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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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[07/26/17 - 03:10 PM]
HBO/Cinemax Programming Overview - Summer 2017
The company recaps its plans for the rest of the year and beyond.
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[07/26/17 - 03:09 PM]
Five-Part Miniseries "Chernobyl," Starring Jared Harris, Produced by Sister Pictures and The Mighty Mint as an HBO/Sky Television Co-Production, to Begin Filming Next Year
Harris will play Valery Legasov, the Soviet scientist chosen by the Kremlin to investigate the accident.
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[07/26/17 - 03:08 PM]
"Baltimore Rising," Chronicling the Struggle of Police and Activists to Hold the City Together in the Wake of Strife, Debuts in November on HBO
Directed by Sonja Sohn, the film follows activists, police officers, community leaders and gang affiliates, who struggle to hold Baltimore together, even as the homicide rate hits record levels.
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[07/26/17 - 03:07 PM]
HBO Announces Documentary Lineup for the Second Half of 2017
Highlights include Alex Gibney and Blair Foster's Rolling Stone documentary, due in November.
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[07/26/17 - 03:06 PM]
Hit HBO Comedy Series "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Starring Larry David, Returns for Its Ninth Season Oct. 1
Guest stars this season include Elizabeth Banks, Ed Begley, Jr., Carrie Brownstein, Bryan Cranston, Lauren Graham, Jimmy Kimmel, Nick Offerman, Nasim Pedrad and Elizabeth Perkins.
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[07/26/17 - 03:05 PM]
James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal Star in HBO Drama Series "The Deuce," Created by David Simon and George Pelecanos, Debuting Sept. 10
The show's title comes from the local slang for New York's fabled 42nd Street.
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[07/26/17 - 03:03 PM]
ESPN Films' Ric Flair 30 for 30 "Nature Boy" Premieres November 7
Director Rory Karpf will take an inside look at Flair's story, including his triumphs, his tragedies, and his pivotal role in turning pro wrestling into mainstream sports entertainment.
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[07/26/17 - 03:01 PM]
Jon Stewart Returns to HBO for His First Stand-Up Special in 21 Years
Additionally, this fall Stewart will host the latest "Night of Too Many Stars" all-star benefit for NEXT For AUTISM, to be presented live from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday, November 18.
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[07/26/17 - 01:33 PM]
Comic-Con Trailer for "The Walking Dead," Viewed More Than 31 Million Times in Four Days Breaking Own Record for Views
AMC spins the digital numbers for the trailer to date.
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[07/26/17 - 12:38 PM]
21 Million Viewers Tune In to Simulcast Premiere of Disney's "Descendants 2" in Live + 3 Data
Disney Channel further spins the numbers for Friday, July 21.
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[07/26/17 - 11:14 AM]
Electus Partners with Michael Franzese, Moshe Diamant, and Michael Tadross Jr. to Create New Mafia Series "American Royalty"
The project is a revealing and uncompromising look back at a time when mobsters were bigger than life, often bringing politicians and corporate executives to their knees.
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[07/26/17 - 11:00 AM]
Freeform Dives Into Production on New Original Drama Series "Siren"
Sibongile "Sibo" Mlambo joins the previously announced cast of Alex Roe, Eline Powell, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Ian Verdun and Rena Owen.
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[07/26/17 - 10:58 AM]
PBS Announces "We'll Meet Again" with Ann Curry, New Six-Part Series Premiering Winter 2018
Exploring some of history's most dramatic events from across the globe through the personal stories of those who experienced them, the series brings together people whose lives intersected at pivotal moments.
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[07/26/17 - 10:50 AM]
Animal Planet's "Rescue Dog to Super Dog" Gives Assistance and Comfort to People in Need and a Second Chance to Shelter Dogs
The newcomer launches Saturday, August 12 at 10:00/9:00c.
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[07/26/17 - 10:49 AM]
Former NASA Astronaut Mike Massimino to Anchor Science Channel's Primetime Coverage of the Great American Eclipse on Monday, August 21 at 9 PM
In addition, Massimino will serve as guide to the definitive series on our closest neighbors in the solar system, "The Planets," premiering Tuesday, August 22 at 10:00/9:00c.
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