ICM Partners Signs Rachael Harris

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 5:10pm PDT
Nellie Andreeva

Rachael Harris has signed with ICM Partners. She was with UTA. Harris most recently starred opposite David Spade in the ABC comedy pilot Bad Management, which remains in serious contention for a series pickup. She also recurs on USA drama Suits and did an arc on Fox comedy New Girl. On the feature side, Harris is probably best known for role as Ed Helms’ girlfriend in The Hangover.  She also starred in the indie Natural Selection, earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination, as well as The Diary of A Wimpy Kid trilogy. She will next be seen in the Yahoo! comedy series We Need Help opposite Cheryl Hines. Harris is managed by Principato Young Entertainment.

Comments (0)

Gretchen Berg & Aaron Harberts Sign New Overall Deal With ABC Studios, Will Be Executive Producers On ABC’s ‘Revenge’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 4:30pm PDTTags: Aaron Harberts, ABC Studios, Gretchen Berg, Revenge
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Writer-producers Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts have inked a new two-year overall deal with ABC Studios where they have been since … Read More »

Comments (0)

ABC’s ‘Nashville’ Undergoes Production Changes Heading Into Second Season

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 3:28pm PDTTags: ABC, Nashville
Nellie Andreeva

Nashville became the only ABC freshman drama to get a renewal after spending most of the spring on the bubble. And now that Season 2 is a go, the show will undergo some changes. For now, … Read More »

Comments (6)

CBS Wins Season & Ties Sweep In Demo; ABC Tops Adults 18-49 In Season’s Final Week

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 2:59pm PDTTags: ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, the CW, TV Ratings

As everyone knew they would, CBS has taken the top spots for the 2012-2013 TV season for the first time in over 20 years. However, ABC topped adults 18-49 for the final full week … Read More »

Comments (0)

FX Ups Julie Piepenkotter To EVP Research, FX Networks

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 2:15pm PDTTags: FX, Julie Piepenkotter

LOS ANGELES, May 21, 2013 – Veteran research executive Julie Piepenkotter has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Research for FX Networks, it was announced today by FX Networks President and General Manager John Landgraf, to

… Read More »

Comments (3)

Sony Shares Rise On Report That It Will Consider Entertainment Stock Offering

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 1:26pm PDTTags: Daniel Loeb, Sony, Third Point

The company’s U.S. stock closed +9.3% today — at $22.91, the highest it’s been since late 2011 — in unusually heavy trading after Japan’s Nikkei news service reported that Sony‘s board will explore the proposal from billionaire … Read More »

Comments (1)

Carol Barbee Joins TNT’s ‘Falling Skies’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 1:12pm PDTTags: Carol Barbee, Falling Skies, TNT
Nellie Andreeva

New Falling Skies showrunner David Eick has started to put together a strong writing staff for the hit TNT drama’s fourth season. Veteran showrunner Carol Barbee has joined the alien-invasion series as a consulting … Read More »

Comments (9)

Alki David Agrees To End Name Games With Aereo And Barry Diller

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 12:26pm PDTTags: Alki David, Barry Diller, FilmOn

The freewheeling head of FilmOn has to stop using names including Aereokiller and BarryDriller.com for his broadcast streaming service according a settlement overseen by U.S. District Court Judge Audrey Collins. The … Read More »

Comments (0)

A&E’s ‘Bates Motel’ Rises In Finale

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 12:18pm PDTTags: A&E Network, Bates Motel, TV Ratings

The Season 1 finale of Bates Motel last night on A&E got 2.7 million viewers with 1.5 million among adults 18-49 and 1.4 million among adults 25-54. That’s up 15% in the 18-49 demo from last … Read More »

Comments (16)

Next-Gen Xbox One Unveiled With Content Including Spielberg-Produced ‘Halo’ Series

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 11:47am PDTTags: microsoft, Nancy Tellem, Xbox, Xbox One

David Bloom is a Deadline contributor

Microsoft finally unveiled the Xbox One, its next-generation successor to the Xbox 360 game console, with an impressive demonstration of a voice- and gesture-controlled device focused more on integrating and controlling all kinds of entertainment and social capabilities far beyond just playing videogames. The #XboxReveal event at Microsoft’s Seattle-area campus included the announcement by Xbox Entertainment Studios President Nancy Tellem that Steven Spielberg will create a new live-action TV show based on the “Halo” game franchise. In a video, Spielberg, a longtime game fan who also oversaw the launch of the DreamWorks Interactive game studio in the 1990s, briefly said “the Halo universe is an amazing opportunity to be at an intersection where technology and myth-making converge.”

