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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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[07/22/14 - 09:02 AM]
Syfy, Space and Temple Street Productions Announce Hannah John-Kamen, Aaron Ashmore and Luke MacFarlane Will Star in New Scripted Series "Killjoys"
The series follows a fun-loving, hard living trio of interplanetary bounty hunters sworn to remain impartial as they chase deadly warrants throughout the Quad, a distant system on the brink of a bloody, multi-planetary class war.
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[07/22/14 - 09:01 AM]
Video: Next Games and AMC Debut Trailer for "The Walking Dead" Mobile Game, "The Walking Dead: No Man's Land"
The game will allow players to experience the world of the iconic show through gameplay exclusively developed for smartphones and tablet devices.
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[07/22/14 - 08:47 AM]
"Dark Horse Nation" - New Series Premieres Tuesday, July 29 at 10 p.m. on History(R)
The 12-episode series combines great beer, innovation and renegade entrepreneurialism as it follows the day-to-day adventures of the Dark Horse Brewing Company.
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[07/22/14 - 08:40 AM]
Monday's Broadcast Ratings: FOX Claims Top Spot with "MasterChef," "Hotel Hell"
The network has won the adults 18-49 for four consecutive weeks.
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[07/22/14 - 08:32 AM]
ABC Tops Monday in Viewers/"The Bachelorette" Is Up to Tie a Best-Since-Premiere Adults 18-49 Rating
ABC spins the numbers for Monday, July 21.
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[07/22/14 - 08:24 AM]
"American Ninja Warrior" Hits a Season High in Total Viewers
NBC spins the numbers for Monday, July 21.
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[07/22/14 - 08:11 AM]
Hit Series "Braxton Family Values" and "SWV Reunited" Premiere with Back-to-Back Episodes on August 14
WE tv's originals return to Thursday nights beginning at 9:00/8:00c.
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[07/22/14 - 07:57 AM]
National Geographic Channel Heads to Comic-Con San Diego
The panel will highlight NGC's smartertainment programming including returning series "Brain Games" and new series "Going Deep with David Rees" and "You Can't Lick Your Elbow."
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[07/22/14 - 07:32 AM]
Bravo Reunites All Seven Women for Three-Part Reunion of "The Real Housewives of New York City" Starting on Tuesday, July 29 at 9PM ET/PT
Before the reunions begin, tune in to the season finale tonight at 9:00/8:00c to see insults, accusations, and body parts fly in an epic season-ender.
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[07/22/14 - 07:30 AM]
"Robot Chicken" Bitch Pudding Special Premieres Sunday on Adult Swim
The fan-favorite character Bitch Pudding gets her time to shine in a brand new solo special.
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[07/22/14 - 07:17 AM]
NBC Sports Group to Air 103 NHL Regular-Season Games in 2014-15
The season kicks off with an Opening Night doubleheader on October 8 on NBCSN, starting with Wednesday Night Rivalry coverage at 7:30 p.m. ET with the Philadelphia Flyers at the Boston Bruins.
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[07/21/14 - 01:03 PM]
"Nixon by Nixon: In His Own Words," A Revealing Profile of the Former President, Debuts Aug. 4 on HBO
The film is presented in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of his resignation and features excerpts from his secretly recorded his private conversations.
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[07/21/14 - 12:38 PM]
Zap! Pow! Bang! Comedy Central(R) Hits San Diego Comic-Con with Multiple Fan Events
Said offering start with back-to-back panels as Comedy Central Presents "Key & Peele" and Introduces "Moonbeam City" on Thursday, July 24.
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[07/21/14 - 11:44 AM]
Velocity's All-New Series "Garage Squad" Helps America Rebuild and Restore Their Favorite Dream Cars
Hosted by Bruno Massel and Lauren Bohlander, the series comes to the rescue of people whose automotive projects have come to a dead end.
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[07/21/14 - 11:32 AM]
Bleachers Named VH1's August You Oughta Know Artist
Bleachers will benefit from significant cross-platform promotion via frequent music video plays, a custom promo spot, interview on VH1's music-oriented Tuner blog, VH1's Top 20 Countdown, and much more.
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