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Here’s some very early info to update you on 2008-2009 primetime pilots and presentations. I hear the following pilots have heat heading into the weeks before the network upfronts. In most cases, this good buzz is based on scripts considered above average and even exceptional, and/or the successful showrunners, producers, directors involved. Overall, ABC has the edge on comedy development (called “good stuff” by insiders). The quotes below are from sources in the know (and keep sending me your tips and infos):
ABC COMEDIES
Bad Mother’s Handbook (ABC TV Studios)
– “Good but not great script”. But was one of the network’s two favorites. Pluses are Alicia Silverstone as star, Richard Shepard as director (he helmed the Ugly Betty pilot), and fact that exec producer Stu Bloomberg able to keep guilt-tripping one-time best pal Bob Iger for firing him as ABC Entertainment head back in 2002.
The Goode Family (Media Rights Capital)
– Network already gave it 13 on-air commitment for 2009. It’s animated.
This Might Hurt (20th Century Fox TV)
Roman’s Empire (CBS Paramount/Katalyst)
– “Good script”.
Nuclear Family (ABC TV Studios)
– This was the first pilot ordered by the network. Can’t lose with star Alyssa Milano.
ABC DRAMAS
Captain Cook’s Extraordinary Atlas (WBTV)
– ”Really good script, but they’re doing a rewrite on it”. Pluses are Tom Wheeler writing and exec producing, and Tommy Schlamme directing. If it works right, will be on the air Sunday at 8 pm. Huge ambitious Harry Potter-style series.
Castle (ABC TV Studios/Beacon TV)
– Pluses seen are Andrew Marlowe writing and producing, and Rob Bowman directing, and Desperate Housewives alum Nathan Fillion set for lead.
Prince Of Motor City (ABC TV Studios)
– Praise for premise of Hamlet set in Detroit.
The Unusuals (Sony Pictures TV)
– “Good”.
CBS COMEDIES
Single White Millionaire (WBTV)
– The script is only “lukewarm”. But the heat comes from Jim Burrows on as director. Ricky Blitt writing and exec producing. Fred Savage set to star.
Mike Birbiglia’s Secret Public Journal (CBS Paramount/CBS)
– CBS “very happy with how reading went”. Now pilot has already been shot (as of Tuesday) and network thinks it’s extremely strong. It’s being renamed, thankfully.
CBS DRAMAS
Mythological Ex (CBS/20th Century Fox TV)
– “Yeah, good script.”
11th Hour (WBTV/Jerry Bruckheimer TV)
– “It’s a Bruckheimer show.”
The Mentalist (WBTV)
– Pluses are casting of Simon Baker and Robin Tunney, and writing and exec producing by Bruno Heller.
NY-LON (ABC TV Studios/Beacon TV)
– “Good script. Whether it’s going to work or not, who knows…”
Can Openers (Sony Pictures TV)
– “Good script”.
CW DRAMAS
90210 (CW/CBS Paramount)
– “Slam dunk. Doesn’t even have to be good.”
How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls (WBTV/Alloy)
FBC COMEDIES
Spaced (WBTV/Wonderland)
– “Good script.” “Another McG production.” Minus is it’s an adaptation of a British series whose creators are badmouthing the U.S. series. And was tough to find a director to do it because producers insisted on someone new and fresh with a feature sensibility.
The Inn (FBC/20th Century Fox TV/Reveille)
– “Unreadable. But network really likes this.” Jason Bateman directing. It taped last night to great feedback.
Cleveland (20th Century Fox TV)
– Family Guy spin-off already has 13-episode commitment.
Boldly Going Nowhere (20th Century Fox TV)
– “Five-script commitment behind it.”
FBC DRAMAS
Fringe (WBTV/Bad Robot)
– “It’s J.J. Abrams.”
Dollhouse (20th Century Fox TV)
– “It’s Joss Whedon…” (Yes, he got screwed before, but probably not this time around.)
Courtroom K (20th Century Fox TV/Heel & Toe Films)
– “Paul Attanasio’s script was excellent.”
NBC COMEDIES
Kath & Kim (Universal Media Studios)
– Already on the schedule for six episodes, and network just ordered six more scripts. U.S. adaptation of a hit Australian comedy. Well cast with Molly Shannon as a 40-something divorcee and Selma Blair as her immature self-absorbed daughter. Yet another Reveille series ordered by Silverman.
The Office Spin-Off (Universal Media Studios)
– Already on the schedule. Ben Silverman’s Reveille gift that keeps on giving.
NBC DRAMAS
Kings (Universal Media Studios)
– Already on the schedule.
My Own Worst Enemy (Universal Media Studios)
– Already on the schedule. “Excellent script.” Stars Christian Slater.
The Philanthropist (Universal Media Studios)
– Already on the schedule. “Very good script.” But writer/exec producer Tom Fontana just left over creative differences. (He wanted gritty and authentic. Net wanted escapist and fantastical.)
