Search This Blog

zondag 14 oktober 2012

Development Update: The 14th of October

BAD COMPANY (FOX, New!) - John Eisendrath ("Outlaw") is developing a small screen take on Electronic Arts' hit video game "Battlefield: Bad Company," which drops gamers behind enemy lines as part of a squad of four soldiers - risking it all to go AWOL on a personal quest. Said hour is set up at the Sony Pictures Television-based Happy Madison Productions with Doug Robinson executive producing alongside Eisendrath and EA's Patrick Bach and Patrick O'Brien. Like the game, the potential series will follow "four renegade soldiers as they exit military life and enter the private sector only to realize their commanding officer had used them to further the ends of a shadow unit within the government and now wants them dead to cover his tracks." (Deadline.com)

THE BRIDGE (FX) - Annabeth Gish and Ted Levine have both been cast in the drama pilot, which centers on two detectives from the United States and Mexico (Diane Kruger, Demián Bichir) who must work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the American-Mexican border. Gish will play Charlotte, "a wealthy ranch wife suddenly widowed when her older husband suffers a massive heart attack while on the Mexican side of the border," while Levine is set as a Lieutenant at the El Paso Police Department, "a veteran cop with a weathered cowboy swagger." Gerardo Naranjo is directing the hour from a script by Elwood Reid and Meredith Stiehm. (Deadline.com)

DIRTY LAUNDRY (ABC, New!) - Amanda Lasher ("Gossip Girl") has booked a new dramedy at the Alphabet "that explores the twisted underbelly of marriage and parenthood." 20th Century Fox Television is behind the hour, which Lasher will write and executive produce. (Deadline.com)

DRACULA (NBC) - Daniel Knauf ("My Own Worst Enemy") has been tapped to oversee the upcoming drama, which follows Bram Stoker's signature character (played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers) as he arrives in London, posing as an American entrepreneur who maintains that he wants to bring modern science to Victorian society but secretly hopes to wreak revenge on the people who ruined his life centuries earlier. He'll serve alongside fellow executive producers Anne Mensah, Colin Callender, Gareth Neame and Tony Krantz as well as creator/co-executive producer Cole Haddon. The 10-episode series is co-produced by Flame Ventures, Playground Entertainment, Carnival Films & Television and Universal Television. (Deadline.com)

EXPECTATIONS (The CW, New!)
- Screenwriter J. Mills Goodloe ("Pride") has sold a modern re-imagining of Charles Dickens's classic "Great Expectations" to the netlet, about "a small-town girl with big dreams of making it in the city who is quickly disillusioned by the harsh reality of living in San Francisco - until her fortunes unexpectedly turn thanks to an anonymous benefactor." Pacific Standard's Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea are also on board to executive produce the CBS Television Studios-based hour, as are Television 360's Meghan Lyvers and Evelyn O'Neill. (Deadline.com)

GEN MISHIMA/HOOD (NBC, New!) - Ken Sanzel ("NYC 22") has sold a pair of projects to the Peacock as part of his recently signed overall deal with sibling Universal Television. First up: "Hood," which re-imagines Robin Hood as "an Iraq War veteran-turned-outlaw in an upstate New York county besieged by rapacious bankers and a corrupt, privatized police department." Then there's "Gen Mishima," about "a journalist and a FBI agent who investigate an underground culture of a group of brilliant kids who were part of an experimental school training the next generation of leaders which burned down years ago." The latter project - originally set up at mun2 - is based on a Chilean format created by created by Enrique Videla and Vladimir Rivera. Sergio Aguero will also receive an executive producer credit. (Deadline.com)

JOE & JOE & JANE (NBC, New!) - Joe Port and Joe Wiseman ("New Girl") have landed a pilot production commitment from the Peacock for a new multi-camera comedy about "a conflict-avoidant children's book author caught in an ongoing tug of war between two needy, flawed people: his wife and his co-author/best friend." 20th Century Fox Television is behind the half-hour, which is inspired by Port's real-life experiences. Said duo will write and executive produce. (Deadline.com)

THE LAST STAND (NBC) - Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah's drama - about a group of Army doctors who return to work the night shift together at a hospital in San Antonio - is closing in on a pilot order at the Peacock. Sony Pictures Television is behind the project, which was rolled from last season. (Deadline.com)

