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Lorenzo Di Bonaventura-Produced Texas Militia Drama Sells To ABC

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday July 31, 2012 @ 2:49pm PDTTags: ABC, ABC Studios, Big Deals TV, Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Nellie Andreeva

Lorenzo Di Bonaventura Founding Fathers ABCEXCLUSIVE: In their first development season after partnering last June to launch ABC Studios-based Di Bonaventura Pictures Television, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura and Dan McDermott landed a series on the air, ABC’s midseason conspiracy drama Zero Hour. Now the duo have netted one of ABC‘s first drama commitments of the new development cycle with another high-concept project. The network has bought drama pitch Founding Fathers, from Di Bonaventura Pictures TV and ABC Studios. Written by feature scribe Rich D’Ovidio (Exit Woods, Thir13en Ghosts), Founding Fathers is described as “Donnie Brasco set in the world of Texas militias.” It centers on Nick Keating who, after serving a third tour in Afghanistan, returns home to find his small Texas town under the control of a militia group led by his older foster brother. After being seduced by the militia’s surprisingly community-based motives, he accepts a rare invitation to join the group. But unbeknownst to his new “family,” Nick has a secret agenda that will put his life in jeopardy and lead him to question his allegiances. D’Ovidio executive produces with Di Bonaventura and McDermott. READ MORE »

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The Gotham Group Signs First-Look Deal With ABC Studios

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday July 27, 2012 @ 2:53pm PDTTags: ABC Studios, Big Deals TV
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Management/production company the Gotham Group has signed a two year first-look producing deal with ABC Studios for both drama and comedy projects. In addition to talent, The Gotham Group, founded by Ellen Goldsmith-Vein in 1993, represents a lot … Read More »

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Bravo To Develop Liz Tigelaar’s Former ABC Pilot ‘The Joneses’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday July 12, 2012 @ 9:04am PDTTags: ABC Studios, Bravo, Liz Tigelaar

Liz Tigelaar’s ABC Studios drama pilot The Joneses, which was originally developed at ABC, has been picked up by Bravo for development — marking one of the network’s first stabs at a scripted project. It’s based on the … Read More »

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Evan Katz Signs Deal With ABC Studios

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday June 14, 2012 @ 3:55pm PDTTags: ABC Studios, Big Deals TV, Body of Proof
Nellie Andreeva

24 alum Evan Katz has signed a deal with ABC Studios. Under the pact, he has joined the studio’s drama Body Of Proof as executive producer/showrunner and will also develop a script. Katz replaces Sunil Nayar who ran the … Read More »

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Zack Estrin Signs Deal With ABC Studios, WIll Run ‘Zero Hour’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday June 1, 2012 @ 7:17am PDTTags: ABC Studios, Zero Hour
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Former Prison Break co-executive producer Zack Estrin is reuniting with the Fox drama’s creator Paul Scheuring. Estrin has extended his deal with ABC Studios, and nder the pact, he will join Scheuring’s new series, ABC’s Zero Hour, as an … Read More »

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‘Castle’ EP Laurie Zaks Starts Production Company, Signs Deal With ABC Studios

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday May 31, 2012 @ 5:36pm PDTTags: ABC Studios, Big Deals TV
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Castle executive producer Laurie Zaks is putting down roots at ABC Studios, which produces the ABC dramedy. Zaks has signed an overall deal with the studio, her first overall pact, and has launched her own production company, Second Season. Under the one-year deal, which has an option for a second year, Zaks will develop new projects. The name she chose for her company is a reference to “what you want to get for your show, a second season,” Zaks said. But also, “the second season is spring which is time for renewal. This is new for me, and I love that spiritual meaning.” Zaks has been at ABC Studios since 2006 when she left the network executive ranks to become president of Armyan Bernstein’s Beacon Television, which had a deal at the studio (then Touchstone TV). At Beacon, she developed Castle and has spent the past four years as an executive producer on the crime procedural starring Nathan Fillion. While she will keep her executive producer title on the show, Zaks will scale back her day-to-day involvement to focus on development this coming season. “I have to find the next Castle,” she quipped. Read More »

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Vijal Patel Inks Overal Deal With ABC Studios, Joins New Comedy ‘Family Tools’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday May 30, 2012 @ 9:03am PDTTags: ABC Studios, Big Deals TV, Family Tools
Nellie Andreeva

Vijal Patel Family ToolsEXCLUSIVE: Comedy writer-producer Vijal Patel has signed a two-year overall deal with ABC Studios. Under the seven-figure pact, he will join ABC Studios’ new comedy series for ABC Family Tools as a co-executive producer. … Read More »

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‘Army Wives’ Star Catherine Bell Signs Deal With ABC Studios