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Doh! Just realized 11th Hour is mentioned. But “Cupid” isn’t…and come to think of it, neither is “The Oaks” on Fox…
Lots of strong buzz for the Bernie Mac pilot at Fox taping this weekend – Bernie on his game, and Andrea Parker is a great addition in a part that was originally going to be african american.
Network less high on Spaced from what I am hearing.
Stu can attempt to guilt trip as much as he wants. Iger firing him was good for ABC AND Stu.
Moonves has other things to worry about than the schedule: Rhymes with Ribbit Cartman.
NBC….eh, all you need is wrestling and you’re ‘purfekt’.
FOX’s Spaced is the most problematic, you have McG ignoring the original creators of the Channel 4 comedy, something that even NBC’s Silverman wouldn’t do….Then he would be fracking the sources of his schedule.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/23/channel4.newscorporation
Nice to see the West Coast is no different from the Dirty East.
Here’s hoping Fox doesn’t throw Joss Whedon under the bus…again…
“Can’t lose with star Alyssa Milano.”
Why? Is it airing in 1991?
Um… where the black people at? Or Latinos? Or Asian-Americans? Not one show with a diverse lead?
So now we live in a world where a person of color can be President but not the lead on a network show? Geez.
(And yes, I know Ugly Betty is out there. But that’s sadly the only one.)
This list seems to be based on things that are filming pre-upfronts. ABC, for instance, has a ton of pilots filming for midseason consideration that aren’t even starting to shoot until June or July (someone above mentioned Cupid).
Having read most of these scripts and spoken with others… all of the above seems to be one person’s opinion and pure conjecture.
We won’t even know what the networks are really picking up at upfronts. ABC, especially.
So Molly Shannon was eight years old when she gave birth to Selma Blair?
I can’t wait for Dollhouse. Though I’m not entirely sure why the insider simply says, “It’s Joss Whedon.”
That didn’t help Firefly, did it? (Even though it finally found an audience as well as critical acclaim on DVD.)
My wife just did a focus group for the CBS pilot “Can Openers”. She hated it. She said a lot of people in the group hated it. That makes me believe this show is D.O.A.
McG hasn’t ignored anyone. he’s reached out constantly to the original creators. he’s been rebuffed. i can state categorically as the person who set up spaced in the US that McG and wonderland in general have acted utterly appropriately and above board with simon and edgar. the truth is simple and two-fold: simon and edgar feel that spaced is a part of their past that they didn’t want to revisit (a completely reasonable position on their part). but they didn’t control the rights, Granada did. and it wasn’t within their control, therefore, to tell granada what to do. it sucks, but their original deal sucked. if one wants to make the argument i shouldn’t have sold it, i get that, but ultimately i made a judgment call.
i’m just so sick of all the bullshit coming out of simon and edgar’s camp directed towards McG, who has acted completely honorably all the way on this. that idiots on websites swallow that load without even having to wipe their chins surprises me not at all.
what does that mean “swallow that load without even having to wipe their chins” ?
why can’t people make a valid point without being crude anymore?
To Can’t Take It Anymore:
Of course audiences will watch a show with a minority lead. Back in the much less progressive 70s, Good Times, The Jeffersons, What’s Happening?, were all mainstream hits.
As were Family Matters, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and others in the post-Cosby years.
More recently Bernie Mac did well until its star had personal issues. Same with David Chapelle’s Show. And among kids She’s So Raven, Romeo!, and Dora are huge hits. Dora especially.
Everybody Hates Chris is a strong show and would be a mainstream hit if it were on a network more people watched.
George Lopez and Damon Wayans had shows that went several seasons, which failed to achieve a larger audience, but mostly because they were very traditional and somewhat boring shows (in the According to Jim mold. No offense to those who worked on them, or work on Jim, but they’re not breaking any new ground and feel tired to many viewers.)
If the show is fresh like Bernie Mac was, or has a likable talent the way Fresh Prince did, there’s no reason they can’t be embraced by a mainstream audience. And with the minority audience getting bigger every day, its just bad economics not to find stars that will not only entertain the mainstream audience but also bring in new viewers to your network.
“The quotes below are from sources in the know…”
“It’s Joss Whedon…”
I don’t appreciate your ruse, ma’am.
McG, is that you?
that idiots on websites swallow that load without even having to wipe their chins surprises me not at all.
Hey, Robert, comments like that are not going to win over us “idiots”.
“the truth is simple and two-fold: simon and edgar feel that spaced is a part of their past that they didn’t want to revisit (a completely reasonable position on their part). but they didn’t control the rights, Granada did. and it wasn’t within their control, therefore, to tell granada what to do. it sucks, but their original deal sucked. if one wants to make the argument i shouldn’t have sold it, i get that, but ultimately i made a judgment call.”