THE MOTHERLOAD (ABC, New!) - Robert Horn ("Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure") has sold a potential drama to the Alphabet "based on his real-life experiences of what it was like to begin a relationship with his family later in life." He'll write and executive produce for Sony Television. (Deadline.com)

NOBODY TRUSTS MAZ (CBS, New!) - Actor/comedian Maz Jobrani ("Better Off Ted") is set to star in a potential multi-camera comedy at the Eye about a young couple - Irish-American Jenny and Persian-American Maz - living the American Dream with a house in the suburbs and two kids, much to the chagrin of her father and his mother. Phoef Sutton ("The Soul Man") is penning the half-hour, which is set up at the CBS Television Studios-Tannenbaum Co. The company's Eric and Kim Tannenbaum then will executive produce alongside Sutton. (Deadline.com)

RESCUE 3 (Syndication, New!) - Dolph Lundgren ("The Expendables") is set to topline an upcoming action-adventure drama series for the syndicated marketplace about "Southern California's elite multi-agency task force, which consists of the cream-of-the-crop from Los Angeles Lifeguard, Firefighter and Coast Guard agencies." Emmett/Furla Films, Tower 18 Productions and Envision Entertainment are behind the 20-episode series, which has been cleared by Tribune Broadcasting with a 104-week guarantee. Lundgren will play Captain John Mathews, "a reluctant hero and career firefighter and lifeguard." Gregory J. Bonann and Tai Collins co-created the hour with Bonann serving as executive producer. (Deadline.com)

ADULTING (FOX, New!) - Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein ("The Vow") have scored a put pilot commitment from the network for a single-camera comedy based on Kelly Williams Brown's blog/upcoming book of the same name, subtitled "How to Become a Grown-Up in 387 Easy(ish) Steps." Warner Bros. Television-based Bad Robot is behind the half-hour - exact details of which weren't given - with J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk also serving as executive producers, Kathy Lingg as a co-executive producer and Athena Wickham as a producer. (Deadline.com)

THE BRIDGE (FX) - Thomas M. Wright ("Top of the Lake") has scored a role on the drama pilot, which centers on two detectives from the United States and Mexico (Diane Kruger, Demián Bichir) who must work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the American-Mexican border. He's set as Steven Linder, "who works at a local women's shelter but leads a mysterious double life." Director Gerardo Naranjo and writers Elwood Reid and Meredith Stiehm are all behind the hour, which also stars Annabeth Gish and Ted Levine. (Deadline.com)

DIRTY BLONDES (FOX, New!) - Rachael Harris ("New Girl") and Angela Kinsey ("The Office") are set to star in a potential single-camera comedy at the network about two women who've been friends for 16 years that are brought closer together by their respective divorces. Stacy Traub ("Glee") is behind the 20th Century Fox Television-based half-hour, inspired by the real life long-time friendship of Kinsey and Harris, which has a put pilot commitment. Ruben Fleischer ("Zombieland") is also on board to direct and executive produce with Harris and Kinsey also serving as co-executive producers. (Deadline.com)

DIVORCE HOTEL (FOX, New!) - A. Smith & Co. Productions and BASE Productions have landed a pilot order for a new series which "offers warring couples an immediate end to their marriage." Said effort is based on a Dutch business which has "an estranged husband and wife check into a luxury hotel for a weekend of lawyers, counseling and mediation in an attempt to streamline their final separation." Arthur Smith, Kent Weed, Mickey Stern and John Brenkus are the executive producers. (Deadline.com)

THE LAST SHIP (TNT) - Michaela McManus, Charles Parnell, Travis Van Winkle, Christina Elmore and Sam Spruell are the first to be cast in the drama pilot, in which a global catastrophe nearly obliterates the earth's population, forcing the crew of a naval destroyer to confront the reality of their new existence in a world where they are among the only survivors. McManus will play Lt. Jackie Makena, "a crew member who runs the Combat Information Center and is in charge of missile deployment"; with Parnell as Hugh Jeter, "Command Master Chief aboard the USS Nathan James"; Van Winkle as Danny Green, "the leader of a small crew of SEALS aboard the Nathan James"; Elmore as Lt. Alisha Granderson "who co-steers the ship"; and Spruell as Quincy, a paleomicrobiologist. Jonathan Mostow is directing the Michael Bay-produced hour from a script by Hank Steinberg and Steven Kane, based on the novel by William Brinkley. (Deadline.com)

