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TV Pilots |OT| The Season's Dead, But Development Hell is Forever

- EW: Netflix orders Queen Elizabeth II drama 'The Crown'
Netflix has ordered a 10-episode first season of The Crown, telling the story of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. Each season of the show (if it is picked up for more, of course), will follow a decade of the queen’s life, beginning in 1952 when she assumed the title and began working with Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

The Crown comes from Peter Morgan and Stephen Daldry and is inspired by Morgan’s play The Audience. Morgan also wrote The Queen, which starred Helen Mirren, who is also set to reprise the role of the queen in a Broadway production of The Audience in 2015.

No casting has been announced for the series yet, though Deadline reports that actress Claire Foy has been offered the royal role. Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
Interesting. I thought the deal was originally for two seasons? $170 mil for twenty episodes? I wonder why they're only going with one season for now? (not that I doubt it won't get another season, mind. I just figured they'd announce it upfront like they did with House of Cards)
 
There's a few more details and some speculation in the Deadline article:
After months of speculations (and negotiations), Netflix tonight officially unveiled The Crown, Peter Morgan’s decades-spanning drama series that explores the inside story of Queen Elizabeth II and Britain’s post-war Prime Ministers. The 10-episode first season will premiere on the streaming service in 2016.

On the ambitious, $100million project –Netflix’s first UK-based series – The Queen writer Morgan is reuniting with director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot) and producer Andy Harries (The Queen). Inspired by Morgan’s hit award-winning West End Play The Audience, each season of The Crown will explore the political rivalries and personal intrigues across a decade of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, exploring the delicate balance between her private world and public life. “The Crown is not only about the royal family but about an empire in decline, a world in disarray and the dawn of a new era,” Morgan said.

Season one begins with a 25-year-old Princess –expected to be played by Claire Foy — faced with the daunting prospect of leading the most famous monarchy in the world while forging a relationship with the domineering, war-hardened Prime Minister Winston Churchill. “The Crown is storytelling that lives somewhere between television and cinema from Britain’s foremost chroniclers of modern politics, class and society,” said Cindy Holland, Neflix’s VP of Original Content.

It is believed that at least three actresses will play the Queen across her six-decade rule. It is unclear whether Helen Mirren will reprise the role that won her an Oscar in The Queen.
 
- THR: AMC Passes on Comedy 'We Hate Paul Revere'
The cable network has passed on comedy pilot We Hate Paul Revere, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. This marks AMC's fourth pilot pass in a row, joining dramas Line of Sight, Knifeman and Galyntine.

The comedy pilot was described as a twist on the period piece and told the story of brothers Hugh and Ebenezer Moody — both forced to strive for recognition in Colonial Boston among the bigger stars of history, including Paul Revere (Ron Livingston), the folk hero and subject of poetry for his midnight ride alerting Colonial military that British forces were approaching.
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Shocking news.

- Deadline: Katey Sagal Set For Kurt Sutter’s Next FX Drama Project ‘The Bastard Executioner’

Katey Sagal is boarding her husband Kurt Sutter’s next FX drama project The Bastard Executioner. Sagal confirmed the news today during a Sons Of Anarchy conference call with reporters. No details on her role yet, but she said she would “definitely be involved” in the period drama project.

Bastard Executioner tells the story of a warrior knight in King Edward III’s charge who is broken by the ravages of war and vows to lay down his sword. But when that violence finds him again, he is forced to pick up the bloodiest sword of all.

Sagal also was attached to a comedy Sutter was developing at FX, Diva. Clown. Killer, but that has taken a back seat to Executioner.

Also, especially now knowing how Sons of Anarchy S6 and S7 have gone, this new show sounds like it has the same fucking concept except in the medieval age.
 
- Deadline: ‘Luther’ Gets Fox Series Adaptation With Neil Cross Writing & Idris Elba Producing
One of the most acclaimed British series of the last decade, BBC crime drama Luther, is getting a U.S. remake. Fox has given a rich put pilot commitment with a seven-figure penalty to the adaptation, which will be written/executive produced by the original series’ creator Neil Cross. The British series’ star, Idris Elba, is on board as executive producer. The project hails from 20th Century Fox TV, studio-based Chernin Entertainment and BBC Worldwide Prods. Also executive producing are the Chernin company’s Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope and BBC Worldwide Prods’ Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner.

Luther, which ran on BBC for three seasons, centered on John Luther (Elba), a near-genius murder detective whose brilliant mind can’t always save him from the dangerous violence of his passions. While opting to end the original series after a three-season, 14-episode run, Cross has left the door open for a Luther movie starring Elba.

