Search Results for: “King & Maxwell”

UPFRONTS 2013: The Overachievers

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday May 17, 2013 @ 7:18pm PDTTags: Chuck Lorre, J.J. Abrams, Seth MacFarlane, Upfronts
Nellie Andreeva

First off, congratulations to all writers, producers, actors and agents who landed new series this week. I know it wasn’t easy. Here is Deadline’s annual list of those who excelled at the upfronts. I tried to be inclusive, but if I’ve missed anyone who’s had a banner week, let me know. I’ve also compiled a list of pods and independent producers with multiple broadcast series.

Cougar Town co-creator Bill Lawrence and his Doozer banner had three new series unveiled at the upfronts this week: comedies Undateable on NBC, Surviving Jack on Fox and Ground Floor on TBS. Also, TBS recently renewed Cougar Town for a fifth season.

Related: 2013-14 Schedule Grid & Top Face-Offs

J.J. Abrams‘ Bad Robot claimed one of the top new drama series last season with NBC’s Revolution and one of the hottest sophomore shows with CBS’ Person Of Interest. The company is keeping the momentum with two new series orders for next season: Almost Human at Fox and Believe at NBC.

Independent producer Aaron Kaplan of Kapital Entertainment received two new series orders from the broadcast networks: Back In The Game at ABC and Friends With Better Lives at CBS. Additionally, his freshman ABC comedy The Neighbors was renewed and his ABC pilot Bad Management is in serious contention for a series pickup. Kaplan also received two cable series orders in the past month, for Chasing Life on ABC Family and Instant Mom on NickMom, and also has comedy series Wendell & Vinnie on Nick at Nite and pilot HR at Lifetime.

Writer-producer Julie Plec also landed two new series this week, both at the CW: She wrote/executive produces the planted Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals and executive produces The Tomorrow People. Additionally, she executive produces TVD, giving her three series on the air next season. (Fellow Tomorrow People executive producer Greg Berlanti has two, including returning CW hit Arrow.)

Another drama writer-producer, former ER showrunner David Zabel, saw both of his pilots picked up. He is the writer/exec producer on ABC’s Betrayal and co-writer/exec producer on ABC’s Lucky 7. Read More »

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UPFRONTS 2013: Year Of Second Chances

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday May 15, 2013 @ 8:30pm PDTTags: ABC, Big Deals TV, CBS, TV Pilots, Upfront
Nellie Andreeva

It’s been another upfront where projects that had been rejected in the past got to shine. Of the four new scripted series showcased at the Turner upfront presentation today, three had been previously developed at other networks. That includes David Baldacci/Shane Brennan’s TNT drama King And Maxwell, which was at CBS; Howard Gordon/Jeffrey Nachmanoff’s TNT drama Legends, which was at NBC; and Bill Lawrence/Greg Malins TBS comedy Ground Floor, which was at CBS.
UPFRONTS 2012: The Year Of Underdogs, Comebacks & Second Chances
Later today at the CBS upfront presentation, the network unveiled We Are Men, a new single-camera comedy series from writer Rob Greenberg, who had written the pilot years ago. A number of times CBS had asked him to convert it to multi-camera. He didn’t. It finally was picked up as Greenberg’s original single-camera vision last summer but almost died when one of the four leads could not be cast. The pilot ended up filming late in the traditional pilot season after landing a cast that includes Tony Shalhoub, Kal Penn and Jerry O’Connell, and today it landed a coveted spot on the CBS fall schedule.

Yesterday, ABC gave its highest-profile slot for a new comedy series, the … Read More »

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Cannes Briefs: Abigail Breslin In ‘Peste’; Epic Pictures’ ‘The Last Scout’; Le Pacte Boards ‘Fleming’; Sony Spins ‘Gold’; IFT Rings ‘Cell’; TrustNordisk’s ‘Prize Idiot’

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Thursday, 16 May 2013 00:00 UKTags: Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Wrap-Up, IM Global Octane, Spinning Gold, TrustNordisk

Abigail Breslin will star in Peste which IM Global genre label Octane is financing. Mark Tonderai is directing and Cloverfield‘s Sheryll Clark is producing. Production is set for early September on the thriller that sees a teenager’s world turned upside down as a terrifying virus turns her friends and neighbors into vicious monsters. Peste is based on Barbara Marshall’s 2012 Black List screenplay. Breslin is repped by ICM and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman.

