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Lifetime has decided not to go forward with Cinnamon Girl, its drama pilot co-created and executive produced by Renée Zellweger, which was set against the backdrop of the Los Angeles music and movie scenes of the late 1960s/early 1970s. It tells the story of four coming-of-age girls — Cassie (Allie MacDonald), Lola (Alexis Knapp), Junie (Brooke Anne Smith) and Lou (Jade Bartlett) — and explores their lives at the crossroads of the era’s political, artistic, social and sexual rebellions. Zellweger co-created Cinnamon Girl with Anthony Tambakis (Warrior), and the premise was a combination of Zellweger’s real-life journey from small-town Texas to Hollywood stardom and Tambakis’ lifelong fascination with the Laurel Canyon music scene and the New Hollywood, auteur-driven era that began in the late ’60s.
Cinnamon Girl was the last of three produced pilots from Lifetime’s most recent batch whose fate had not been determined. The network recently picked up The Witches Of East End to series and passed on The Secret Lives Of Wives. Lifetime’s fourth drama pilot ordered last summer, HR, is still casting. After Cinnamon Girl, which was developed internally at Lifetime, was picked to pilot, it sparked a bidding war among studios before landing at Fox21 at a budget rumored to be almost $6 million. Fox21 also produces Witches Of East End.
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Didn’t the head of Lifetime call this pilot a “game changer” for the network?
I wonder what changed her mind.
I thought they were going to pick up at least two of their pilots when they canceled Drop Dead Diva. Now I’m mad. Bring back DDD!
Typical Hollywood BS. I hope this shows up on a network that knows how to make TV shows. The script was great.
This is very sad. Basically Lifetime, who boasts that they are trying to re-brand, gave up something could have completely changed their network for the better. In my opinion, they have screwed the pooch beyond recognition. Hopefully it will find a home it deserves unlike the crap network it would have been WAY too good to be on in the first place
Rumor has it all four of the lead girls were weak actresses, and they had spent too much money to re-cast and start again. Tough break, I was looking forward to a show from Zellweger.
That’s erroneous. Lifetime is what they are. They continue to do shows with Bristol Palin and Lindsay Lohan and no matter what they say they’ll never change. Everyone who read or saw this pilot knows how good it was and how good the actors were. It was by an Oscar winner and the Warrior guys. Do you really think it wasn’t good enough for Lifetime? LOL
You’re entitled to your opinion, but that’s not what I heard. I heard none of the leads were break-out.
And talented people misfire all the time. It’s not unprecedented.
Not to argue, but did you see the pilot? Because you’re passing along rumors generated from the network to cover up the fact that they have no taste and no real idea how to change their image no matter what Nancy Dubuc says in the press. You must be a network plant, because I’ve seen the pilot and it’s terrific and so are the actresses.
Nice. Face off between a network plant and agency plant?
Lifetime has no taste. They say they want to do challenging material that’s hip and meaningful and then they cave and go for Bristol Palin. Writers/ Producers don’t believe a word Lifetime says when they come calling because they don’t care about quality and they never will. They took off Side Order of Life for f’s sake. I’m sure Lifetime would think the crew of GIRLS weren’t good enough to be on Lifetime.
That network needs to be put out of their misery.
its not like re-casting has never been done……
Oh, that’s too bad. I actually wanted to watch this show. Sounded pretty interesting!
What kind of terrible title is “Cinnamon Girl” anyway? Isn’t it an ensemble about 4 girls? Whole thing seems half-baked and doomed from the start.
Cinnamon Girl is the name of Neil Young song written in the late 60′s early 70′s… The years this show was set… About a rock and roller’s lover…
Actually seems pretty fitting to me.
R.Z. would be right back on track with a Bridget Jones-style sitcom for herself. The longer she waits the more problematic it will get.
This is pilot was wrong for Lifetime. It was smart, interesting, different, and incredibly well written. Doesn’t belong at Lifetime. Hopefully it’s not dead and they’ll find a better home for it at a network with similar programming.