The original Luther series, which aired in the U.S. on BBC America, earned eight Emmy nominations for best miniseries, best actor (Elba), and best writing/directing.

Fox has another drama about a brilliant, unorthodox detective based on an European property coming up in midseason series Backstrom, an adaptation of Leif G. W. Persson’s books.

Remaking acclaimed British drama series by U.S. networks has proven tricky. Neither NBC’s Prime Suspect nor Fox’s Gracepoint — an U.S. version of ITV’s Broadchurch, which, like Luther, was adapted by original creator Chris Chibnall — have been able to gain much traction.

In TV, Cross recently created and executive produced NBC’s pirate drama Crossbones. On the feature side, he wrote the horror feature Mama for Universal. Cross is repped by UTA, Independent Talent Group in the UK and attorney Fred Toczek.
 
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canceled after one season
 

BigFwoosh

Member
Galyntine sounded like a ripoff of Revolution so I can't say I'm upset that it's not moving forward. Knifeman sounded sort of cool though so that is a bit of a bummer.

Just saw that they passed on this. I actually got to watch the pilot in Vegas at the CBS Experience. Thought it was interesting, though some of the relationships needed more time to grow (obviously, it was just the first episode). There was one character in particular who was really cool, reminiscent of Mr. Eko from Lost. In fact, my wife and I came out of it and both said it reminded us a ton of Lost, in good ways. Oh well.
 
- Deadline: FX Picks Up Drama Series ‘Taboo’ From Tom Hardy, Steven Knight & Ridley Scott
FX has picked up Taboo, the upcoming high-profile BBC period drama series from Ridley Scott, Steven Knight and Tom Hardy who is set to star. Filming on the eight-episode first season, produced by Scott Free London and Hardy Son & Baker for BBC One and FX Prods./FX Networks, is slated to begin in mid- to late 2015 in the U.K., with a debut tentatively scheduled for mid-2016. Sonar Entertainment is distributing the series internationally.

Set in 1813, Taboo, was created by Knight based on an original story by Hardy and his father, Chips Hardy. The project centers on James Keziah Delaney (Hardy), a rogue adventurer who returns from Africa with 14 ill-gotten diamonds to seek vengeance after the death of his father. Refusing to sell the family business to the East India Company, he sets out to build his own trade and shipping empire and finds himself playing a very dangerous game. Executive producing the series are Ridley Scott and Kate Crowe for Scott Free; Tom Hardy and Dean Baker for Hardy Son & Baker; Steven Knight; and Gene Stein for Sonar.

Taboo, which was announced by BBC One in April, reunites Hardy with his Locke director and screenwriter Knight, and his Child 44 producer Scott. This is the actor’s latest foray into British television after recently coming on board the second season of BBC Two drama Peaky Blinders, which Knight also created. It also marks the first major production for Hardy and Baker’s company, Hardy Son & Baker.

“We are privileged to have landed Taboo and to work with this exceptional team led by Ridley, Tom and Steven,” said FX’s Eric Schrier. “Tom’s passion for this project, from conceiving the original idea with his father to portraying James Delaney, promises to infuse this epic story with great personal passion and credibility.”

At FX, Taboo is joining a drama series portfolio that includes departing Sons of Anarchy and Justified as well as The Americans, Tyrant and The Strain; and anthology series/miniseries American Horror Story, Fargo and the upcoming American Crime Story.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus

oh my god

lol


Period pieces! Yusss

Just saw that they passed on this. I actually got to watch the pilot in Vegas at the CBS Experience. Thought it was interesting, though some of the relationships needed more time to grow (obviously, it was just the first episode). There was one character in particular who was really cool, reminiscent of Mr. Eko from Lost. In fact, my wife and I came out of it and both said it reminded us a ton of Lost, in good ways. Oh well.

Ooh, cool! Have you seen NBC's Revolution? How similar was it to that? What did the post apocalyptic world look like?
 
- Deadline: ‘Cortes’ Drama From Martin Scorsese & Benicio Del Toro In Works At HBO
HBO is taking on a pivotal moment in the history of the Americas with Cortes, a high-profile drama series in development. It is being written/executive produced by Mississippi Burning scribe Chris Gerolmo, directed/executive produced by Martin Scorsese and executive produced Benecio Del Toro who is interested in starring as the Aztec conqueror.

