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donderdag 3 januari 2013
Development Update: The 3rd of January
FEEL THE FORCE (ABC, New!) - Bill Lawrence ("Cougar Town") has snagged a put pilot commitment from the Alphabet for a domestic take on Georgia Pritchett's short-lived U.K. comedy, about "two rookie female cops who struggle to prove themselves in a male-dominated police force." Lawrence will pen the single-camera project with Jeff Ingold also executive producing via their Warner Bros. Television-based Doozer banner. The original six-episode series was broadcast here on BBC America in 2007. (Deadline.com)
GATES (NBC) - Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith's comedy - about the hijinks that ensue when parents drop off and pick up their kids at school each day - has been formally ordered to pilot. 20th Century Fox Television is behind the single-camera project with Kapital Entertainment's Aaron Kaplan and Feelgood Fiction's Laurence Bowen and Philip Clarke are executive producing alongside the duo. Andrew Collins, Richard Preddy, Ava Vidal, Dan Sefton and Abigail Wilson created the original incarnation, which aired on the U.K.'s Sky Living earlier this year. (Deadline.com)
NCIS: LOS ANGELES (CBS) - The Eye is reportedly mulling a new planted spin-off of the "NCIS" franchise. Executive producer Shane Brennan is spearheading the effort, which will "follow a small mobile team of agents, who are forced to live and work together, as they crisscross the country solving crimes." As has become custom - from "NCIS" on "JAG" and "NCIS: LA" on "NCIS" - the proposed characters will be featured in a two-part episode during the parent series. CBS Television Studios will produce the hour should it move forward. (Deadline.com)
PHYS ED (ABC Family) - Samm Levine, Sunkrish Bala and Chelsea Harris are the latest additions to the comedy pilot, about a high school's star jock, Ed (Ryan Sypek), who returns to teach at his former alma mater only to find that, even though he's changed, nothing else really has. Levine will play Matt Nealy, "a nerdy and needy chemistry teacher and a bit of a gossip who makes quick friends with Ed"; with Bala as Alan Rapaport, "an English teacher who likes being the alpha male at the school and feels an overpowering urge to put Ed in his place, as if they were both still in high school"; and Harris as Wendy Kleinman, "the hot history teacher and cheerleading coach who is rumored to be having an affair with Alan." Kate Lang Johnson also stars in the multi-camera project, from writer David H. Steinberg and director Ted Wass. (THR.com)
AFTER HOURS (NBC) - Ken Leung and Jeananne Goossen have both landed roles on the drama pilot, about the graveyard shift in the ER at San Antonio Medical Center. Leung will play Topher, "a flip-flops and shorts-wearing Emergency Room doctor who was previously a surgeon on the battlefield, where he became hardened and jaded"; with Goossen as "a beautiful and stylish resident at the hospital." Eoin Macken and Freddy Rodriguez also star in the Sony Pictures Television-based hour, from co-creators Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah. (Deadline.com)
BAR SCENE (NBC, New!) - Chris Alberghini and Mike Chessler ("90210") have sold a potential drama to the Peacock about "a team of misfit lawyers who start their own practice." Said effort is based on the life of Jackie Davis. Sony Pictures Television-based FanFare is behind the hour with the company's Jamie Tarses and Stephanie Davis executive producing alongside Exhibit A's Seth Gordon. (Deadline.com)
BREAK, THE (FOX, New!) - Elizabeth Chandler ("Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants") has landed a potential drama at the network about "the personal lives and relationships of a group of young adults in the close-knit community where surfing is everything." The Santa Cruz-set hour, from ABC Studios, is "told through the eyes of Mia Walker, a 16-year-old girl with a troubled and mysterious past who is sent to the surfing town to live with the father she's never known." Gary A. Randall and Tim Bogart of Boardwalk Entertainment Group are executive producing alongside Chandler. (THR.com)