Epic Pictures Heads To Cannes With ‘The Last Scout’ And ‘Someone Marry Barry’
Epic Pictures Group has finalized the cast and director for The Last Scout. Written and directed by Paul Tanter (Jack Falls), The Last Scout stars Sean Maguire, Tim Russ, Harry Groener, Simon Phillips, Rebecca Ferdinando and Rita Ramnani. The film takes place seven years after Earth is destroyed by war when the survival of mankind depends on the crew of one ship searching the galaxy in the hope of finding a new world. Patrick Ewald and Shaked Berenson are producing for Epic Pictures, alongside Tanter, Phillips, Rob Weston and Alain Wildberger, with Lyndon Baldock, Anthony Maxwell and Patrick Maxwell executive producing. Epic is selling worldwide rights at Cannes. Principal photography has begun in Los Angeles. Epic Pictures Group als has acquired sales rights to the comedy Someone Marry Barry. Written and directed by Rob Pearlstein, the pic stars Tyler Labine, Damon Wayans, Jr., Lucy Punch, Hayes MacArthur, Thomas Middleditch, Frankie Shaw and Amanda Lund. Josephson Entertainment’s Barry Josephson produces along with Rob Pearlstein, and Marisa Polvino and Kate Cohen of Straight Up Films. Executive producers are Alexander Young, Madrose Productions’ Jeremy Bailer, and Marc H. Simon at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP. Read More »

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TBS & TNT To Offer Live Streaming 24/7

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday May 15, 2013 @ 7:00am PDTTags: TBS, TNT
Nellie Andreeva

Related: TNT & TBS Announce Scripted & Unscripted Development Slates

TBS and TNT are about to become the first national entertainment networks in the industry to stream on-air content live across multiple platforms 24/7, including through the networks’ websites and a pair of newly created Watch TNT and Watch TBS apps. The announcement was made during TNT and TBS’s annual Upfront presentation today in New York. Live streaming is the latest phase in the rollout of TV Everywhere, the industry-wide initiative that gives subscribers to cable, satellite and telco video services access to more of their favorite shows across a wide range of digital platforms.

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TNT Series ‘Dallas’, ‘Southland’, ‘Boston’s Finest’ & ‘Monday Mornings’ End Winter Runs With Their Fate Undecided

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday April 15, 2013 @ 4:38pm PDTTags: Dallas, Southland, TNT
Nellie Andreeva

The two-hour second season finale of TNT‘s Dallas tonight promises to answer the question who killed J.R. But the bigger question is when TNT will decide the fate of its four winter original series, Dallas, drama Southland and docu-reality series Boston’s Finest, which end their seasons on Wednesday, and drama Monday Mornings, which wrapped its freshman season last Monday.

Of the four, only Dallas appears to be a slam dunk for renewal. Hurt by its relocation to Mondays, Dallas was down from its big opening last June when it earned a second-season renewal a couple of weeks into its run. But ratings have rebounded, fueled by the sudden death of star Larry Hagman. The episode, in which Hagman’s character J.R. was laid to rest, drew 3.6 million viewers, rising to 4.9 million in Live+7. Tonight’s finale also is expected to pull in solid ratings. With its pre-sold title, Dallas also has generated strong international sales for TNT sibling Warner Bros. TV, so a renewal is fully expected.

