Shows in development that I want to see Fall 2012

Shows in development that I want to see Fall 2012

Here is the list so far of the shows currently in development that I personally can't wait to see.

GOTHAM
A cop who, after pursuing a seemingly unsolvable case, discovers a magical world that exists within New York City.


REVOLUTION
about the simmering unrest among the colonists at a 22nd-century outpost Earth colony.


DEFIANCE
Set in the near future, Defiance introduces a completely transformed planet Earth, inhabited by the survivors of a universal war. Forced to co-habitate, the disparate group struggles to build a new society among the devastation.


THE LAST RESORT
Follows a renegade nuclear submarine crew that refuses to deploy its weapons, and instead declare themselves a sovereign nation. With nukes.


THE SELECTION
Drama set 300 years in the future about America Singer, a poor woman who is chosen by lottery to compete to become the next queen of a war-torn nation.


HEMLOCK GROVE
A gripping tale of murder, mystery and monsters set in a ravaged Pennsylvania steel town


MIDNIGHT SUN
Drama about the FBI's investigation into the disappearance of a remote cult in Dugan, Alaska - led by Bennett Maxwell - which taps into a grander political conspiracy.


BANSHEE
An ex-convict and master thief who assumes the identity of a small town sheriff and continues to carry out his criminal activities even as shadowy gangsters hunt him.


HANNIBAL
About the early days of Thomas Harris's signature characters FBI agent Will Graham and his mentor Dr. Hannibal Lecter.


INSIDE
A San Francisco homicide detective who discovers his real father is a convicted serial killer who claims to be innocent of murdering the cop's mother.


666 PARK AVENUE
A young couple who accept an offer to manage one of the most historic apartment buildings in New York City where they begin to experience supernatural occurrences.


CULT
A production assistant on a wildly popular television show named "Cult," who teams with Jeff Sefton, a journalist blogger, to investigate the rabid fans of the series who might be re-creating crimes seen on the program in real life.


O.C.T.
About the NYPD's Occult Crimes Taskforce, which was established after the Civil War to make the New York City streets safe from practitioners of black magic, demons from another dimension and all manner of supernatural malcontents.

Sky to invest in British TV films for Sky Movies, Sky Atlantic

Sky to invest in British TV films for Sky Movies, Sky Atlantic

Sky has confirmed plans to make a "multi-million pound" investment in commissioning more feature-length British films for television, as it seeks to prove its credentials as a backer of homegrown talent.

The satellite TV giant said that the funding will be primarily directed at two "distinct and complementary" strands - new movies for family audiences to be shown on Sky Movies, and new documentary films for Sky Atlantic.

Newly commissioned films are expected to air on Sky from 2013, and the investment forms part of Sky's commitment to backing UK-produced content, including a pledge to increase its annual spend to £600m by 2014.

Buoyed by recent ambitious projects such as Treasure Island and Neverland, Sky wants to invest in more feature-length films aimed at the whole family over the next five years.

Sky said that new productions are already in development, but Sky Movies is seeking submissions for further projects featuring "cinematographic quality content". Any green-lit projects would have budgets of around £5m and air on Sky Movies from 2013.

In a bid to transform Sky Atlantic into a channel to rival BBC Four and More 4, Sky wants to increase the factual content on the channel with a new primetime strand in early 2013.

The strand, presumably similar to More 4's acclaimed True Stories series of feature-length documentaries, will feature up to 12 peaktime films on Sky Atlantic and "form the backbone of the new documentary slate".

Sky wants Sky Atlantic to become the "home of gold standard documentary films", and so is calling for bold ideas from production companies.

Any commissioned projects will be exclusive to Sky platforms, premiering first on Sky Movies and Sky Atlantic, before launching on Sky Anytime video on-demand and the Sky Go multiplatform service.

Sky chief executive Jeremy Darroch said that the satellite TV giant wants to further build its "capability and credibility" in creating British programming that "resonates" with pay-TV customers.

"I'm very encouraged by the progress we've achieved so far, particularly in original comedy and drama, but we're only at the start and we're determined to raise our ambitions again and keep improving," he said.

"We see a real opportunity in British films, where we've already invested millions in three feature-length productions with Sir David Attenborough.

"Now we intend to green light more family films for Sky customers and help more of the best documentary makers to bring the films they most want to make to the screen. This is an ambitious plan that will bring benefits to the wider creative industries as well as to Sky and our customers."

Yesterday, Sky announced plans to add more value to Sky Broadband subscriptions by offering free access to a UK network of WiFi hotspots via its The Cloud subsidiary.

Eva Longoria: 'Desperate Housewives trial is a stain on legacy'

Eva Longoria: 'Desperate Housewives trial is a stain on legacy'

Eva Longoria has said that she never expected Nicollette Sheridan's case against Marc Cherry and ABC to go to trial.

The Desperate Housewives star confessed that the trial, in which Sheridan sued Cherry and ABC for wrongful termination, has put a dampener on the series' final season.

"I was surprised that there was even a trial and it went that far," Longoria told Katie Couric on Good Morning America.

"I love Nicollette, and I love Marc Cherry, and I love our work environment. It's a stain on our legacy as a hit show. It was just unfortunate, the whole thing."

Sheridan's case against ABC was declared a mistrial in mid-March after the jury became deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict.

However, Cherry was cleared after a judge dropped the battery charges against the Desperate Housewives showrunner.

Sheridan had claimed that he hit her on the head, though he insisted that it was purely a tap for artistic direction.

Matt Lauer Signs Extension With NBC's 'Today'

Matt Lauer Signs Extension With NBC's 'Today'

Matt Lauer will announce on “The Today Show” Friday that he has signed a long-term contract to remain with the morning program, NBC News confirmed.