BRIDGE, THE (FX) - Emily Rios ("Breaking Bad") has scored a role on the drama pilot, about two detectives from the United States (Diane Kruger) and Mexico (Demian Bichir) who must work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the American-Mexican border. She'll recur as Adrianna Perez, "a young, diligent reporter who works at the El Paso Times." Meredith Stiehm and Elwood Reid are behind the hour, which also stars Annabeth Gish, Ted Levine and Thomas M. Wright. (Deadline.com)
DISCOUNTED (ABC, New!) - "Chelsea Lately" mainstay Fortune Feimster is set to star in a potential comedy at the Alphabet about "half-sisters Julie and Missy (Feimster), who are trying desperately to keep their family's furniture store afloat." Jim Freeman and Brian Jarvis will co-write the half-hour alongside Feimster and serve as co-executive producers. Michael Pennie and Borderline Amazing Productions' Chelsea Handler, Tom Brunelle and Brad Wollack are executive producing for Universal Television. (Deadline.com)
GIANT BABY (TV Land) - Eric Petersen ("Shrek the Musical") has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about Madison "Maddie" Banks (Kirstie Alley), a Broadway star who finds her life turned upside down when Arlo, the son she gave up for adoption 26 years ago, turns up looking to connect after his adopted mother has died. He'll play said nerdy and schlubby son in the half-hour, which comes from writer Marco Pennette. Rhea Perlman also stars. (Deadline.com)
GROW THE F--- UP (NBC, New!) - Alexandra Rushfield ("Parks and Recreation") has set up a new comedy at the Peacock about "a 36-year-old woman with arrested development who has a relationship with the only person who gets her - a 20-year-old college student." Universal Television is behind the half-hour with Likely Story's Anthony Bregman also on board to executive produce and Jesse Peretz attached to direct and likewise executive produce. (Deadline.com)
HOW TO GROW UP (CBS, New!) - Feature writers Evan Susser and Van Robichaux have booked a potential comedy at the Eye about "a 30-year-old lawyer who reconnects with his inner child when he discovers a box of VHS taped messages he recorded when he was 10 years old, containing pointed advice for his future self on how to not grow up to be a 'stupid, boring adult.'" Jeff and Jackie Filgo are on board to executive produce the half-hour for ABC Studios. (Deadline.com)
MERIDIAN HILLS (The CW, New!) - Newcomer Sydney Sidner has sold a period drama to the netlet about "a young, newly married woman who joins the Junior League, discovering an eclectic group of other young women who become unlikely allies in her quest to change the system." The CBS Television Studios-based hour, set in a boozy Midwest country club circa 1972, will be executive produced by Mila Kunis, Chris Keyser, Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Lisa Sterbakov, Cami Curtis and Susan Curtis. (Deadline.com)
OUTLANDER (Starz, New!) - Ronald D. Moore's small screen take on Diana Gabaldon's seven-book series has found a home at the pay channel. Said effort - about a former World War II combat nurse on her second honeymoon who, after touching a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles, finds herself transported to 1743 - comes from Sony Pictures Television where Moore will write and executive produce alongside Story Mining and Supply Company's Jim Kohlberg. (Deadline.com)
RUN BLACK (FOX, New!) - Simon Mirren ("Criminal Minds") has booked a new drama at the network about "a brilliant and dangerous prisoner who is given a chance to reduce his sentence when the FBI recruits him to partner up with a book-smart but painfully naive agent to infiltrate and dismantle a criminal empire on the outside." He'll write and executive produce alongside Exhibit A's Seth Gordon - who may potentially direct - for Sony Pictures Television. (Deadline.com)
SLOUCHING TOWARDS ADULTHOOD (NBC, New!) - Sally Koslow's book of the same name, subtitled "Observations from the Not-So-Empty Nest," is being developed as a comedy at the Peacock. Said half-hour, "a messy blended family show where adult children are still living at home," will be penned by filmmaker Kat Coiro ("Departure Date"). Oly Obst, David Miner and Christy Fletcher likewise are on board to executive produce for 3 Arts Entertainment. (Deadline.com)