Related: Victoria Principal Won’t Appear On TNT’s ‘Dallas’ Series

That can’t be said for another WBTV-produced drama, Southland, which is finishing its fifth season. The critically praised cop show has been a source of pride for TNT brass who … Read More »

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TNT Announces Summer Premiere Dates For New Dwayne Johnson Series ‘The Hero’, ‘Rizzoli & Isles’ & More: Video

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Thursday March 21, 2013 @ 12:01pm PDTTags: Dwayne Johnson, Rizzoli & Isles, The Hero, TNT

Other networks are announcing their season finales this week but TNT is putting up dates for when its shows are coming back and when new series are debuting this summer. The network announced that the Dwayne Johnson reality competition show The Hero will premiere on June 6 at 8 PM. The Electus produced show aims to push its contestants to see if they have what it takes to be heroes. Another new competition series 72 Hours will debut right after at 9 PM on June 6. 72 Hours drops three new competing teams of strangers into the wilderness with only a single bottle of water and a GPS tracking device with three days to find a briefcase of cash and win a $100,000 prize. Starring Jon Tenney and Rebecca Romijn, new private eye drama King & Maxwell premieres on June 10 at 10 PM. The last new show that TNT is offering this summer is going by the working title Cold Justice which starts on August 27. The unscripted procedural follows two real-life female investigators as they look into old unsolved small town murder cases.

With those new shows now on the schedule, old series are also back. Falling Skies is back with its third season with a two-hour premiere on June 9. Major Crimes returns for its Season 2 on June 10 while Rizzoli & Isles is back for Season 4 on June 18. Perception has its … Read More »

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Casting Couch: Sebastian Roché Added To ‘A Walk Among The Tombstones’, Trio Of Actresses Join ‘Larry Gaye’

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Thursday March 7, 2013 @ 8:21pm PSTTags: Casting Couch, Jayma Mays, Jessica Lowndes, Movie Castings, Rebecca Romijn, Sebastian Roché

Sebastian Roché will be joining Liam Neeson in A Walk Among The Tombstones. In the film, the Vampire Diaries regular will play Yuri Landau, a middle class Russian drug dealer whose daughter is kidnapped. He asks hardboiled ex-NYPD cop and unlicensed private detective Matt Scudder, played by Neeson, to help get her back before it is too late. Scott Frank is both directing and adapting the Lawrence Block book. Double Feature Films partners Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher are producing with Danny DeVito and his Jersey Films. Sebastian Roché is repped by APA and Vanguard Management.

Rebecca Romijn, Jessica Lowndes and Jayma Mays have been added to Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attendant. The trio join Mark Feuerstein, Stanley Tucci, Marcia Gay Harden, Taye Diggs, Henry Winkler and Leslie Coutterand in the film about a womanizing flight attendant who both suddenly discovers he has a teenage son and that he could lose his job. Sam Frielander is directing the indie from a script by Mike Sikowitz. Michael Roiff and Ted Kroeber are producing. Lowndes, who was on the recently cancelled 90210 reboot is repped by CAA, Aperture Entertainment and law firm Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Mays, who plays Emma Pillsbury on Glee, is repped by UTA and Framework. Romijn, who played Mystique in the X-Men franchise and is in the upcoming TNT series King and Maxwell, … Read More »

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2013 TNT Pilots

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday February 11, 2013 @ 10:00am PST

DRAMA

UNTITLED SHANE BRENNAN aka KING & MAXWELL (picked up to series)
STUDIO: CBS TV Studios
TEAM: Shane Brennan (w, ep), Grant Anderson (ep), Karen Spiegel (p), Michael Katleman (d), David Baldacci (consultant)
LOGLINE: Follows two Secret Service agents-turned-private investigators whose unique skill sets (not to mention their razor-sharp chemistry) often give them a leg up on suspects and conventional law enforcement. Adapted from characters created by author David Baldacci.
CAST: Rebecca Romijn, Jon Tenney, Michael O’Keefe, Chris Butler, Ryan Hurst

LEGENDS
STUDIO: Fox 21
TEAM: Howard Gordon (w, ep), Jeffrey Nachmanoff (w, ep), Mark Bomback (w, ep), Alex Cary (ep), Jonathan Levin (ep), Cyrus Voris (ep, showrunner), Ethan Reiff (ep, showrunner), David Semel (d)
LOGLINE: A deep-cover CIA operative has an uncanny ability to transform himself into a different person for each job. From the novel by Robert Littell.
CAST: Sean Bean, Ali Larter, Steve Harris, Amber Valletta, Rob Mayes, Tina Majorino, Lux Haney Jardine

