benefits of the tremendous success of 'Two and a Half Men" but wants to deny Warner Bros. the right to its agreed-upon share," Warner Bros. said in a statement. CBS countered with simply, "Wow, I wonder what they got the other networks for Christmas."
UGLY BETTY (ABC) - "Dexter" co-star Lauren Velez has booked a multi-episode arc on the Thursday dramedy. She'll play Elena, a nurse that enters the lives of the Suarez family, whom reports speculate will be linked to a major plot development. It's not clear when her first episode will air.
UNTITLED MARIA BELLO PROJECT (HBO, New!) - Maria Bello ("The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor") is set to topline a potential new drama at the pay channel about a woman who's forced into a life of crime to support her three teenage sons after her husband is killed. Gary Lennon ("The Shield") is penning the hour, which sees the woman using her sons as henchmen, leading them all down a destructive road. Bello herself will executive produce alongside Lennon, Gavin Polone and John Carrabino.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[08/01/14 - 01:49 PM]
DIY Network Achieved Most-Watched July Primetime Ever Among P25-54 Viewers in July
DIY Network spins the numbers for the month of July.
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[08/01/14 - 01:18 PM]
ESPN Goes to Portland for the 2014 MLS All-Star Game
ESPN media platforms will combine to provide unprecedented coverage of the game, between a team of Major League Soccer All-Stars and Bayern Munich on Wednesday, August 6.
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[08/01/14 - 01:15 PM]
HGTV Scores Best July Ever
HGTV spins the numbers for the month of July.
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[08/01/14 - 11:01 AM]
The Walt Disney Company and the National Cable Television Cooperative Announce Robust Long-Term Distribution Agreement
As part of the new multi-year deal, the NCTC will introduce several new services, including the full suite of authenticated WATCH and video-on-demand products.
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[08/01/14 - 10:55 AM]
Live Twitter(R) Chat with "The Quest" Executive Producers and the First Eliminated Contestant, Friday, August 1
Join Mark Ordesky, Jane Fleming, Rob Eric and the first Paladin banished from Everealm as they answer your questions about last night's exciting series premiere.
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[08/01/14 - 10:20 AM]
Dierks Bentley Brings a Special Performance from His Headlining Riser Tour to CMT's "Hot 20 Countdown" This Weekend as Part of the Mountain Dew(R) CMT Summer Concert Series
Bentley has invited the series on the road of his tour, making special appearances in all four installments and bringing fans new videos along with a behind-the-scenes look from the road.
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[08/01/14 - 09:01 AM]
Sarah Hyland to Co-Host "Teen Choice 2014" Sunday, August 10, Live on FOX
Also scheduled to appear: Taylor Swift, Ansel Elgort, Victoria Justice, Collins Key, Laura and Vanessa Marano, Ian Somerhalder, Odeya Rush, Brenton Thwaites and Ariana Grande.
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[08/01/14 - 08:48 AM]
"Last Comic Standing" Matches a Six-Week High in 18-49 Rating
NBC spins the numbers for Thursday, July 31.
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[08/01/14 - 08:32 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS Continues Win Streak in Both Viewers, Demos
The Eye was the top draw among total viewers and adults 18-49 for the fifth consecutive week.
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[08/01/14 - 08:30 AM]
ABC's "The Quest" Debut Ties a Summer Time-Slot High and "NY Med" Wins at 10pm with a Best-Since-Premiere Number
ABC spins the numbers for Thursday, July 31.
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[08/01/14 - 07:46 AM]
Escape Acquires Rights to More Than 500 Episodes of Three Popular True Crime Television Series
"Snapped," "Unsolved Mysteries" and "Forensic Files" have all been licensed to the fledgling network.
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[08/01/14 - 07:43 AM]
ESPN to Follow Path of USA Basketball Men's National Team to the "2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup"
The USA Basketball National team is coached by legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and potentially headlined by superstars Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Paul George, Derrick Rose and James Harden, among others.
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[08/01/14 - 07:23 AM]
HBO Confirms Debut Date of "Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways" - Series to Launch Its Eight-Episode Season Friday, Oct. 17
Directed by Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, each one-hour episode of the unprecedented documentary series is devoted to a different American musical landmark.
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[08/01/14 - 07:03 AM]
FOX Sports 1 Kicks Off August with Big Week of Boxing
Sammy Vasquez Jr. and James Stevenson square off in a main event IBF/USBA Welterweight title bout presented by Mike Tyson's Iron Mike Productions on Friday, August 8.
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[08/01/14 - 07:00 AM]
Science Channel's "Man vs. the Universe" Delves Into Mankind's New Race to Tame the Cosmos
The three-part series launches Wednesday, August 13 at 10:00/9:00c on the network.
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