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday May 29, 2012 @ 5:10pm PDTTags: ABC Studios, Army Wives, Big Deals TV, Catherine Bell
Nellie Andreeva

Catherine Bell Army WivesEXCLUSIVE: Army Wives star Catherine Bell has signed a new two-year deal with ABC Studios, which produces the veteran Lifetime drama series. The deal is qualified as a talent holding one as Army Wives has not been officially renewed beyond the current supersized sixth season. It would cover Bell’s services on the show for two more seasons, and I hear it includes a big salary bump from the actress’ current paycheck, which is in the high five figures per episode. While yet to pull the trigger on a Season 7, Lifetime has been actively exploring its options, including applying for the California TV tax credit lottery, which will be held Friday. I hear keeping the show in South Carolina for one more season and moving production to Los Angeles for two more seasons are among the discussed scenarios. None of the original cast members of Army Wives have deals beyond Season 6, and locking in Bell is a major step towards a potential renewal. Read More »

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ABC Studios Inks Overall Deal WIth Female Writing Duo

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday April 5, 2012 @ 12:00pm PDTTags: ABC Studios, Big Deals TV
Nellie Andreeva

Feature writing duo Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins have signed a two-year overall deal with ABC Studios to develop series projects. The two wrote the feature script Book Smart, which was optioned by Fox, as well as the Universal … Read More »

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Netflix Eyes ABC Drama Series ‘The River’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday March 22, 2012 @ 7:13am PDTTags: ABC Studios, Netflix, Terra Nova, The River
Nellie Andreeva

The River NetflixEXCLUSIVE: Netflix, already in talks with 20th Century Fox TV about possibly picking up recently canceled Fox series Terra Nova, may also be eying another freshman drama facing cancellation: ABC’s The River. I’ve learned that the streaming … Read More »

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Judge Declares Mistrial In ‘Desperate Housewives’ Case; Defense Says “We’re Ready To Retrial”

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday March 19, 2012 @ 12:04pm PDTTags: ABC, ABC Studios, Desperate Housewives

Freelance writer Dominic Patten is a Deadline contributor

Desperate Housewives Trial

UPDATED: Judge Elizabeth Allen White has declared a mistrial in Nicollette Sheridan‘s wrongful termination suit against ABC Studios and ABC Entertainment. The judge took her action, as she … Read More »

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UPDATE: Steve McPherson Says Plan To Kill Off Nicollette Sheridan’s Character Came Before Slap, Calls Trial “Crazy”

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday March 9, 2012 @ 2:57pm PSTTags: ABC Studios, Desperate Housewives, Marc Cherry, Nicollette Sheridan, Steve McPherson

Freelance writer Dominic Patten is a Deadline contributor

Desperate Housewives Trial

UPDATE, 2:57 PM: Former ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson told the court this afternoon that he approved the killing off of Nicollette Sheridan’s Edie Britt character in May 2008, months before a head-hitting incident between Sheridan and Cherry on the Desperate Housewives set. He then told Deadline after his brief appearance on the stand that he is surprised the case ever got this far. ”It’s kinda crazy,” McPherson said outside the courtroom. “Both parties are really nice people, and I’m surprised it even made it to trial,” he said. McPherson, who left ABC abruptly in 2010, declined to discuss the Cherry-Sheridan incident but told Deadline it had nothing to do with the actress leaving the series. “We made the decision to get rid of the character six or seven months before anything happened — whatever happened,” he said, echoing his testimony.

On the stand, McPherson confirmed Cherry’s and Pedowitz’s previous testimony that he gave his approval of the decision on May 22, 2008. “I was running the network, they needed my approval to kill of the character”, he told the jury. “I gave my approval.” The alleged Cherry-Sheridan head-slapping incident occurred in September 2008. Under questioning from Cherry defense lawyer Adam Levin, McPherson said he had no emails or memos about the decision because “we wanted to keep it confidential”. He testified that the only people at the meeting in his office that day were himself, Cherry, Pedowitz and Housewives producers Sabrina Wind and Bob Daily. He added that he would have done exactly the same thing in regards to the killing off of any major character on any major network series. “We didn’t want it to get out”, he said. Read More »

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Writer-Producer Rina Mimoun Signs Overall Deal With ABC Studios

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday February 29, 2012 @ 4:39pm PSTTags: ABC Studios, Mistresses, Rina Mimoun
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: After a decade at Warner Bros TV, writer-producer Rina Mimoun is moving to ABC Studios where she has signed a two-year overall deal. Under the rich seven-figure pact, Mimoun will develop new projects for the studio and join its upcoming series Mistresses as an executive producer. The soap, based on the British format, was recently given a straight-to-series order for a summer 2013 launch. It was written by The Nine co-creator KJ Steinberg, who is executive producing with Bob Sertner, Ecosse Films’ Douglas Rae and now Mimoun. With Steinberg busy working on her ABC/ABC Studios pilot Gilded Lilys, Mimoun and Sertner will oversee day-to-day operations on Mistresses for the time being. Mimoun’s deal with ABC Studios starts in June, but I hear she is been loaned out by Warner Bros TV so that she can start work on Mistresses right away. Read More »