THE LAST SHIP
STUDIO: Platinum Dunes
TEAM: Hank Steinberg (w, showrunner), Steven Kane (w), Jonathan Mostow (d, ep), Michael Bay (ep), Brad Fuller (ep), Andrew Form (ep)
LOGLINE: Centers on the crew of a naval destroyer who, after a global catastrophe decimates the Earth’s population, are forced to confront the reality of their new existence in a world where they are among the only survivors. Based on the novel by William Brinkley.
CAST: Eric Dane, Adam Baldwin, Rhona Mitra, Michaela McManus, Charles Parnell, Travis Van Winkle, Christina Elmore, Sam Spruell

MURDER IN THE FIRST
STUDIO:
TEAM: Steven Bochco (ep), Eric Lodal (co-ep)
LOGLINE: Revolves around two San Francisco PD homicide inspectors who investigate … Read More »

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TNT’s Pilot ‘Trooper’ Not Going Forward

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday January 15, 2013 @ 2:27pm PSTTags: TNT, Trooper
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: As it picked up pilot King & Maxwell to series today, TNT has passed on another drama pilot, Trooper. The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced Trooper starred Mira Sorvino as a recently divorced female state trooper who is as unconventional at work as she is at home raising her three kids. The project was originally developed at CBS last season where it also went to pilot starring Sorvino. The TNT pilot, which co-starred Eion Bailey, was written by Aron Eli Coleite (Heroes) who executive produced with Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman and Ensler for Warner Horizon. TNT today rendered a decision on its two procedural pilots. The network is yet to weigh in on its two action-adventure pilots, the Michael Bay-produced The Last Ship and the Howard Gordon-produced Legends.

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Shane Brennan’s PI Pilot Starring Rebecca Romijn & Jon Tenney Gets TNT Series Order

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday January 15, 2013 @ 1:11pm PSTTags: Big Deals TV, Jon Tenney, Rebecca Romijn, Shane Brennan, TNT
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE UPDATED: A new duo will be joining TNT‘s primetime. I’ve learned that the network has given a series order to the pilot King And Maxwell starring Rebecca Romijn and Jon Tenney. The series, which is now untitled, hails from from CBS TV Studios and NCIS: LA boss Shane Brennan. Adapted from characters created by bestselling author David Baldacci, it has received a 10-episode order for a summer 2013 launch. In the vein of Moonlighting, the series follows Sean King (Tenney) and Michelle Maxwell (Romijn), who aren’t the typical pair of private investigators. Both are former Secret Service agents, and their unique skill sets (not to mention their razor-sharp chemistry) often gives them a leg up on suspects and conventional law enforcement. With her striking beauty, athletic prowess and Beltway connections, Maxwell is a formidable investigator, determined to prove herself after being forced to resign from the Secret Service. Brennan wrote the script and executive produces with Grant Anderson. Karen Spiegel is producing and Baldacci serves as a consultant. The project was originally developed for CBS last season. Read More »

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Blancanieves To Open Palm Springs Fest

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday December 20, 2012 @ 4:01am PSTTags: Blancanieves, Palm Springs Film Festival

Spanish director Pablo Berger’s re-imagining of the Snow White fairytale Blancanieves will kick off the Palm Springs Film Festival on January 3. The festival’s closing-night presentation January 13 will be Paul Andrew Williams’ Unfinished Song starring Terence Stamp and Vanessa Redgrave. This year’s lineup, which as usual showcases numerous contenders for the Foreign Language Film Oscar, features 180 films from 68 countries. The festival concludes January 14. Additional films from the announcement: Read More »

