10/19 development news
- From: David <dimlan17@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 13:58:11 -0400
from the futon critic
DEVELOPMENT UPDATE: WEEK OF OCTOBER 15-19
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!
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THE CLEANER (A&E) - Benjamin Bratt ("E-Ring") has been tapped for the
lead role on the drama pilot, about a man who finds his calling in
helping others - by any means necessary. Bratt's casting lifts said
contingency off the pilot's production. In addition, David Semel
("Life") is in talks to helm and executive produce the CBS Paramount
Network Television-based project, which was written by
co-creators/executive producers Jonathan Prince and Robert Munic. The
network has also asked for an additional script beyond the pilot. Jay
Silverman and Warren Boyd also serve as co-executive producers.
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THE COLLECTION (The CW, New!) - Elisa Bell ("Little Black Book") is
developing a new dramedy based on the life of famed designer Isaac
Mizrahi. Mizrahi himself is co-executive producing the hour, which
comes from ABC Studios and Sander-Moses Productions. Bell then will
pen the pilot script and executive produce alongside Ian Sander and
Kim Moses. As for specifics, the project reportedly will use the
fashion world backdrop to tackle various issues, from racism to drugs
to sexuality. It's also understood the producers are eying a heavy
online component, much like fellow Sander-Moses production "Ghost
Whisperer."
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CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS) - After weeks of speculation,
co-star Jorja Fox confirmed to Entertainment Weekly on Monday she's
quitting the veteran drama (read the story). Production on what will
be her final episode is expected to be completed this week for an air
date in mid-November. "There are all these things I want to do. Some
are personal. Some are professional. And I really need to do some of
them before I get too old," explained Fox. "If I thought the show were
on its last legs, I would have tried harder to stay the course. But I
feel like its going to be around for a while, so if I dont want some
of those dreams to pass me by. I have to get off the ride for a
while." An expanded interview about the decision will appear in the
magazine's latest issue, on newsstands this week.
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DIARY OF A MANHATTAN CALL GIRL (HBO, New!) - "Sex and the City"
creator Darren Star is back in business with HBO, this time for a new
comedy based on Tracy Quan's semi-autobiographical column "Nancy Chan:
Diary of a Manhattan Girl" for Salon.com. The project then will track
how power, sex and money collide through the eyes of a group of
Manhattan's highest-paid escorts forced to juggle their johns, jobs
and relationships. Star is penning the pilot script and executive
producing alongside Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas via his Sony Pictures
Television-based Darren Star Productions.
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ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT (Syndication) - Mark Steines has reupped his
deal with CBS Television Distribution to remain as co-anchor on the
veteran syndicated newsmagazine. No financial details or the length of
the pact was released. Steines has been with the show since 1995,
graduating from weekend and substitute anchor to Mary Hart's co-host
in 2004.
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L.A. GANG UNIT (A&E, New!) - 44 Blue Productions ("Caesars 24/7") has
booked a pilot order from the cable channel for a new docusoap about
the elite gang unit of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
The half-hour project then would follow the highly experienced
officers of the department's Gang Task Force who work in South Central
Los Angeles. 44 Blue's Rasha Drachkovitch and Shane Conrad are
executive producing alongside A&E's Robert Sharenow and Laura Fleury.
Production has been underway for the past two months.
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LOST (ABC) - Disney-ABC Domestic Television's sale of the show's
off-network run to G4 and Sci Fi on Tuesday (read the story) is
reportedly valued at $200,000 per episode, with the latter coughing up
75% of the bill. Both network's windows, believed to be for six years,
are set to begin in the fall of 2008 with G4 running the series
Monday-Friday (along with some weekend plays) while Sci Fi is expected
to stack the show on Monday nights with four back-to-back episodes
starting at 7:00/6:00c. In addition, G4 will feature unedited versions
of the series under its "2.0" branding that includes interactive and
Web-based elements.
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MAN OF YOUR DREAMS (NBC, New!) - Jay Lacopo ("The Third Wheel") has
scored a cast-contingent pilot order from NBC for a new multi-camera
comedy about a womanizer who uses his expertise to help romantically
challenged women. Conan O'Brien's Universal Media Studios-based Conaco
Productions is behind the half-hour, which Lacopo will executive
produce alongside O'Brien and the company's Jeff Ross and David
Kissinger.
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THE OAKS (FOX) - Michael Cuesta ("Dexter") has inked a two-year
overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television. The pact calls for the
prolific director/producer to develop new series projects for the
studio as well as helm various pilots. Cuesta, who co-created and
helmed the studio-based "Babylon Fields" for CBS last season, is
currently directing the pilot for fellow studio property "The Oaks" at
FOX.
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SOME MOTHERS DO 'AVE 'EM (FOX, New!) - "That '70s Show" alum Phil
Stark is set to pen a U.S. version of Raymond Allen's U.K. comedy of
the same name about Frank Spencer, a man who seems to always be
surrounded by disaster. The project is set up at BBC Worldwide
Productions and Sony Pictures Television where Stark will executive
produce alongside BBC's Paul Telegdy and Ian Moffitt. FOX has given a
script commitment to the half-hour with a penalty attached if it
doesn't go to pilot.
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UNTITLED DAMON WAYANS PROJECT (ABC, New!) - "My Wife & Kids"
co-creators Damon Wayans and Don Reo are developing a new multi-camera
comedy at the Alphabet once again featuring the comedian. The untitled
project, which is based at ABC Studios, casts Wayans as a recent
widower who has to take in the 19-year-old stepson he never knew. The
pair then will write and executive produce the half-hour, which has a
script commitment from the network.
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UNTITLED SHERRI SHEPHERD PROJECT (The CW, New!) - "The View" co-host
Sherri Shepherd is looking to topline and executive produce a new
semi-autobiographical comedy for the netlet about a married woman who
discovers her husband has been cheating on her and has an illegitimate
child. She subsequently agrees to let the child and her mother move in
with the family. Dave Flebotte ("Will & Grace") is on board to pen the
half-hour which he'll executive produce alongside Shepherd and ABC
Studios-based producers Nina Wass and Gene Stein.
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UNTITLED VICTOR FRESCO PROJECT (ABC, New!) - Victor Fresco ("Andy
Richter Controls the Universe") has landed a put pilot order from the
Alphabet for a new single-camera comedy about a man whose morals are
tested working for a large, faceless mega-corporation. The network has
given a script commitment to the 20th Century Fox Television-based
half-hour, plus a penalty if it isn't ordered to pilot. As for
specifics, said man, Ted, is described as a charming, likeable
thirtysomething who heads up the research and development department
at a Fortune 500 company. He's also understood to be a single father
of an 8-year-old who keeps him honest.
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Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
.
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