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‘The Office’ Head Writer Daniel Chun Signs Overall Deal With ABC Studios

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday February 23, 2012 @ 4:30pm PSTTags: ABC Studios, The Office
Nellie Andreeva

After stints at The Simpsons and The Office, Daniel Chun is embarking on development with a two-year overall deal at ABC Studios. The seven-figure pact, which will start in the summer, was made in a competitive situation, with ABC going … Read More »

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‘Book Of Mormon’ Co-Creator Robert Lopez Signs Script Deal With ABC Studios

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday February 22, 2012 @ 10:13am PSTTags: ABC Studios, Bobby Lopez, Robert Lopez, The Book of Mormon
Nellie Andreeva

Robert Lopez, co-creator of hit Tony-winning musicals The Book Of Mormon and Avenue Q, is looking to add a co-creator of a TV series title to his resume. Lopez and his brother Billy Lopez haves signed a blind script … Read More »

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Cineflix Studios Inks Deal With ABC Studios

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday January 19, 2012 @ 12:20pm PSTTags: ABC Studios, Cineflix Studios
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: A year and a half after the launch of Cineflix Studios, the U.S.-based scripted division of Canadian producer and distributor of non-fiction programming Cineflix, has signed its first studio deal. Cineflix Studios has inked a first-look deal with ABC … Read More »

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ABC Gives Pilot Green Light To Dan Fogelman’s Alien Family Comedy

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday December 6, 2011 @ 8:43am PSTTags: Aaron Kaplan, ABC, ABC Studios, Dan Fogelman, Kapital Entertainment
Nellie Andreeva

ABC Picks Up Dan Fogelman Alien Comedy With Pilot Production Commitment

ABC has formally ordered to pilot an untitled half-hour single-camera comedy from feature writer Dan Fogelman (Crazy, … Read More »

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Two Comedies Land At ABC And NBC

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Sunday November 27, 2011 @ 11:00pm PSTTags: ABC, ABC Studios, Brillstein Entertainment, NBC, Universal TV
Nellie Andreeva

ABC has bought The Cult Of Mac, a single-camera comedy from Australian playwright/TV writer Tony McNamara (Tangle), ABC Studios and studio-based Brillstein Entertainment. It centers on Ted Macfadden, who casts back into his 1987 Chicago childhood with his iconoclastic/crazy dad Mac for inspiration in parenting his … Read More »

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Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Signs Deal With ABC Studios; Debbie Liebling To Run TV Unit

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday November 11, 2011 @ 8:00am PSTTags: ABC Studios, Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld
Nellie Andreeva

Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Films is making a major move in television, signing an overall deal with ABC Studios and bringing in veteran film and TV executive Debbie Liebling to run the company’s TV division, Red Hour Television. Under the pact, which will run through May 31, 2013, with an option for another year, Red Hour TV will develop and produce comedy and drama projects for ABC Studios. At the studio, Red Hour joins such pods as Mark Gordon Prods, Shondaland and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld’s Red Hour has ventured in TV before, co-producing several comedy pilots — including an untitled half-hour starring Stiller’s wife, actress Christine Taylor, at CBS; The Station at Fox; and, most recently, Justin Theroux’s Documental at HBO. But now the company is launching a dedicated TV division with Liebling at the helm. “Debbie is an incredibly talented executive,” said Stiller, who started in television as an actor on Saturday Night Live and The Ben Stiller Show. “I am hoping she helps us get a show on the air that is culturally relevant, groundbreaking, and doesn’t get canceled after 12 episodes. If she does that, I will consider the deal a major success.”

Liebling has experience in developing long-running series — she was Chief Development and Production Executive for Comedy Central for seven years, where she developed South Park. Other series she shepherded there include The Man Show, Win Ben Stein’s Money, Battlebots and Primetime Glick. Liebling most recently served as President of Production at Universal Pictures until May, when she exited as part of a department restructuring. At Universal, she oversaw the development and production of Bridesmaids, The Change-Up and Tower Heist, among others. She was previously President of Fox Atomic Pictures and spent five years as EVP Production for 20th Century Fox Films, where she was responsible for such films as Borat and the Stiller-starring Dodgeball, which he also produced. “I have known and worked with Ben over the years and always been in awe of his work ethic and standards and great taste,” Liebling said. Read More »

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