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Jesse Plemons Cast In HBO’s ‘Missionary’ Pilot, Lauren Ash In ABC’s ‘Super Fun Night’, Chris Butler In TNT’s ‘King & Maxwell’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday November 15, 2012 @ 12:40pm PSTTags: King & Maxwell, Super Fun Night
Nellie Andreeva

Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad, Friday Night Lights) is set to co-star opposite Benjamin Walker in HBO’s Cold War spy drama pilot The Missionary, from Charles Randolph, producers Stephen Levinson and Mark Wahlberg and author Malcolm Gladwell. Set in Berlin in the late 1960s, The Missionary centers on Roy (Walker), a young American missionary who gets caught up in Cold War intrigue while helping a young woman escape East Berlin. Plemons, repped by TalentWorks and attorney David Matlof, will play Sherwood Elbridge, a young coca-cola executive who helps smuggle defectors out of the Eastern Bloc. Baltasar Kormakur is directing.

Canadian Lauren Ash (Syfy’s Scare Tactics) has landed a co-lead opposite Rebel Wilson on Wilson’s ABC comedy pilot Super Fun Night. The project, executive produced by Conan O’Brien, was originally developed as a multi-camera sitcom for CBS last season. After it didn’t make the cut, it was picked up by ABC as a single-camera comedy. Written by and starring Bridesmaids standout Wilson, Super Fun Night follows three nerdy female friends: Kimmie (Wilson), Helen-Alice (Lisa Lapira) and Marika (Ash) on their “funcomfortable” quest to have “super fun” every Friday night. The role was played by Edy Patterson in the original pilot. Ash, repped by Parent Management, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and The Glick Agency, hails from Second City Mainstage Toronto and Chicago.

… Read More »

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CBS Prepping ‘NCIS: LA’ Spinoff Created By Shane Brennan As Planted Two-Parter

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday November 5, 2012 @ 5:23pm PSTTags: Big Deals TV, CBS, NCIS, NCIS: LA, Shane Brennan
Nellie Andreeva

NCIS: LA Spinoff CBSEXCLUSIVE: CBS is looking to further expand its NCIS franchise with another spinoff. The untitled project, written/executive produced by NCIS and NCIS: LA executive producer Shane Brennan, is a planted spinoff from NCIS: LA, which Brennan created and serves as showrunner on. It will feature new characters who will be introduced in two-part episode of NCIS: LA later this season. The proposed spinoff, produced by CBS TV Studios, will follow a small mobile team of agents, who are forced to live and work together, as they crisscross the country solving crimes.

Shane Brennan NCIS SpinoffBoth NCIS: LA and its mothership series, juggernaut NCIS, originated as planted spinoffs, as two-part episodes of JAG and NCIS, respectively. In using NCIS: LA as a launchpad for the new spinoff, CBS is taking a page from the playbook of the long-running CSI franchise, in which the third series, CSI: NY, also started off as a planted spinoff from spinoff CSI: Miami.

Now in its 10th season, NCIS continues to be one of the biggest scripted series on television. Airing behind it, NCIS: LA, now in its fourth season, has been a solid ratings performer and commands one of the highest off-network syndication license fees for a drama series. (It is the subject of ongoing litigation by NCIS creator Don Bellisario.) Read More »

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Rhona Mitra To Star In TNT Pilot ‘The Last Ship’, Ryan Hurst Joins ‘King & Maxwell’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday October 16, 2012 @ 12:45pm PDTTags: King & Maxwell, The Last Ship, TNT
Nellie Andreeva

Rhona Mitra has been tapped as the female lead opposite Eric Dane in TNT‘s action drama pilot The Last Ship, executive produced by Michael Bay. Jonathan Mostow is set to direct the pilot written by Hank Steinberg and Steven Kane. Based on the novel by William Brinkley, The Last Ship centers on the crew of a naval destroyer who, after a global catastrophe decimates the Earth’s population, are forced to confront the reality of their new existence in a world where they are among the only survivors. British-born Mitra will play Rachel Scott, a direct, strong-willed, intelligent, and fearless paleomicrobiologist. Dane plays the ship’s captain. Mitra, repped by Untitled and Ken McReddie in the UK, most recently starred on Cinemax’s Strike Back. Read More »