You’re really on the ball. Nice to see you only included *one* of the writers of the show in this statement – how convenient to forget Jessica Stevenson, co-writer and co-star, who sadly did not get enough Hollywood buzz recently to be included in your press releases about the remake of the show and has been subsequently ignored by you, McG and everyone involved with the project.
Appalling.
Edgar Wright’s MySpace blog states that nobody ‘reached out’ until well after production of the remake had started. In fact not until after he, Pegg and Stevenson had released statements to their fans and a particularly vociferous “website idiot” had complained about McSpaced on Aint It Cool News, a site McG is going to need onside if he is to take on the Terminator franchise.
Green’s comments are akin to taking a shit on someone’s doorstep, then getting all hurt and aggressive because the owner of the house not only complains but also doesn’t help clean up the mess. The McSpaced camp has no right to act hard done by. They fucked up and the original creators of the show have every right to feel put out. It’s amazing that Granada and McG are now positioning themselves as the victims. I say all this with a very clean chin.
fyi. the spaced info is totally wrong and one sided.
how about checking both sides of the story before printing?
Edgar and Simon have a very different version than this. Namely they were not reached out to until well into the production process.
We are not idiots. We are free thinkers who don’t appreciate being spoon fed.
How does Spaced being a “part of their past they don’t want to visit” even factor in? Maybe it’s because they’re irritated that someone swiped their brainchild and now threatens to douse it with vinegar. Who wouldn’t badmouth over that? Being a writer myself, I can sympathize. “Rummage through my credit cards if you want, but touch my thumb drive and I will break your neck.” This is pretty much my attitude. Maybe my creations aren’t anything divine or splendid, but they are my creations all the same.
If you ever want to know what it’s like for someone to take your creation and turn into a beast you never intedned for, just ask Akira Toriyama about Dragonball. I’m sure he’ll hate you for it.
re:spaced…i would say that the wiped their own chins might have been a reference to spaced episode one when daisy wipes her chin when she has the sharing with tim brainwave, except that i doubt they have watched it and obviously have no idea who jessica stevenson is and that she co-wrote it.
bad enough to ‘adapt’ (ie nick) someones ideas without then moaning that they aren’t over the moon about it.
that idiots on websites swallow that load without even having to wipe their chins surprises me not at all.
The fact that you claim to have nothing but respect for your project’s original creators while simultaneously insulting them and your potential audience doesn’t surprise us either. Though if does make me wonder who the hell taught you about PR.
And when you’re not insulting people you’re just plain ignoring them – again, why no mention of Jessica Stevenson?
I am sorry to continue giving you bad news Robert Green but first and foremost like everyone else said, if you care so much about the show and reached out to its creators why in gods name did your forget that Jessica Stevenson (Hynes) is a co-writer for the whole series. If you think you can come into the world and insult people for being passionate about something they love, you sir are what is wrong with the world today. Spaced means so much to me and has shaped my teenage to young adult years. It has been my favorite show since it came out and i am an American living in Greeley, Colorado. I am far from being a UK fan but i have loved and cherished this series and went out of my way to get a region free dvd player so i could get the UK set. I am just so angered by this and how blatantly obvious it is that you guys care for the show but not for who made it. If you love the show so much you would know that Jessica was a co-writer and you would know how angry the fan base would get and how offended Simon and Edgar would get. I’m not calling you dumb or immature but i am sickened at what your studio has done and how you are trying to place the blame on the original creators. So you can go ahead and make your show but i can guarantee that it will fail and that i will be laughing at you the whole way through.
I have to commend Simon, Jessica, and Edgar, for being as polite and well spoken as they have been. Especially after the Robert Green comment. I don’t think that I would have been able to bite my tongue hard enough to avoid a rant fulled with filthy language. To be honest, I find it appalling that he would even make a comment like that. Especially in such a public forum. I sincerely hope that if it is truly Robert Green from Granada USA, he is sacked.
And I must say that, again if this is in fact really Mr. Green, he is doing a poor job indeed of selling the project and defending his decision. To openly spit on the fan base of the show with such a crude attack is baffling.
And as one of the “idiots on websites” and probably part of their intended target demographic, I say to them… F*ck off you bloody wankers!
I too have to commend Simon, Edgar and Jessica for their tolerance and taking the high road.. I on the other hand, a long time and loyal fan am less willing. I feel personally offended that no effort was made to reach out to the people who were the brains and talent behind Spaced! and so many other brilliant works.
As a fan, I have seen too many of Hollywood’s attempts to recreate fabulous British series.. they don’t get them, don’t get why they were popular there, or developed a loyal following on this side of the pond… and the end result tanks. The only exception to the rule has been The Office, and that was because the American company behind it reached out to Gervais and Merchant.
If anyone wants to point fingers, point them at fans like myself. We have collectively been incensed about this injustice and firmly committed to not watching the sad effort that will result.
Here’s a hint, next time there’s a sensational hit from Britain, rather than ripping it off, why not buy the series to broadcast the original episodes on US tv?