LEGACY (ABC, New!) - The Alphabet has commissioned its own modern-day take on Charles Dickens's classic "Great Expectations" from feature producer Debra Martin Chase ("Sparkle"). Jeremy Anderson and Patrick Moss ("The Unit") are penning the ABC Studio-based hour and will serve as co-executive producers. No specifics were given about the project other than it is "a sexy soap." Chase then will executive produce via her studio-based Martin Chase Productions. (Deadline.com)

THE SECRET LIVES OF WIVES (Lifetime) - Lauren Bittner ("Paranormal Activity 3") has booked one of the principal roles on the drama pilot, which will explore the unvarnished truth behind the marriages of four different women, breaking down the creative ways each close friend nurtures, maintains and endures what many see as an impossible convention of modern life. She'll play one of said quartet, Jessie, "a smart and attractive 32-year-old lawyer married to a handsome minister." Amber Clayton and Salli Richardson-Whitfield co-star in the Warner Horizon Television-based hour, which is inspired by the book by Iris Krasnow. (Deadline.com)

TERMINALES (ABC Family) - Italia Ricci ("Unnatural History") has booked the lead role on the drama pilot, which follows a young woman's life after she is diagnosed with a terminal illness. She'll play said woman, April, "an aspiring young journalist who is trying to impress her unimpressable editor." Lionsgate Television is behind the hour, from writers Susanna Fogel and Joni Lefkowitz and based on the Mexican television format by Miguel Angel Fox. (Deadline.com)

UNTITLED LAGRAVENESE & GOLDWYN PROJECT (AMC) - Clarke Peters ("Treme") is the latest to board the drama pilot, about Adam Page (Damon Gupton), a District Attorney who uncovers new evidence that prompts the reinvestigation of a sensational murder case. He'll play his father, Isaiah Page, "a retired cop and former police commissioner for Philadelphia." Aunjanue Ellis, Joe Anderson, Marin Ireland, Paul Schneider and Seth Gilliam also star in the hour, from writer Richard LaGravenese and director Tony Goldwyn. (Deadline.com)

WITCHES OF EAST END (Lifetime) - Madchen Amick and Glenne Headly have both scored roles on the drama pilot, which centers on the adventures of a mother (Julia Ormond) and her two adult daughters (Jenna Dewan, Rachel Boston) - both of whom unknowingly are their family's next generation of witches - who lead seemingly quiet, uneventful modern day lives in Long Island's secluded seaside town of North Hampton. Amick will guest star as Wendy, Joanna's (Ormond) sister, "a beautiful and funny witch who takes the form of a cat"; with Headly as Dash (Patrick Heusinger) and Killian Gardiner's (Daniel Ditomasso) mother, Penelope. Maggie Friedman is behind the Fox 21-produced hour, which is based on Melissa de la Cruz's best-selling novel. (THR.com)

20-NOTHINGS (CBS, New!) - Lauren Bachelis's Hollywood Assistants blog is being developed as a potential comedy at the Eye. Fred Savage ("2 Broke Girls") is attached to direct and executive produce the CBS Television Studios-based half-hour, about "five over-educated 20-nothings living in Los Angeles who do whatever it takes to achieve their Hollywood dreams." Bachelis will pen the script and serve as a supervising producer. (Deadline.com)

BONNIE & CLYDE (History/Lifetime) - Miley Cyrus has bowed out of talks to star in the mini-series, about Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, well-known outlaws, robbers, and criminals who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. Oscar-nominee Bruce Beresford ("Tender Mercies") nevertheless has signed on to direct the project from a script by John Rice and Joe Batteer. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron's Sony Pictures Television-based Storyline Entertainment is producing. (Deadline.com, TVLine.com)

BOOM (A.K.A. THE BAKKEN) (USA) - Josh Pate and Rodes Fishburne's drama - about a North Dakota town where a huge oil reserve has been discovered, turning poor farmers into multimillionaires overnight - has found a new home at USA. ABC Studios is behind the hour, which was originally developed by ABC last season. Flame Ventures' Tony Krantz and Reece Pearson are also executive producing and co-executive producing, respectively. (Deadline.com)