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TNT & ABC Family Pilots Lock In Directors

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday October 15, 2012 @ 9:56am PDT
Nellie Andreeva

Three pilots recently tapped directors. Michael Katleman is directing TNT’s King and Maxwell PI pilot, written/executive produced by Shane Brennan and starring Jon Tenney as King. Katleman, repped by UTA and Rain Management, already has a relationship with TNT — he is directing executive producer on the network’s hit Rizzoli And Isles, also a light buddy procedural. Jon Amiel (The Tudors)  is set to direct the ABC Family drama pilot Socio starring Avan Jogia and Denise Richards. He is repped by Gersh. Timothy Busfield, repped by Evolution and Paradigm, is directing ABC Family’s hourlohg pilot The Fosters starring Teri Polo. Veteran Ted Wass has closed a deal to direct another ABC Family pilot, comedy Phys Ed.

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2ND UPDATE: TNT Picks Up ‘Legends’, ‘Trooper’ And ‘King & Maxwell’ To Pilot

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday September 7, 2012 @ 11:40am PDTTags: Howard Gordon, Jerry Bruckheimer, Shane Brennan, TNT
Nellie Andreeva

2ND UPDATE 11:40 AM: TNT went for a trio of heavy TV hitters with its pilot pickups today, greenlighting Howard Gordon‘s Legends, Jerry Bruckheimer‘s Trooper and Shane Brennan‘s King & Maxwell. All three were originally developed for broadcast networks last season and fall into the procedural category TNT had been looking to mine with its second round of pilot pickups. They join the Michael Bay-produced The Last Ship, which is now casting.

Legends, developed by Gordon, Jeffrey Nachmanoff and feature writer Mark Bomback from the novel by Robert Littell, was originally set up at NBC. It follows a deep-cover operative who has an uncanny ability to transform himself into a different person for each job. Gordon, Nachmanoff, Alex Cary and Jonathan Levin executive produce through Fox 21. It is a big day for Gordon and Cary, who also just landed a rich premium deal at NBC for legal drama Ritter.

1ST UPDATE: TNT has made the second pilot pickup, going with Trooper, the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced procedural, which was set up at CBS last season where it went to pilot with Mira Sorvino as the lead. Trooper centers on a recently divorced female state trooper who is as unconventional at work as she is at home raising her three kids. Her partner on the … Read More »

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2012 EMMYS NOMINATIONS: BREAKING

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday July 19, 2012 @ 5:46am PDTTags: 2012 Emmy Nominations, Big Deals TV, Emmys

Emmy Nominations 2012BREAKING… The 64th Primetime/Creative Arts Emmy Awards nominations announcement is taking place right now at 5:40 AM PST live at Emmys.com. All the nominees will be named here. Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Game Of Thrones, Homeland, and Mad Men were nominated for the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy. And The Big Bang Theory, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Girls, Modern Family, 30 Rock and Veep were nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series. Scandal star Kerry Washington and Emmys host Jimmy Kimmel began announcing the nominees along with Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Chairman/CEO Bruce Rosenblum from the Television Academy’s Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre in North Hollywood:

Related:
Broadcast & Cable Scorecard
‘American Horror Story’ & ‘Mad Men’ Lead Nominations: Summary
2012 Emmys Nominations: By Network
Emmy Nominations Kerry Washington Jimmy Kimmel
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
64th Primetime Emmy Award Nominations

Outstanding Comedy Series
The Big Bang Theory • CBS • Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television

Curb Your Enthusiasm • HBO • HBO Entertainment

Girls • HBO • Apatow Productions and I am Jenni Konner Productions in association with HBO Entertainment

Modern Family • ABC • Levitan-Lloyd Productions in association with Twentieth Century Fox Television

30 Rock • NBC • Broadway Video, Little Stranger, Inc. in association with Universal Television

Veep • HBO • Dundee Productions in association with HBO Entertainment

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy … Read More »