TAO OF MARTHA, THE (FOX, New!) - Jen Lancaster's upcoming book - about "a highly disorganized, scattered former party girl" who uses Martha Stewart's "teachings" to "become a better role model for her daughter and write a new book about changing her life" - is being developed as a single-camera comedy at the network. Stewart herself is executive producing the half-hour alongside Brian Grazer and Francie Calfo via their 20th Century Fox Television-based Imagine Television. Austin Winsberg ("Jake in Progress") is on board to pen the script and likewise executive produce. (Deadline.com)
THOSE WHO KILL (A&E) - Bahar Soomekh ("Day Break") has boarded the drama pilot, which stars Chloƫ Sevigny and James D'Arcy as a police detective and forensic profiler who possess a deep understanding of the serial killers they hunt. She'll play the latter's wife, "a dignified woman who adores Thomas, understands his nature yet is concerned about his tendency to get so deep into his work that he loses himself." Omid Abtahi also stars in the Fox 21-based hour, which Joe Carnahan is directing from a script by Glen Morgan. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED JEFF LOWELL PROJECT (NBC, New!) - Jeff Lowell ("Common Law") has sold a new comedy to the Peacock set in two time periods: "in the present, centering on a married couple with children, and in the 1980, following that same couple as teenagers dealing with their parents." Universal Television-based TBD Productions is behind the presumably single-camera project with the company's Peter Traugott and Rachel Kaplan executive producing alongside Lowell. (Deadline.com)
BLACK SAILS (Starz) - Hannah New (The CW's "Shelter") has been cast in the upcoming drama, which centers on the tales of Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and his men, and takes place 20 years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic "Treasure Island." She's set as Eleanor, "the beautiful, courageous and determined owner of a rowdy Open Nassau saloon who wields considerable influence in her dual roles as fence/supplier and party host." Jessica Parker Kennedy and Tom Hopper also star in the Michael Bay-produced project, from co-creators Jon Steinberg and Robert Levine. (Deadline.com)
FIVE 2 (Lifetime, New!) - Jennifer Hudson, Melissa Leo, Octavia Spencer and Sarah Hyland have all been cast in the follow up to the cable channel's film anthology, which depicted various characters dealing with breast cancer. Executive producers Jennifer Aniston, Marta Kauffman, Kristin Hahn, Kevin Chinoy and Francesca Silvestri will once again executive produce the sequel, which will turn its focus to address mental illness. Bonnie Hunt and Laura Dern are already on board to direct two of the segments for Sony Pictures Television, Echo Films and Freestyle Picture Co. (THR.com,, Variety.com)
MAX GENERAL (NBC, New!)/NIGHT HUNTERS (FOX, New)! - Feature writer Thompson Evans ("Hit List") has sold potential dramas to said networks. FOX's "Night Hunters," from ABC Studios, is about "undercover NYC police officers who pose as taxi drivers"; while NBC's "Max General," from Universal Television, takes place "in the trauma division of a big city hospital." The Littlefield Co.'s Warren Littlefield and Ann Johnson are also on board to executive produce both hours alongside Evans. (Deadline.com)
MISSIONARY, THE (HBO) - Benjamin Walker ("Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter") has been tapped for the lead role on the drama pilot, about Roy, "a young American missionary who gets caught up in Cold War intrigue while helping a young woman escape East Berlin." He'll take over for Aaron Paul, who was previously in talks to play said role. Baltasar Kormakur ("The Deep") is also on board to helm the hour from a script by Charles Randolph and Malcolm Gladwell. Stephen Levinson and Mark Wahlberg also serve as executive producers. (Deadline.com)
NORFOLK (The CW, New!) - Sera Gamble ("Supernatural") is developing a new drama at the netlet about "the lives and loves of the young people at the Norfolk Naval Station." Oscar-nominee Taylor Hackford ("Ray") is on board to direct and executive produce the potential hour for CBS Television Studios, with writer Gamble likewise executive producing alongside Bill Haber of Ostar Productions. (THR.com)