Related: Nancy Tellem Talks Microsoft’s Xbox Entertainment Studios Read More »

Comments 27

WME Signs Actress Alison Brie

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 11:17am PDTTags: Alison Brie, WME
Nellie Andreeva

Alison BrieAlison Brie has signed with WME. She was at UTA. Brie currently juggles two series — she is a female lead on NBC’s cult comedy Community, which recently was renewed for a fifth season, and … Read More »

Comments (19)

CMT Gives 11-Episode Back Order To New Dog The Bounty Hunter Reality Series

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 11:15am PDTTags: CMT, Dog And Beth: On The Hunt
Nellie Andreeva

CMT has picked up an additional 11 episodes of Dog And Beth: On The Hunt, bringing the reality show’s freshman season to 22 episodes. Production on the new episodes will begin immediately for an August airdate. Through its … Read More »

Comments (2)

UPDATE: Apple CEO Challenged For Moving “Crown Jewels” To Avoid Paying U.S. Taxes

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 11:08am PDTTags: Apple, Tim Cook

UPDATE, 11:08 AM: Apple‘s part of today’s proceedings is over after Sen. Carl Levin finally drew blood. He hammered CEO Tim Cook and other Apple execs for creating business arrangements that ensured that the company’s “crown jewels” — economic rights to more than two-thirds of its worldwide profits — “are in three Irish companies that you control and don’t pay taxes.” Cook acknowledged that he has “no current plan” to bring that cash “home at the current tax rate.” Levin noted that this was entirely Apple’s choice: The arrangement in Ireland was signed by “three people working for Apple.” He also observed that the company repatriates profits from Latin America and Canada but not elsewhere. “We cannot continue a system where a multinational company as phenomenally successful as you can make a decision as to where the profits are going to flow. An American company where the R&D is 95% in the United States. You had R&D tax credits, all the benefits of living in this country, [including] protection of patents….You made a unilateral decision where these profits are going to be taxed or not taxed. Folks, that is not right.”

Related: Lawmakers Say Apple Exploits Loopholes To Avoid U.S. Taxes

PREVIOUS, 10:13 AM: Tim Cook seems to be in command so far in his appearance before the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to defend Apple against charges that it parks cash overseas to avoid paying U.S. taxes. He began his testimony throwing down a gauntlet calling for “dramatic simplification” of U.S. corporate taxes. “Apple has always believed in the simple, not the complex,” he said adding that it should also apply to the tax code. He called for a revenue-neutral change that would lower corporate income tax rates and provide for “a reasonable tax”– which he said should be a single digit percentage — “that allows the free flow of capital back to the United States.” It would probably increase Apple’s U.S. taxes, he says, but “it would promote U.S. economic growth.” Read More »

Comments 22

ESPN Layoffs Could Reach 400 As Part Of Latest Disney Cuts

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 10:14am PDTTags: Disney, ESPN

ESPN just released a statement confirming the cuts, which were first reported by Deadspin. Said the company: “We are implementing changes across the company to enhance our continued growth while smartly managing costs. While difficult, we are confident … Read More »

Comments (11)

Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky Sign New Overall Deal With ABC Studios

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 9:41am PDTTags: ABC Studios, Gene Stupnitsky, Hello Ladies, Lee Eisenberg, Trophy Wife
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Writer-producers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky have signed a new two-year overall deal with ABC Studios. The Office alums serve as executive producers/showrunners on two new comedy series sold under their previous deal with the studio, Trophy Wife at ABC and Hello Ladies at HBO. Additionally, Eisenberg and Stupnitsky, who wrote the 2011 feature Bad Teacher, executive produced Sony TV’s comedy pilot adaptation, which nears a midseason series order at CBS. “Lee and Gene are hugely prolific and quite possibly the hardest working comedy writers out there today,” said ABC Studios SVP Development Patrick Moran. “We are thrilled to have them attached to our new comedy Trophy Wife.”