CUBA (NBC, New!) - Jorge Zamacona ("Wanted") is finalizing a deal with the Peacock for a new drama which "tells the story of American and Cuban families at the dawn of post-Castro Cuba with an entire nation up for grabs." CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria and former CNN President Jonathan Klein also serve as executive producers project, from Universal Television and Flame Ventures. The latter's Tony Krantz and Reece Pearson are executive producing and co-executive producing, respectively. (Deadline.com)

THE HAUNTED HATHAWAYS (Nickelodeon) - Chico Benymon ("Hollywood Heights") has booked the male lead on the comedy pilot, about siblings who move into a house occupied by a family of ghosts in New Orleans. He'll play Ray Preston, "the father of two boys, one of whom is a ghost." Robert Peacock is behind the project. (THR.com)

JAMES PATTERSON'S BENNETT (ABC, New!) - Ildy Modrovich ("Necessary Roughness") is spearheading a potential drama at the Alphabet based on author James Patterson's character Michael Bennett from his top-selling detective series inspired by the brave heroes of the NYPD. Said hour is set up at Gaumont International Television with an eye towards a straight-to-series commitment. The company's Katie O'Connell will presumably executive produce alongside Modrovich. (Deadline.com)

THE LAST SHIP (TNT) - Eric Dane ("Grey's Anatomy") has booked the lead role on the drama pilot, in which a global catastrophe nearly obliterates the earth's population, forcing the crew of a naval destroyer to confront the reality of their new existence in a world where they are among the only survivors. He's set as Captain Tom Chandler, "a career Navy man - authoritative, decisive, fair, courageous and a born leader, respected and loved by men and women in his command - and a loving father and husband who's never home as much as he'd like to be." Michaela McManus, Charles Parnell, Travis Van Winkle, Christina Elmore and Sam Spruell also star in the Michael Bay-produced hour, from director Jonathan Mostow, writers Hank Steinberg and Steven Kane and based on the novel by William Brinkley. (Deadline.com)

KING AND MAXWELL (TNT) - Jon Tenney ("The Closer") has scored one of the title roles on the drama pilot, about Sean King (Tenney) and Michelle Maxwell, a pair of secret service agents-turned-private investigators whose unique skill set often gives them a leg up on suspects and conventional law enforcement. CBS Television Studios is behind the hour, which is based on characters created by bestselling author David Baldacci. Shane Brennan is writing and executive producing with Karen Spiegel and Grant Anderson producing. (Deadline.com)

KINGS OF MIDNIGHT (Showtime, New!) - Wallace Stroby's book series - "a dark and atmospheric story of professional criminals led by a female criminal" - is being developed as a drama at the pay channel. Oscar-winner Ted Talley ("Silence Of The Lambs") is spearheading the adaptation with Stroby and Tony Krantz also serving as executive producers. Flame Ventures' Reece Pearson also serves as a co-executive producer. (Deadline.com)

PERFORMANC ANXIETY (FOX, New!)
- Sam Wolfson ("Jewtopia") has booked a potential new comedy at the network which tells the story of a local comedy theatre group in the middle of the country. Cooper's Town Productions' Philip Seymour Hoffman and Emily Ziff and Flame Ventures' Tony Krantz are executive producing the half-hour for 20th Century Fox Television. Reece Pearson also serves as a co-executive producer. (Deadline.com)

RISING SUNS (FOX, New!)/UNTITLED ED BRUBAKER PROJECT (NBC, New!) - Ed Brubaker (Crackle's "Angel of Death") has set up a pair of dramas at the broadcast networks. At FOX is "Rising Suns," about "an American Yakuza underboss fighting for his life as he becomes involved with the female FBI agent hunting him." And over at NBC is an untitled hour about "a young female agent-in-training who is part of her agency's cleanup crew, shadowing a more famous agent erasing all traces of his missions." 20th Century Fox Television and the Universal Television-based TBD Productions are behind the respective offerings with Peter Traugott and Rachel Kaplan also serving as executive producers on the latter. (Deadline.com)

