ITV Pays $30M For Controlling Stake In ‘Hatfields … 
Hot Trailer: ‘Anchorman 2′ 
2ND UPDATE: Charlie Sheen Fired Selma Blair From … 
Time Warner Cable Sued For Passing Lakers-Dodgers Costs On … 
Jonah Hill Signs For Management With LBI 
TOLDJA! ‘Dumb And Dumber To’ Proves No-Brainer … 
Salma Hayek’s Animated Passion Project ‘The … 
Relativity Moves Scott Cooper’s ‘Out Of The … 
Hot Trailer: ‘The Lego Movie’ 
Comedy ‘I Didn’t Do It’ Gets Series Order … 
Liv Tyler To Co-Star In Damon Lindelof’s HBO Pilot … 
DreamWorks Animation Launches Effort To Re-Position Itself … 
‘Pacific Rim’ Sequel In Planning Stages, … 
Legendary “Down To Handful” Of Studio Suitors: … 
UPDATE: Dan Harmon Apologizes For Comments Slamming … 
Deadline Expands: Hires Washington Post Journalist Lisa De … 
MGM & BermanBraun Sign TV Production Deal, First-Look … 
EMMYS: ‘Big Bang Theory’s Science 
‘Client List’ Season 3 Pickup In Limbo Over … 
Amazon Orders Cop Drama Pilot Based On Michael … 
Lionsgate Acquires Pulitzer Prize Winner ‘Devil In … 
EXCLUSIVE: As the CW’s sophomore drama Life Unexpected is heading to its season and likely series finale on Jan. 18, the series’ creator/executive producer Liz Tigelaar is ready to move on, signing an overall deal with ABC Studios. The seven-figure, two-year pact, which has an option for a third year, starts in June when Tigelaar’s overall deal with LUX producer CBS TV Studios expires. Under the new deal, Tigelaar will develop new series and may join existing ABC Studios shows. The pact marks a homecoming for Tigelaar who worked on a number of ABC/ABC Studios series, including What About Brian?, Dirty Sexy Money, and Brothers and Sisters before she created her first show, LUX, also for ABC Studios. When the project, which had been lingering in development for a couple of years, was finally picked up by the CW, ABC Studios pulled out for financial reasons. CW sister studio CBS Studios then stepped in, taking over the show and signing Tigelaar in an overall deal. Since its launch last midseason, LUX has garnered critical praise and strong cult following. But its ratings never took off, and the CW in early November opted not to give it a back order, effectively sealing its fate. LUX star Kristoffer Polaha has already signed a talent holding deal with CBS and CBS Studios for a new project eyed for next fall. Tigelaar, who considers herself to be from Greg Berlanti’s school of showrunning, started off as an intern on Dawson’s Creek where Berlanti got his start as a showrunner. WME-repped Tigelaar then landed a job as a writer’s assistant on American Dreams, which led to her first staff writer job on the NBC period musical drama.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
Loading ...
Here’s something “Unexpected”: someone in Hollywood failing up. Irony oh so very intentional. I give her two years, tops.
given that you’re the same guy who in another comments section confused warren leight with warren littlefield, something tells me your predictions are a little off. on another topic, what’s it like teaching extension classes in st. paul?
Wow. Your condescension is breathtaking. I live in Hollywood and have been a writer for years and I come across people like you every night at my work. Pardon me if I made a small error and thereby failed your elite test for worthiness, but that’s no reason to demean writing teachers, their students, or an entire city.
Condescension? Could you reread your original comment? You were asking for this, dude.
I apologize to the people of St. Paul.
Yes! Great that Liz’ talent is being recognized. LUX is such an underrated show, sucks that it didn’t find an audience.
wonderful writer – excellent shows all! … couldn’t be happier for her.
Liz Tigelaar rules!
mike and lizzie — you BOTH rock! i’m so proud of both of you for doing what you love and having the talent to be successful at it!
Life Unexpected is an underappreciated gem which is better than anything else on the CW and likely too good for its audience. If we can’t have that anymore, it’s great that Tigelaar has found a new outlet for her talents. I’m looking forward to seeing whatever she writes next.
average writer but good for her
Urgh, so ABC is going to pay more money for her to create more bad shows that end up being failures and cancelled like LU? Where is the logic in that?
Yay! Liz will now have plenty of chipes for nachos! kudos, Liz!
Love this girl. She’s amazing writer and a super special person. She deserves all the success in the world. Kudos to ABC for snapping her up. Can’t wait to see what she creates next.