Over the last two years, Eisenberg and Stupnitsky developed projects at ABC, FX, HBO and Comedy Central through their Quantity Entertainment. Emily Brecht, who has been with the company since 2011, is being promoted to Director of Development and will oversee day-to-day operations. She previously worked at the Department of Defense. “As a policy, we always look to hire employees who are smarter than us,” Eisenberg and Stupnitsky said. “That said, we look forward to Quantity’s next chapter as Emily becomes a principal partner and eventually ousts us.” Read More »

Comments (9)

UPDATE: Broadcast Nets Expand Nightly News For Tornado Coverage; NBC To Air Live Special In ‘Voice’ Recap Slot

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 9:40am PDTTags: MSNBC, NBC, The Voice, Today

UPDATED, 9:40 AM: ABC News and NBC News said they will expand their evening newscasts to an hour tonight to cover the aftermath of the Oklahoma tornado that so far has killed 24 including many children stuck in their schools. On CBS, the CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley is expanding to 90 minutes from 6:30-8 PM. ABC also is airing a special edition of Nightline dedicated to tornado coverage, and ABC News’ David Muir, Ginger Zee, and Mike Boettcher will report in from Oklahoma this afternoon on Katie.

PREVIOUS, MONDAY PM: The network and its sister outlets MSNBC and the Weather Channel will focus Tuesday on coverage of today’s massive twister that cut a huge swath of destruction near Oklahoma City. Along with live coverage from devastated Moore, OK, on NBC’s Today and MSNBC’s morning programs, the broadcast network will air a one-hour special hosted by Brian Williams live from the scene at 8 PM ET (delayed in other time zones). That will pre-empt a recap show of The Voice featuring the top 10 performances; a new live episode of the singing competition will air as scheduled in the 9 PM hour. Read More »

Comments (1)

Ricky Gervais Series ‘Derek’ Gets September Netflix Premiere

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 9:40am PDTTags: Derek, Netflix, Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais writes, directs, exec produces, and stars in the original series about a naive man who works in a nursing home, which Netflix will debut at … Read More »

Comments (2)

RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Up Strong, ‘Voice’ Hits Low, ‘Hawaii Five-O’ Finale Down, ‘Motive’ Debuts Soft

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 9:08am PDTTags: Dancing With The Stars, Motive, The Goodwin Games, The Voice, TV Ratings

Monday saw a primetime mix of live shows, encores, finales, premieres and prayers for those in the path of the tornado in Oklahoma. On ABC, the last performance show of Dancing With The Stars (2.5/7) before tonight’s Season 16 results finale saw the final four couples strut their stuff once last time. DWTS certainly flexed some muscle as the show was up 25% from its series performance low tie of May 13. The most watched program of the night with 14.73 million viewers, the two-hour show was down 14% from its one-hour May 21, 2012 performance finale and dipped 7% from its last performance show of last season on November 26, 2012. Although the show was up from last week, it appeared last night like the total votes might be down. Online “technical difficulties” saw voting on ABC’s website temporarily suspended, forcing viewers to cast their ballots via text, Facebook and phone. The online voting was restored before the show was over and viewers were encouraged to hit the website to decided who gets the Mirrorball trophy. Afterward, new crime procedural Motive (1.4/4) did not benefit from its lead-in. The Canadian import was down sharply from the 2.2/6 of Castle’s season finale last week and down 30% from Scandal’s April 5, 2012 debut. ABC won the night in total viewers and in adults 18-49.

Related: NBC To Air Tornado Special In Tuesday’s ‘Voice’ Recap Slot Read More »

Comments (4)

VH1 Morning Show ‘The Gossip Table’ Premieres June 3

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday May 21, 2013 @ 9:00am PDTTags: The Gossip Table, VH1

The daily pop culture series will feature gossip columnists dishing on hot topics in a panel format. The Gossip Table will premiere on VH1 on Monday, June 3 at 9 AM as a summer replacement for Big Morning … Read More »

Comments (1)
More Deadline | Hollywood »