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UPFRONTS 2013: The Overachievers 
Lone Star and Awake creator Kyle Killen has received a pilot order by ABC for his latest drama project, Influence. The network also has given the green light to Killer Women, a soupy procedural written by Hannah Shakespeare and produced by Modern Family star Sofia Vergara, Ben Silverman and director Martin Campbell.
Related: David Shore Legal Drama Gets ABC Pilot Pickup
Influence, from 20th Century Fox TV where Killen is under a deal, is described as a provocative workplace ensemble centered on the complicated relationship between two brothers — a bipolar genius in human psychology and a slick ex-con — who head a unique agency designed to solve their clients’ problems using the real science of human motivation and manipulation. In addition to helping their clients, the agency’s staff sometime turn their powers to pull strings on one another. Killen is the writer/executive producer. Influence, which had a put pilot commitment, marks a departure from Killen’s previous two series projects, Fox’s Lone Star and NBC’s Awake, which both had very complex, non-linear narratives as they centered on protagonists living dual lives. Still, Killen kept a duality element in his new show too, making one of the main characters bipolar.
Killer Women, from ABC Studios, is based on the Argentine series Mujeres Asesinas. It centers on Molly Parker, the only woman in the notoriously male Texas Rangers — a ballsy, beautiful badass who knows how to get to the truth and isn’t afraid to ruffle a few feathers on her way there. Shakespeare (The Playboy Club) wrote the script and is executive producing with Vergara, Silverman, Campbell and Luis Balaguer, Vergara’s producing partner at Latin World Entertainment. Jimmy Fox of Silverman’s Electus co-exec produces. The setup — Ben Silverman teaming with a well-known actress of Latin American origin for an hourlong ABC project with a female lead based on a Latin American format echoes Silverman’s successful ABC dramedy Ugly Betty, which he produced by Salma Hayek. In addition to Killer Women, Electus also has an NBC comedy presentation starring Jessica Simpson.
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Loved lone star, what we had and awake, so very exited for Influence, it really sounds intriguing. I feel like ABC is making the biggest push for smart unique shows, but still trying to appeal to its core audience, mujeres asesinas, was a novela that my mom watched and it was kind of interesting too
Killen splits his usual two-sided protagonist into two characters. Baby steps!
Wait. One them is bipolar?
Never mind.
Agree. The whole double life thing was more likable before it was true. And speaking of boys club Ben Sliverman is back I thought he’d moved to miami.
Killen is awesome. Got to know him last year and he is a sweet dude. One half of my favorite tv couple. These guys are stars.
Kyle is a talented writer but not a treat to work with on set.
Unless you happen to be a pretty girl. Then he’s just fine
He’s a lot like his characters. Talented but could use some therapy.
‘Influence’ sounds interesting but not for network. And def not ABC.
The doomsday clock on Lee is almost at midnight.
The problem with Kyle Killen is that he’s a good writer who’s been labelled as a great writer. He wrote a good feature script and a good pilot. Somewhere in the midst of all that he fell for himself. He started to believe the hype and get hollywood on everybody. He became a big swinging d in every sense of the word. He alienated the crew on his last show. He put out episode after episode of sub par tv. What made him unique was that he seemed like a simple guy from a small town but at the end of the day he morphed into everybody else in this town, dirty, dull, and not all that talented.
This guy isn’t a showrunner. A good writer and a showrunner are not the same thing. And while Killen may be able to write interesting scripts, what a series (vs. just a pilot) needs is a competent leader at the helm, who can keep the trains running on time, inspire the team, give and receive notes without being an assholehole, let people who are working crazy long hours know that their efforts are appreciated. That doesn’t happen when the show runner is locked in his office, coming out only to announce his disappointment with what every one else is doing. I have never worked on a show where the morale was lower that it was on Awake. I hope ABC doesn’t let him go it alone on this project; he needs an experienced show runner to protect him from himself, and to show him how to listen to other opinions and treat people with respect. We who’ve worked with him in the TV trenches would be happy if he stuck to writing features.
These boards drive me bananas. Kyle is a gifted writer and a good person getting a bad reputation here. I’ve met him many times and can tell you that he’s been nothing but a smart and kind man towards me. From what I’ve heard Awake was a challenging show for many reasons and most of the mean gossip here can be attributed to the fact that he was going through a little known divorce last year. Before yall leap to judge him remember that he’s put out some quality work that many of us love and that is the whole point of this business and these boards.
what’s that saying? oh yeah,
“where there’s smoke there’s fire”
It doesn’t mean he can lead the production of a show. That’s a skill that requires experiences and emotional maturity. His managers are shining him on by indulging his bad behavior.
I feel badly for the wives. I’d be mortified.
I know you are meaning to defend him but your kind words are lost. We all have hard difficult times and yes showrunners are people too. But this divorce is because he left her for another writer. Talented or not it is hard to look past that fact. Much less forgive him because of it.
When will executives stop being fooled by the fluff on the page and admit that Kyle Killen does not tell stories that interest anyone but himself?
Killeen is not someone other writers clamour to work with.
Dying to see who they get to play the lead in Killer Women. It was a “killer” script! Hoping they get a real actress and not just some “tv pretty model/actress”. The lead (a female Texas Ranger) is kick-ass and i don’t want to see some 110 pound anorexic try and convice us she can weild a shotgun and knock a bad guy out with a punch. Cast a WOMAN for Killer Women!
Why are they still giving Ben Silverman shows. He ran a whole network into the ground singlehandedly. What do you have to do to become a persona non gratta in this town?
You guys have your facts wrong. Mr. Killen is still happily married. Plenty of tarts in this town trying to ruin marriages. Hopefully Killen goes on to write more dark, witty scripts and drops tv as soon as he can, or finds some actual talented writers to help, not hinder his new series. Oh and easier actors to work with might help also! Good luck to you, Kyle Killen (and your gorgeous wife). Don’t let this town get to you…
It’s rich to blame two different writing staffs for Killen’s own shortcomings. Did you ever stop to consider you may be the one with your facts wrong? Killen has been with the same woman for the past year. We’ve seen them together and they seem to be doing well. Nobody cares divorces are common in this industry. However I dislike blaming writers you haven’t worked with and calling another writer a ‘tart’ simply because you have no clue what you’re talking about. If you know Mr. Killen well enough to protect him how is it you know so little about his television shows and life.
First of all libra, you have no idea who I am, what I know, OR if I have worked with you in some capacity.
Second, you sound as if you could be said ‘tart’.
I am in fact somebody who has worked with Killen and I find him to be a class act and easy to work with. However I’ve also worked with the other writers his show and don’t appreciate your suggesting they aren’t talented. I doubt you worked on one of his shows or else you would realize and appreciate that many accomplished people contributed to them. Television shows are more difficult to produce than many people writing in here seem to realize and putting together a malleable staff isn’t a simple task. The show’s failure does not mean that the entire staff was talentless. And ultimately, the blame does lay on the showrunner’s head, that is just how it works. Many people worked very hard on those shows. Not just Kyle Killen. These are group ventures.
And for the record, I’m a dude. So if I’m the tart this story and my social life just got a lot more interesting.
I take back my previous defense. I was wrong, it would appear that despite being talented Killen is everything these people claim. Worse, actually. #getoutoftx