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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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[03/06/15 - 01:16 PM]
NBC Announces Summer Tentpole Premiere Dates, Led by the Most-Watched Summer Show of the Last Nine Years, "America's Got Talent"
Also on tap are new seasons of "American Ninja Warrior" and "Hannibal" plus the premiere of "Aquarius."
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[03/06/15 - 01:03 PM]
Date Changes for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Original Movie World Premieres
"A Bone To Pick: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery" will now premiere on Saturday, April 4 while "Garage Sale Mystery: The Deadly Room" is now due on Saturday, April 11.
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[03/06/15 - 01:01 PM]
"Supergirl" First Images Revealed as Production Begins on New Pilot for CBS from Warner Bros. Television, Based on the Characters from DC Comics
Colleen Atwood said, "In designing Supergirl, I wanted to embrace the past, but more importantly, thrust her into the street-style action hero of today."
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[03/06/15 - 01:00 PM]
Disney Channel Orders Comedy Series "Best Friends Whenever"
The project centers on teenagers Shelby and Cyd, who when a science experiment goes wrong, become unstuck in time, leaping forward and backward whenever they want - and sometimes even when they don't.
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[03/06/15 - 12:51 PM]
Showtime(R) Comedy Documentary "Knock Knock, It's Tig Notaro" to Debut on Friday, April 17
The film follows Notaro's travels as she embraces her most loyal fans by creating unique and intimate comedy experiences in their homes, backyards, barns, and basements.
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[03/06/15 - 11:31 AM]
Crews Race for Crab and Battle Monstrous Storms Like Never Before in Discovery's Hit Series "Deadliest Catch"
The 13-time Emmy Award-winning series returns for its 11th season on Tuesday, April 14 at 9:00/8:00c on the Discovery Channel.
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[03/06/15 - 10:25 AM]
"Dateline: The Real Blacklist" to Lead Into Hit Drama "The Blacklist" to Form Two-Hour Thursday-Themed Programming Block
Plus: "The Slap" will shift to 10:00/9:00c next week, replacing the hiatus-bound "Allegiance."
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[03/06/15 - 09:31 AM]
"The Odd Couple" Grows in Its Third Week - Up 13% in Viewers and 7% in Adults 18-49
CBS spins the numbers for Thursday, March 5.
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[03/06/15 - 08:53 AM]
"The Blacklist" Doubles Its Lead-In, Finishes Within a Tenth of Last Week's Fast-Affil Rating
NBC spins the numbers for Thursday, March 5.
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[03/06/15 - 08:43 AM]
Live + 3: ABC's "Secrets and Lies" Grows to a 2.1 in Adults 18-49 - Remains Sunday's Top Drama Debut
ABC further spins the numbers for Sunday, March 1.
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[03/06/15 - 08:40 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC, CBS Split the Demo Crown
The Alphabet's "American Crime" opens on top at 10:00/9:00c among total viewers and adults 18-49.
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[03/06/15 - 08:25 AM]
ABC Is Up Sharply Year to Year and Finishes No. 1 for Its 6th-Straight Thursday
ABC spins the numbers for Thursday, March 5.
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[03/06/15 - 08:02 AM]
HBO Announces Featured Artists on Game of Thrones Mixtape Vol. 2
Produced by Launch Point Records, the 15-track mixtape features diverse artists representing Game of Thrones families, leveraging themes and highlights from season 4.
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[03/05/15 - 02:44 PM]
Little Women Take a Bite Out of the Big Apple with Lifetime(R)'s "Little Women: NY" Premiering on March 25
Viewers first got a glimpse of New York's Lila Call, when she made waves with the "Little Women: LA" cast and now they'll get to see her in action on her home turf with her group of east coast besties.
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[03/05/15 - 01:13 PM]
Samantha Bee Heading to TBS - Former "Daily Show" Correspondent Signs Up to Host Comedy Series
The new show, which is in the early stages of development, is being planned as a platform for Bee to apply her smart and satirical point of view to current and relevant issues.
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