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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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[09/24/16 - 11:16 AM]
FOX Hit Dramas - "Gotham" and "Lucifer" - See Significant Gains in Live + 3
FOX further spins the numbers for Monday, September 19.
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[09/24/16 - 10:06 AM]
Monday's "The Good Place" Is the Week's Top Debut Half-Hour of a New Comedy in Live + 3
NBC further spins the numbers for Monday, September 19.
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[09/24/16 - 08:48 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: "MacGyver" Debuts on Top for CBS
The Eye's reboot leads the night in both total viewers and adults 18-49.
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[09/23/16 - 02:31 PM]
"Superstore" Is Stocking Up! NBC Orders Full Second Season
NBC's crowd-pleasing comedy "Superstore" has added nine more episodes to its inventory bringing the season total to 22.
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[09/23/16 - 12:21 PM]
Oxygen Media Presents "Snapped: Notorious - The Menendez Brothers" Premiering Sunday, October 2nd from 9PM - 11PM ET/PT
Oxygen Media will take an unflinching look at the Menendez Brothers' case, from their privileged upbringing, to the shocking details of their savage crime, to the ongoing debate that asks: Are the brothers monsters? Or are they victims of parental abuse?
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[09/23/16 - 12:18 PM]
Video: "Shameless" Season Seven Premiere Available Now Across Multiple Platforms
Said installment comes in advance of its linear premiere on Sunday, October 2.
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[09/23/16 - 11:10 AM]
Showtime(R) Presents "Sebastian Maniscalco: Why Would You Do That?"
Directed by Joe Demaio, written by Maniscalco and filmed live at New York City's famed Beacon Theatre during one of the seven sold-out shows on his 2016 tour, the hour-long special is chock-full of skepticism.
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[09/23/16 - 10:06 AM]
Freeform Greenlights Development on Late-Night Series with Comedian Iliza Shlesinger
"A late-night show has been THE goal for me and I'm ready to throw my hat into the ring," said Shlesinger.
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[09/23/16 - 10:03 AM]
AMC Renews Travel Docu-Series "Ride with Norman Reedus" Featuring Star of "The Walking Dead" for Second Season
Season two will consist of six one-hour episodes featuring "The Walking Dead" actor and motorcycle and travel enthusiast Reedus as he takes viewers back on the open road to journey to amazing places and sample local cultures.
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[09/23/16 - 09:54 AM]
Comedy Central Announces Slate of Stand-Up Specials Filming This Fall with Comedians Lewis Black, Kurt Braunohler, Joe DeRosa, Mark Normand and Roy Wood Jr.
"Lewis Black: Black to the Future" kicks things off on Friday, October 7.
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[09/23/16 - 08:41 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS, NFL Stifle Its Competition
ABC's "Notorious" (1.2) and FOX's "Pitch" (1.1) are outshined by the Eye's football coverage in adults 18-49.
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[09/23/16 - 08:29 AM]
BBC America Takeover at New York Comic Con Launches First Ever Panels at the Theater at Madison Square Garden
The takeover features panels and a world premiere screening with the casts and creators of "Doctor Who," new original series "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" and new "Doctor Who" spin-off, "Class."
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[09/23/16 - 07:43 AM]
Superstar Illusionist Criss Angel Returns to A&E with A One-Hour Special "Criss Angel Trick'd Up" Premiering Wednesday, October 12 at 9PM ET/PT
Celebrated worldwide as the "Magician of the Century," renowned illusionist Criss Angel dares to transcend boundaries once again.
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[09/23/16 - 07:13 AM]
Season Two of WE tv's Hit Series "Growing Up Hip Hop" Premieres Thursday, October 13th, 10pm ET/PT
Hip Hop royalty Angela Simmons, Romeo Miller, Damon "Boogie" Dash, Kristinia DeBarge, TJ Mizell and Egypt Criss all return for a drama filled season where shocking truths are finally revealed, changing the lives of this tight-knit group of friends forever
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[09/22/16 - 02:37 PM]
"Saturday Night Live" Premieres with Margot Robbie and The Weeknd
Robbie can currently be seen starring as Harley Quinn in the hugely successful blockbuster hit "Suicide Squad."
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