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TNT & TBS Announce Development Slates

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday May 16, 2012 @ 5:33am PDTTags: TBS, TNT
Nellie Andreeva

Ahead of their upfront presentation later this morning, TNT and TBS have unveiled their development slates, which include projects from David Baldacci, Michael Bay, Shane Brennan, Steven Bochco, Tom Clancy, James Duff, Howard Gordon, Norm MacDonald, Matthew McConaughey, Conan O’Brien, Michael Ovitz, Robert Port, Michael M. Robin, Ron Shelton, Greer Shephard, Don Todd, Dick Wolf and Nigel Lythgoe.

Related: Conan O’Brien Jabs Oprah Winfrey And Ted Turner At Upfront
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Pilot Season Hot Trends: Comedies, Books, Formats, Westerns And Big Commitments

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday November 9, 2011 @ 9:47pm PST
Nellie Andreeva

Economic recession be damned — the broadcast networks have been spending like it’s 2007 this year. A slew of bidding wars led to a staggering 9 pilot orders/production commitments and 33 put pilot commitments so far this buying season. Additionally, NBC is eying straight-to-series orders for 2 Bryan Fuller-written dramas: a Munsters reboot and Hannibal, based on the Hannibal Lecter character. With dire needs, new owners willing to invest a lot of money in a turnaround and new management eager to make their mark, NBC has been the most aggressive this buying season. In addition to the likely straight-to-series orders, four of the 9 pilot orders/production commitments so far have been given out by the peacock network: comedy Isabel, inspired by a French Canadian format, and John Scott Shepherd’s comedy Save Me, which are casting, and the J.J. Abrams/Eric Kripke adventure thriller Revolution and crime drama Blue Tilt, written by Chris Brancato and starring Ethan Hawke and Vince D’Onofrio, which have pilot production commitments. The remaining 4 pilot production orders went to Jon Favreau comedy spec Tweaked and a multi-camera workplace comedy from Bill Lawrence and Greg Malins at CBS, multi-camera family comedy The Manzanis starring Kirstie Alley and an untitled Dan Fogelman comedy at ABC and the Mike Royce-penned cast-contingent comedy pilot Little Brother at Fox.

It wasn’t exactly the mass hysteria of summer 2007 when the networks were stockpiling in the face of a potential writers strike, but the level of urgency this season came pretty close. “(NBC) got cash, (ABC) got competitive against that cash, and we took the bait,” Fox’s entertainment president Kevin Reilly said at the HRTS luncheon last month. “We all think we were played a little bit.” Indeed, there were a number of projects, especially on the comedy side, that had NBC, ABC and Fox bidding aggressively against each other. How aggressive was ABC this season, which marked the first full development cycle for the network’s topper Paul Lee? It shelled out some 10 put pilot commitments, more than any other network. And that is despite the fact that a large portion of ABC’s development comes from sister studio ABC Studios where the vast majority of sales have no penalties attached as the transaction involves moving money from one pocket to another. Fox and CBS are not far behind with 9 put pilot commitments each, while NBC has 5, through it more than made up the difference with several bigger commitments as well as a slew of script sales with penalties attached. Part of the reason for the staggering amount of put pilot commitments this season is the devaluation of the term, which once applied to penalties of $1 million but is now used for penalties as low as $500,000 and sometimes even lower. The rest was fierce competition, especially between NBC and ABC. Both networks bought more projects than they did last year. NBC got second wind a month or so ago when the network’s brass reportedly evaluated their slate and decided that it was lacking in some areas.

As I have noted ad nauseam, this has been the season of comedy. Long before the genre’s red-hot fall with breakout hits New Girl, 2 Broke Girls and Suburgatory and solid performer Last Man Standing, the networks went aggressively after the genre, which ended up eclipsing drama in sales this year for the first time in quite awhile. By a recent account (there are a few more comedy projects in play, so the comedy tally is still growing), there have been about 252 comedy and 250 drama sales this year vs. 233 comedy and 269 drama last season. Read More »

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