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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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[04/24/14 - 08:07 PM]
Seth Meyers Named Host of "66th Primetime Emmy(R) Awards"
Award-winning director and producer Don Mischer will serve as executive producer, producing with Mischer will be Charlie Haykel and Julianne Hare.
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[04/24/14 - 03:30 PM]
BET Networks Announces New Programming and Partnerships at Annual Upfront Presentation
Returning series include "Being Mary Jane," "The Game" and "Real Husbands of Hollywood."
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[04/24/14 - 03:25 PM]
Starz Original Drama "Flesh and Bone" Starts Production
Get your first look at the eight-episode series, which follows a young ballet dancer with a distinctly troubled past, as she joins a prestigious ballet company in New York.
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[04/24/14 - 03:00 PM]
Wednesday's Cable Ratings & Broadcast Finals: "Modern Family" Reclaims Top Spot in Viewers, Demos
Plus: numbers for Discovery's "Marooned," Comedy Central's "TripTank" and VH1's "The Fabulous Life of..."
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[04/24/14 - 02:48 PM]
Discovery Channel to Air "Everest Avalanche Tragedy" on Sunday, May 4
The 90-minute special will include unprecedented access and eyewitness accounts from the rescue and recovery efforts that took place after the avalanche struck the Khumbu Icefall.
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[04/24/14 - 02:00 PM]
MTV Announces Summer Schedule at 2014 Upfront Today Including: New Series, Returning Hits and New Music Documentary
Returning series include "Teen Wolf," "Ridiculousness," "Snooki & JWOWW," "Real World" and "Girl Code."
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[04/24/14 - 12:51 PM]
"Rebel Road" Premieres on Discovery Channel Monday, April 28th at 10PM
The one-hour special follows a subculture of car mechanics who are building mind-blowing vehicles that look like something out of another place and time.
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[04/24/14 - 12:32 PM]
ESPN Commentators for the 2014 NFL Draft
Round 1 will feature host Chris Berman joined by analysts Jon Gruden, Mel Kiper Jr. and Ray Lewis, who will make his NFL Draft debut.
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[04/24/14 - 11:46 AM]
The Final Season of "The Killing" Premieres Only on Netflix
Linden and Holder return for one final season exclusively on Netflix in all territories, August 1.
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[04/24/14 - 11:35 AM]
"Food Network Star" Returns for Tenth Season with New Cast of Contenders and More Intense Culinary Challenges
The show's 10th season premieres Sunday, June 1 at 9:00/8:00c on the cable channel.
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[04/24/14 - 11:34 AM]
USA Network Fans to Vote on Favorite Character-Driven "Suits" Episodes Ahead of Socially-Charged "Suits After Hours" Marathon on Friday, June 6
Said stunt is timed to premiere the show's fourth season launch on Wednesday, June 11 at 9:00/8:00c.
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[04/24/14 - 11:31 AM]
E! Special Compares the Latest in Celebrity Fashion and Beauty When "Who Wore It Better?" Premieres Wednesday, April 30th at 8:00 PM ET/PT Only on E!
Catt Sadler and George Kotsiopoulos host the half-hour special.
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[04/24/14 - 11:28 AM]
Video: New Trailer for TBS's "CeeLo Green's The Good Life"
The newcomer launches Monday, June 23 at 10:30/9:30c on the network.
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[04/24/14 - 11:20 AM]
Myles Turner, No. 2 Basketball Recruit, to Announce College Selection on ESPNU
Recruiting director Paul Biancardi, recruiting analyst Gerry Hamilton and host Matt Schick will anchor the telecast.
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[04/24/14 - 10:42 AM]
Video: TNT's "The Last Ship" - New Extended Trailer
The new drama, from executive producer Michael Bay, premieres Sunday, June 22 at 9:00/8:00c on the network.
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