NBC has secured its marquee anchor as the morning shows are engaged in a closer fight for ratings. "Good Morning America" has been closing its ratings gap with the top-rated "Today." This week, "GMA" enlisted Lauer’s former “Today” co-host Katie Couric as a guest anchor, and "Today" brought in Sarah Palin on Tuesday.

On Wednesday’s show, Lauer interviewed Ryan Seacrest, who the Wall Street Journal has reported as a possible Lauer successor. Asked by Seacrest how long he wanted to remain on “Today,” Lauer did not answer.

Terms and the length of the contract were not disclosed.

'The Voice' UK Battle Rounds dates set

'The Voice' UK Battle Rounds dates set

The BBC will air a double bill of The Voice UK shows across the weekend of April 21 and 22.

will.i.am, Jessie J, Sir Tom Jones and Danny O'Donoghue will be forced to cut their teams of singers down to five final acts each when the show reaches its Battle Round stage.

The four coaches will be helped by Battle Advisors, who were revealed yesterday to be Paloma Faith, Cerys Matthews, Ana Matronic from Scissor Sisters and Dante Santiago.

During the Battle Rounds, the acts are forced to duet with their teammates on the same songs to prove to their mentors that they are worth keeping in the competition.

It is also suspected that The Voice UK's results shows at the live stages will end up going head-to-head with The Cube on ITV1, meaning This Morning co-hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield will be having a ratings clash.

The Voice UK auditions continue on Saturday at 7pm on BBC One.

Sky to broadcast Eurosport's 3D Olympics coverage

Sky to broadcast Eurosport's 3D Olympics coverage

Sky has confirmed plans to offer the 3D coverage of London 2012 to be produced by Eurosport to all Sky+ HD subscribers with a 3D TV set.

Eurosport, the pan-European broadcaster of the Olympics, plans to air more than 100 hours of 3D coverage over the course of the Games this summer.

As part of a deal with Sky, this coverage will be showcased on the Sky 3D channel, which launched in October 2010 and is now enjoyed by more than 250,000 Sky subscribers.

The channel has previously just been available to customers taking the top tier Sky World subscription package, but for the duration of the Games Sky is unlocking Sky 3D to more than 4m homes with a Sky+ HD subscription, enabling them to watch the Eurosport coverage.

To access the Olympic 3D action, customers will need to purchase a 3D TV and then connect it to their 3D-ready Sky+ HD box.

Sky 3D will air exclusive 3D action from Eurosport every day during the Games, including around eight hours of live coverage and four hours of highlights from each day.

Events to be covered in 3D include the opening and closing ceremonies, the men's 100m final and selected other sports such as gymnastics, swimming, basketball and canoeing.

Sky will also make a wide range of 3D Olympic highlights available on Sky Anytime, the satellite broadcaster's video on-demand service.

Eurosport will also run standard and high definition coverage of the Games on the Sky platform by using the special live stream channels to be launched to show every second of coverage by host broadcaster the BBC.

Sky 3D director John Cassy said: "We know from our own extensive experience that sport in 3D is captivating and we expect the Olympics to be no different.

"It's fitting that the London 2012 Games will be the first 3D Olympics and we're delighted to partner with Eurosport to ensure Sky customers are able to become immersed in the action like never before. Whether you're enjoying the Games in high definition or 3D, viewers will never have felt so close to the action."

Eurosport's managing director of rights acquisition, distribution and development Jean Thierry Augustin added: "Eurosport has been innovating to provide fans with the best live sports experience for many years.

"We pride ourselves on giving a truly global view of the Olympic Games, letting supreme sporting performances drive our coverage.

"This opportunity to present the London 2012 Olympics in 3D to Sky customers will give British fans an unforgettable experience of their 'home' Games and the international sporting heroes it will generate."

As official broadcaster for the 12th consecutive Olympics, Eurosport intends to devote its entire channel to daily coverage of London 2012, including 13 hours of live HD action alongside a breakfast news show, daily highlights and overnight replays of the best action.

The BBC also intends to offer live 3D coverage of selected events from the London 2012 Olympics using the BBC HD channel available on various digital TV platforms.

'The Apprentice' on the rise despite Chelsea football clash

'The Apprentice' on the rise despite Chelsea football clash

The Apprentice rose to over 6.5m last night, its highest audience since series eight premiered three weeks ago.

Lord Alan Sugar's finger of doom was seen by 6.54m (26.3%) on BBC One, then 2.55m (12.6%) stayed for The Apprentice: You're Fired with Dara O'Briain on BBC Two.

Chelsea's defeat of Benfica in the Champions League scored 4.82m (20.6%) for ITV1 between 7.30pm and 10pm.

Meanwhile, the rest of BBC Two's factual lineup performed steadily, with Our Food (1.94m/8.4%) and Woolly Mammoth: Secrets from the Ice (1.96m/7.9%) airing before You're Fired.

Channel 4's One Born Every Minute continued strongly, pulling in 2.5m (10.1%) in the 9pm hour and 483k (2.7%) on +1, prior to which Four Rooms took 1.05m (4.5%) at 8pm (+1: 132k/0.5%).

Later on, the penultimate 10 O'Clock Live, featuring George Galloway, entertained 760k (4.3%) and 122k (1.3%) on timeshift - slightly more than its Thursday average.

US drama NCIS anchored Channel 5's schedule with 1.82m (7.3%) at 9pm (+1: 120k/0.7%), before Law & Order: Criminal Intent mustered 1.06m (5.9%). Cowboy Builders returned at 8pm with 1.35m (5.8%).

Overall, BBC One led primetime with 22,4% against ITV1's 19.2% (+1: 0.3%). BBC Two claimed third place with 8.2%, ahead of Channel 4's 5.8% (+1: 1.1%), and Channel 5's 5.5% (+1: 0.2%).