SECRET LIVES OF HUSBANDS AND WIVES (NBC) - Jesse L. Martin ("Law & Order") and James Tupper ("Revenge") have both been cast in the drama pilot, a soap that centers on a murder and the secrets and lies within a tightly woven group of three suburban couples and their families exposed in its aftermath. Martin will play Greg Cooke, "a perpetual frat boy and former hedge fund manager whose faltering finances force him into partnering with an unsavory business associate"; with Tupper as Richard Deaver, "a likable and fun guy who moves to town with his wife and daughter to open a real estate business, but underneath his nice exterior is a troubled and dangerous personality." Perrey Reeves, Nicole Ari Parker and Martin Henderson also star in the Warner Bros. Television-based hour, from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Mark Pellington, writer Sascha Penn and based on the book by Josie Brown. (Deadline.com, THR.com)

THE SECRET LIVES OF WIVES (Lifetime) - Kim Raver ("Grey's Anatomy") has booked the remaining lead role on the drama pilot, which will explore the unvarnished truth behind the marriages of four different women - Michelle (Raver), Reed (Salli Richardson), Keaton (Amber Clayton) and Jessie (Lauren Bittner), breaking down the creative ways each close friend nurtures, maintains and endures what many see as an impossible convention of modern life. Raver's Michelle is billed as "a naturally elegant, generous and grounded woman who is the rock of her small circle of best friends." Jill Gordon is behind the Warner Horizon Television-based hour, which inspired by the book by Iris Krasnow. (Deadline.com)

STRANGE CALLS (ABC, New!) - Donick Cary ("New Girl") has received a put pilot commitment from the Alphabet for a new comedy about Toby Banks, "a good-hearted, bumbling Boston cop, who is exiled to night duty on Nantucket island, where - alongside eccentric lighthouse keeper/local paranormal authority Gregor - he investigates the strange, unexplainable occurrences that have become the norm there." Said half-hour is based on Daley Pearson's upcoming Australian series of the same name. 20th Century Fox Television is behind the U.S. take with Ruben Fleischer, Kapital Entertainment's Aaron Kaplan and Hoodlum's Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield also among the executive producers. (Deadline.com)

TERMINALES (ABC Family) - Mary Page Keller ("Hart of Dixie") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, which follows a young woman's (Italia Ricci) life after she is diagnosed with a terminal illness. She'll play Sara - the widowed mother to April (Ricci) and her 14-year-old sister, Brenna - described as "being charmingly neurotic and typically incapable of finishing a sentence who, thanks to April's advice, begins to re-enter the dating world despite the fact that her own mother lives with them." Susanna Fogel and Joni Lefkowitz are behind the hour, which is set up at Lionsgate Television. (THR.com)

UNTITLED BURRELL BROTHERS PROJECT (ABC, New!) - Ty Burrell ("Modern Family") has sold a single-camera to the Alphabet about "two city families who buy the only store in a tiny rural community in Oregon." Burrell and his younger brother Duncan are co-writing the 20th Century Fox Television-based half-hour, which has a penalty attached. They'll likewise serve as co-executive producers. (Deadline.com)

UNTITLED SIDELINE REPORTER PROJECT (TBS, New!) - Tom Brady ("Good Vibes") has sold a new comedy the cable channel about "the life and times of a local cable sports network." NFL Network's Rich Eisen, writer/director Ron Shelton and sports reporter Suzy Shuster are executive prodcing alongside Brady and Flame Ventures' Tony Krantz. Reece Pearson also serves as a co-executive producer. (Deadline.com)

WENDELL & VINNIE (Nickelodeon) - Natalie Dreyfuss ("The Secret Life of the American Teenager") has joined the cast of the upcoming comedy, about Vinnie (Jerry Trainor), a lovable, goofball uncle who becomes the guardian to his buttoned-up 12-year-old nephew Wendell (Buddy Handleson). She'll take over for Hayley Strode as their neighbor Taryn, a divorced woman who bonds with them. Nicole Sullivan also stars in the project, from creator Jay Kogen and fellow executive producer Aaron Kaplan. (THR.com)

WIRED (The CW, New!) - Sandy Isaac ("Drop Dead Diva") has sold a new drama to the netlet billed as "a fictional story set in the 70s about the birth of the computer industry." Twitter founder Biz Stone and Flame Ventures' Tony Krantz are also on board as executive producers with Reece Pearson co-executive producing. (Deadline.com)