Cortes will tell the sweeping story of Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, who brought down the Aztec empire; Malinche, the Mayan girl who helped him do it; and Montezuma, the Aztec leader he befriended and finally put in chains.

The subject matter has the makings of a compelling drama as Cortés’ legacy is a complex one. On one hand, he won Mexico for Spain and extended the Spanish Empire. But from the indigenous’ point of view, he was a mass murderer who spearheaded the destruction of one of the greatest civilizations of that time.

In addition to Gerolmo and Oscar winners Scorsese and Del Toro, Cortes is executive produced by Laura Bickford, Del Toro’s producing partner on Che; Del Toro’s manager Rick Yorn; and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, president of production for Scorsese’s Sikelia Prods.
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Glad to hear someone good, FX, picked up Taboo. It's so far away however.

Cortes could be interesting if they really commit to it. I'm certainly down for seeing Del Toro a lot if he indeed stars in it.
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
BBC has ordered a ton of stuff, most of which I believe is news.
* One Of Us, a four-part drama series by Harry and Jack Williams of The Missing fame;

* 1940s thriller SS-GB from Bond screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade based on the novel by Len Deighton and produced by Sid Gentle Films;

* Cop show Cuffs, an eight-part series created and written by Julie Gearey (Prisoners’ Wives) and produced by Tiger Aspect Productions;

* The Secret Agent, a three-part adaptation of the Joseph Conrad novel by BAFTA-winning writer Tony Marchant, produced by Line of Duty’s World Productions;

* Undercover, a six-part series written by Peter Moffat that’s a political thriller with a lead character who is about to become the first black Director of Public Prosecutions;

* The A Word, a six-part series by Peter Bowker and co-produced by Fifty Fathoms, Tiger Aspect and Keshet UK based on the Keshet International and July August Productions’ series, which was written and created by Keren Margalit about a family with an autistic son and learning to communicate.

* The Dresser, a two-hour drama with Anthony Hopkins in the role originated on film by Albert Finney. Richard Eyre is directing with Colin Callender’s Playground Entertainment and Sonia Friedman Productions producing for BBC Two. Ian McKellen will co-star in the television adaptation of Ronald Harwood’s portrait of theater life backstage.

More on that SS-GB show:
SS-GB is a thriller set in 1940s London under the premise that the Germans won the Battle of Britain and London is under Nazi occupation.

"Archer is a Scotland Yard detective working under the SS facing the dilemma of whether to effectively collaborate or join the resistance," according to a show description. It also says that the drama is "an explosive thriller that will ask: What would you do, faced with stakes as high as this?"
 

More casting for that show:
Reg E. Cathey (St. Vincent), Julia Crockett (The Absence), Wrenn Schmidt (Boardwalk Empire) and Kip Pardue (Ray Donovan) have been cast opposite Patrick Fugit in Cinemax’s new exorcism drama Outcast, from The Walking Dead executive producer Robert Kirkman. Based on a comic by Kirkman and artist Paul Azaceta, Outcast follows follows Kyle Barnes (Fugit), a young man who has been plagued by possession since he was a child. Now an adult, he embarks on a journey to find answers, but what he uncovers could mean the end of life on Earth as we know it.

Cathey will play Giles, Rome’s Chief of Police and a poker buddy of Anderson’s. Although he doesn’t believe in possession quite as strongly as Anderson, he’s seen enough to know there’s some truth to his friend’s assertions about demons. Crockett portrays Sarah Barns, Kyle’s mother, who makes young Kyle’s life a living hell. At first, this might seem like the result of mental illness. But Kyle will come to understand that it’s something more. Schmidt, repped by ICM Partners, Davis Spylios Management and Peikoff Mahan, is Megan Holter, Kyle’s adopted sister and a child psychologist, who is always on a mission to fix people, especially Kyle. Pardue, repped by DBA, will play Mark Holter, the husband of Kyle’s adopted sister, Megan, a small town cop whose temper sometimes gets him in trouble. Despite being mildly religious, Mark is a skeptic, who would never believe in something like demonic possession. Cast also includes Philip Glenister (Life On Mars) and Gabriel Bateman (Stalker, Annabelle).
 