She’s my friend, a former co-worker, and I admit I’m biased, but no one works harder, plays nicer, or makes better nachos. She gives a thousand percent of her soul. Good for ABCS for bringing her back into the fold.
So glad ABC Studios has recognized her talent. LUX is an amazing show, and should have had a long life. I’m so going to miss those fake people.
whocares.com
YAY! Go Liz you deserve it…. Lux was amazing and so sad that is didn’t get all the seasons it deserved….
Good for her! I did not catch LUX, but I guess I should have. I loved What About Brian? and Dirty Sexy Money. Both had great storytelling. I am happy she is getting recognition.
Oh, jeez, another Hollywood person who gets by on supposed charm rather than ability. She probably should have stayed an intern. The show is called LUX? Really?! Lemme tell you something. That could be the best goddam show in the world but with the title LUX nobody’s watching. Are we — and by “we” I mean “Hollywood” — really so stupid that we send a show out to be approved by the masses and its name is LUX? Was TURD taken?
The other thing is, I’m sure Liz is a nice woman, but based on what is posted here about her short-lived shows, just how high can one fail upward? I mean, everything she creates stalls out in short order…how long can this continue? Hollywood just keeps getting stupider. Every day.
The show’s real name is Life UneXpected(LUX) and it’s a good name so back off
The name is Life UnExpected or LUX for short. Just like people call One Tree Hill, OTH. I don’t see what the big deal is.
A quick, and I mean very quick, google search would have told you that the show is actually called “Life Unexpected” and LUX is merely and acronym (it is also the name of the title character). She also wrote for American Dreams and Brother & Sisters, two successful shows. Life Unexpected (since LUX is apparently too much for you to type) was an extremely solid show that just didn’t find an audience. It was also her first show that she created.
Also, let’s not forget that besides Just Shoot Me!, Steve Levitan created Stark Raving Mad, Stacked and Back to You. None of those were commercial successes. Christopher Lloyd co-created Back to You with Steve Levitan and also previously created Out of Practice (1 season). They now have one of the popular shows in primetime.
Liz is an incredible writer. She came and wrote one of the best scripts ever for a show I loved. “Life Unexepected” reminded me of the brilliant “My So Called Life.” ABC-P is so smart to have made a deal with her. She is a unique, fresh and a special talent. ABC needs another Shonda Rhimes.
So what if her show was cancelled by an inept network? That doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve a shot elsewhere. Under your rules no one should ever get another chance.
TV is an imperfect art form. Liz has tremendous writing chops and vision. She is who we need out front.
I don’t know….was dipsh!t already taken in your family?
Hey mike, LUX stands for Life Unexpected. How stupid do YOU feel now? Jerk.
Not stupid at all, E-Liz. I watch MANY hours of TV per week and I haven’t heard of Life Unexpected either. Why is that? Oh, maybe because it was canceled and hardly lasted a quick minute.
You know who should feel stupid? The networks who give good money to a completely unproven talent and the morons who defend them on blogs like this one. Could you be more transparent? Does anyone think this “talent” has a rabid following who woold post all these glowing reviews? Hell no, her creations were short-lived. These glowing comments are by friends.
Two seasons is longer than a quick minute dude, and the show is critically acclaimed which validates Tigelaar’s abilities. Guess you don’t know of every show on the air despite all those many hours of television you watch weekly.
Liz Tigelaar is what TV’s been Missing! I will follow her to her next show and beyond. As much as I love Life Unexpected, I believe its her warm up show and we ain’t seen nothing yet. And to add, I love anything Greg Berlanti puts out, so she comes from a good history. YOU GO LIZ!!!!
Love you, Liz! Congrats! I love Life Unexpected SO MUCH and am devastated that it’s ending. If there is ANY possible way for us to get more LUX, PLEASE make it happen. Just know us fans are supporting you 100% and will follow you in whatever you do next.
Liz is sweet. I worked for one of her reps when she was a story editor. She works her ass off and seems like a genuinely kind person. I’ve never seen Life Unexpected but read the pilot. It obviously has a vocal fan base. All these haters probably have never and won’t ever have their own show on the air.
Life Unexpected has’nt just a local fanbase. I’m from Germany and love the show like other German, too. I fell in love with the series since the first episode. That means, before it start on German TV.
I hope there will be a chance for LUX in the future, maybe on ABC Family.
Lux was a great show. At least, the series was wrapped up and not just hung out to dry like so many of the ones that you get hooked on and fall by the wayside.