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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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[01/19/19 - 08:39 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC, CBS & FOX Split Adults 18-49 Crown
CBS however remains the most-watched network overall on Friday.
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[01/18/19 - 11:22 PM]
Development Update: Friday, January 18
Updates include: Hulu cancels Sean Penn-led "The First"; NBC orders two single-camera comedy pilots; and Ashley Thomas, Rick Gomez bound for ABC's "NYPD Blue" sequel series.
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[01/18/19 - 05:27 PM]
CBS to Double Up on "Fam" This Coming Thursday, January 24
Look for original episodes at both 8:30/7:30c and 9:30/8:30c.
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[01/18/19 - 02:51 PM]
Aubrey Plaza Hosts the 34th Film Independent Spirit Awards
The 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards will air live exclusively on IFC at 2:00 pm PT/ 5:00 pm ET on Saturday, February 23.
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[01/18/19 - 12:28 PM]
New Entertainment Network Cleo TV Debuts on Saturday, January 19 with Aspirational Lifestyle Programming for Millennial Women of Color
As previously announced, Cleo TV will be broadly distributed on Comcast Xfinity.
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[01/18/19 - 11:09 AM]
Watch Season 1 of "Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television*" for Free on YouTube Until February 13, 2019
Said stunt is in anticipation of the show's second season launch on January 30.
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[01/18/19 - 11:00 AM]
"Big Brother: Celebrity Edition" Returns with Multiplatform Coverage
"Celebrity Big Brother After Dark" premieres on Pop on Tuesday, January 22 (12:00-3:00 AM, ET/PT) with continuous live, late night coverage seven nights a week leading into the finale.
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[01/18/19 - 10:56 AM]
All-New "Unsolved Mysteries" Coming to Netflix as a Global Original Documentary Series
This modern take on the classic series will maintain the chilling feeling viewers loved about the original, while also telling the stories through the lens of a premium Netflix documentary series.
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[01/18/19 - 10:50 AM]
Video: Trailer - Hulu Original Comedy "PEN15"
All 10 episodes will premiere Friday, February 8, only on Hulu.
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[01/18/19 - 10:43 AM]
First Look of Nicole Maines as the DC Character "Dreamer"
The costume will be first glimpsed on the January 27 episode of "Supergirl."
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[01/18/19 - 10:02 AM]
History to Premiere Eight-Part Event "Jesus: His Life" on Monday, March 25
Each of the eight chapters is told from the perspective of different biblical figures, all of whom played a pivotal role in Jesus' life including Joseph, John the Baptist, Mary Mother of Jesus, Caiaphas, Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, Mary Magdalene and Peter.
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[01/18/19 - 09:16 AM]
Video: New Trailer Released - truTV Season 2 of "At Home with Amy Sedaris"
This season, Sedaris welcomes an impressive list of guest stars, including: Rose Byrne, Matthew Broderick, Justin Theroux, Susan Sarandon, Gillian Jacobs, Juliette Lewis, Ellie Kemper, Fred Armisen, Michael Shannon and more!
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[01/18/19 - 08:15 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS Tops Viewers, Splits Demos with ABC
The Alphabet's "A Million Little Things" gets a boost behind "Grey's Anatomy" on its new night.
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[01/17/19 - 11:27 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, January 17
Updates include: Fabien Frankel to lead ABC's "NYPD Blue" sequel series; Peter Sarsgaard to star in "Interrogation" at CBS All Access; and Daniel Zovatto scores role in Showtime's "Penny Dreadful: City of Angels."
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[01/17/19 - 01:07 PM]
Netflix Reveals "You," "Sex Education" Each Viewed by 40 Million Members; Spanish Language "Elite" Draws 20 Million
Said details mark another rare release of viewership data by the streaming service.
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