TROOPER (TNT) - Alimi Ballard ("Numb3rs") has scored a role on the drama pilot, about K.J. Flaxton (Mira Sorvino), "a recently divorced female state trooper who is as unconventional at work as she is at home raising her three kids." He'll play Hollis Figgins, a member of the K9 unit who has a crush on Sorvino's character. Gary Wilmes played said role in the original CBS pilot. Writer Aron Eli Coleite and director Jason Ensler are behind the project, which is set up at the Warner Horizon Television-based Jerry Bruckheimer Television. (Deadline.com)
AFTER HOURS (NBC) - Brigid Brannagh ("Army Wives") and Robert Bailey, Jr. ("Model Minority") have both been cast in the drama pilot, about the graveyard shift in the ER at San Antonio Medical Center. She'll play Dr. Atthea Martin, "who is easing into her old job as a trauma doctor while grieving the loss of her husband, killed by a drunk driver"; while he's set as Paul, "a young, eager but squeamish resident at the hospital." The Sony Pictures Television-based hour also stars Eoin Macken, Freddy Rodriguez, Jeananne Goossen and Ken Leung. Pierre Morel is directing from a script by Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah. (Deadline.com)
HORIZON (USA, New!) - Bridget Tyler ("Burn Notice") has booked a sci-fi period drama at the network about "a secretary at the FBI during World War II who believes her husband may have been killed in a battle with an alien spaceship in the South Pacific." Tyler will write and co-executive produce for the Universal Cable Productions-based Valhalla Entertainment. The company's Gale Anne Hurd is executive producing. (Variety.com)
JANE WAYNE (USA, New!) - Heather Zuhlke ("Southland") has sold a new drama to the cable channel about "a female cop and her patrol sergeant husband who falls into a criminal conspiracy scandal." Said hour is set up at the Universal Cable Productions-based Valhalla Entertainment with Gale Anne Hurd executive producing and Zuhlke serving as a co-executive producer. (Variety.com)
RECONSTRUCTION (History, New!) - Screenwriters John Rice and Joe Batteer ("Windtalkers") are developing a post-Civil War era drama at the cable channel about "a Southern man's struggle in his hometown after fighting in the war for the North." Universal Cable Productions-based Valhalla Entertainment is behind the hour with Gale Anne Hurd executive producing alongside the duo. (Variety.com)
SUPER FUN NIGHT (ABC) - Liza Lapira ("Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23") has been cast in the Rebel Wilson-led comedy pilot, about three nerdy female friends on a quest to have super fun every Friday night. She'll play Helen-Alice, Kimmie's (Wilson) super-smart best friend and roommate. The original multi-camera version at CBS featured Jenny Slate in said role. Lapira's casting is the result of a talenting holding deal the actress signed with the network in July. Warner Bros. Television-based Conaco Productions is behind the half-hour. (Deadline.com)
THOSE WHO KILL (A&E) - James Morrison ("Revenge") and Kerry O'Malley ("Boardwalk Empire") are the latest additions to the drama pilot, about police detective Catherine Jensen (Chloƫ Sevigny) and forensic profiler Thomas Schaffer (James D'Arcy), who possess a deep understanding of the serial killers they hunt. He's on board as Captain Frank Bisgaard, "Jensen's tough, no-nonsense superior"; while she'll play "the precinct's forensic pathologist and Catherine's best friend." The Fox 21-based hour, from director Joe Carnahan and writer Glen Morgan, also stars Bahar Soomekh and Omid Abtahi. (Deadline.com)
TROOPER (TNT) - Eion Bailey ("Covert Affairs") has booked the male lead on the drama pilot, about K.J. Flaxton (Mira Sorvino), a recently divorced female state trooper who is as unconventional at work as she is at home raising her three kids. He'll play her partner James Burk, "a widowed father who has a much more by-the-book approach to policing." Jay Hernandez played said role in the original CBS incarnation. Alimi Ballard and Brooke Nevin also star in the hour, which is set up at the Warner Horizon Television-based Jerry Bruckheimer Television. Jason Ensler is directing from a script by Aron Eli Coleite. (Deadline.com)