This right here.
RZ is smart and capabable of getting this pilot launched by an alternate studio…with so many avenues for viewing Lifetime is no the end all of networks…..recasting or whatever kinks need to be ironed out as in ALL shows it has a refreshing retropestive and can bring a storyline during an age of time that has a lot of history in so many ways…….
FYI, “Cinnamon Girl” was a famous Neil Young song from the sixties. That’s why it was the title….
Burt Salke destroys another one! You are a cancer.
Bert did nothing of the sort. I wrote the pilot and co-created the show, so I’d know. The internet seems to exist for close to the sole purpose of people trashing one another, and whatever your past experiences are with Bert I found him to be nothing but a supportive creative partner. He isn’t to blame for the show not going forward. Not even in the slightest.
Lifetime’s audience (Army Wives, anyone?) is much too m.o.r for this type of cool-sounding programming; anything really classy and good never lasts, there, if it makes it on the air at all. Part of the problem is although Nancy Dubuc is a smart programmer, her main claim to fame is in non-fiction I just don’t think she gets it, unless the fiction is high/concept, self-defining– Hatfields, Liz & Dick, now Cleopatra. There’s no real feel for scripted because she’s never worked in that area. Unless and until Lifetime hires a really smart scripted executive and empowers that person, we’ll just see more of The Client List-type programming–exploitative and just not very interesting I don’t watch the network at all, anymore.this is a show that I would’ve watched (the last one was Drop DD, which I will miss) oh well!
The project doesn’t belong at Lifetime. The network can’t carry a piece this well written, sharp, sexy and appealing. Lifetime is fine for what it is – soft programming. C/Girl ‘would’ indeed have been a “game changer” for them. I can’t imagine their group trying to market this, its not their thing.
Maybe it’ll get a look over again at Starz (once they get rid of Magic City) or HBO. AMC is a good option as well.
Actors weren’t weak. I co-created one of them so I’d know.
That time in L.A. was about music and sex. That title, four pretty girls? That’s Showtime, baby, not Lifetime.
If any of the creators/producers read these posts…i especially reach out to RZ, do not give up and seek another studio/network….AMC is a good venue…..But most of all, KEEP THE PRODUCTION IN LOS ANGELES……not go to east…..we need the support of good material and producers to revitalize hollywood productions…….GO CINNAMON GIRL!!!!!!!
Precisely the same thing that happened to This American Housewife – the Melanie Griffith/Antonio Banderas pilot directed by David Slade.
That was gonna be a game changer, too.
Lifetime is unwilling to advance its brand and its demographic. It’s a shame.
Lifetime can’t afford this type of programming. A $6 million pilot won’t break even on typical audience sizes. Subsequent episodes would be less costly, but I would bet that the price tag was still too high.
Everyone knows the score here..Dubuc and Sharenow are non-fiction executives making decisions on scripted series. They are both in way over their heads. Price Tag hit the nail on the head…the series was too expensive for Lifetime. Which means it never should have gone to pilot anyway. So why did it? Because Dubuc and Sharenow have stars in their eyes, handing out development deals and pilots to every name actor who walks in the door to pitch. So RZ trusts Lifetime with her project, gets walked down the aisle, and jilted at the altar. Great concept, script and pilot….not going to succeed at Lifetime which will never change no matter how much they go on about “game changers” at the network.
Stop the comments. CM just said all that needs to be said. Unless someone is desperate to pay their mortgage with a role in one of their weak historical “movies,”, top talent will no longer be walking in the door over there with ideas for scripted. They’re a hoax.
Huge disappointment. I was really looking forward to this show. I heard the writing and acting were quite good.
I watched this program as part of a focus group. I LOVED it – I was so looking forward to seeing it. The acting wasn’t weak at all and I loved the plot. I agree about the title (and I’m an old-school rock fan, so I got it), it didn’t suit the show, way too sucky of a name. But that was seriously the only thing that sucked about it. I loved the characters and I’m really hoping that this show comes to fruition with another network. It really was that good.