Wiktor

Member
I hope Fox will just make a contination of Luther story instead of trying to remake old ones. THis way even if it's canceled after one season I will just get one more run of Luther set after the upcoming BBC mini series
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
- Deadline: Art & John Linson Acquire Vietnam War Book ‘The Long Gray Line’ For HBO Series
Sons Of Anarchy executive producers Art and John Linson have secured rights to Pulitzer Price winner Rick Atkinson’s bestselling book, The Long Gray Line: The American Journey Of West Point’s Class Of 1966. The book documented the cadets’ journey into the harsh years of the Vietnam War, when the American military faced real criticism for the first time in U.S. history, and the changed reality that awaited those who were fortunate enough to return to their homeland.

The Linsons will develop the book as a drama series for HBO under the duo’s overall deal. They have brought in Phil Klay to pen the adaptation in his screenwriting debut. A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who served in Iraq as a Public Affairs Officer, Klay wrote the book Redeployment, which won a 2014 National Book Award last night. It focuses on the aftermath of soldiers’ service in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Linsons executive produce the project.
 
- Deadline: Cast Set For BBC & Carnival’s ‘Game Of Thrones’-Style Epic ‘The Last Kingdom’
An international cast has been firmed up as shooting begins on The Last Kingdom, BBC America, BBC Two and Downton Abbey producer Carnival Films’ Game Of Thrones-esque epic series. Set in the 9th century, the eight-part historical drama is an adaptation of Bernard Cornwell’s best-selling series of books The Saxon Stories, with Stephen Butchard penning the transfer. As Deadline reported in September, American Horror Story: Coven’s Alexander Dreymon is leading the ensemble. Also joining the cast are Rutger Hauer, Ripper Street’s Matthew Macfadyen and David Dawson; Emily Cox (The Silent Mountain); Boardwalk Empire’s Ian Hart; Kon-Tiki’s Tobias Santelmann; Thomas W. Gabrielsson of A Royal Affair and The Killing III; Peter Gantzler (Italian For Beginners); Joseph Millson (Penny Dreadful, 24:Live Another Day); Alexandre Willaume (Over The Edge); Rune Temte (The Accident); and Henning Valin Jakobsen (The Bridge, The Killing).

The series will combine real historical figures and events with fictional characters during the reign of Alfred the Great, who as King of Wessex fought off a Viking invasion. Dreymon plays Uhtred, who was born the son of a Saxon nobleman but is orphaned by the Vikings and then kidnapped and raised as one of their own. Forced to choose between the country of his birth and the people of his upbringing, his loyalties are ever tested. On a quest to claim his birthright, Uhtred must tread a dangerous path between both sides if he is to play his part in the birth of a new nation and, ultimately, recapture his ancestral lands.
 
- Deadline: David Dobkin To Direct ‘Badlands’ AMC Series; Emily Beecham, Sarah Bolger Cast
Shanghai Knights director David Dobkin is reuniting with the film’s writers Al Gough and Miles Millar for another martial arts project, AMC series Badlands (working title). Dobkin has been tapped as a director and executive producer of the straight-to-series project, which has cast Emily Beecham (28 Weeks Later), Sarah Bolger (The Tudors) and Oliver Stark (The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box) as regulars.

The six-episode Badlands is described as a genre-bending martial arts series very loosely based on the classic Chinese tale “Journey to the West.” In a land controlled by feudal barons, it tells the story of a great warrior and a young boy who embark on a journey across a dangerous land to find enlightenment. Beecham plays The Widow, a regal beauty and a cunning strategist with extravagant, high fashion taste who has gained power the old-fashioned way – she’s spilled blood for it. Bolger plays Jade, a porcelain beauty who masks her ambition with fragile innocence.
 

TheOddOne

Member
- Deadline: Nicole Kidman & Reese Witherspoon To Star In ‘Big Little Lies’ Limited Series, Penned By David E. Kelley
In the highest-profile limited series package to hit the marketplace since Nic Pizzolatto’s True Detective, which had Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson attached, Oscar winners Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon are set to star in Big Little Lies, a limited series, which is being written by Emmy winner David E Kelley.

The project is based on the bookThe Television Academy's 23rd Hall Of Fame Induction Gala of the same name by Australian author Liane Moriarty. It is described as a subversive comedy which tells the tale of three mothers of kindergartners whose apparently perfect lives unravel to the point of murder.

Witherspoon and her Pacific Standard, along with Kidman and her Blossom Films production banner optioned the film and TV rights to Big Little Lies earlier this year for Witherspoon and Kidman to star and produce with Pacific Standard partner Bruna Papandrea and Blossom partner Per Saari.

The original idea was to turn the book into a feature, which subsequently evolved into a limited series adaptation. The project is expected to be taken out to buyers soon. Witherspoon, Kidman and Kelley are repped by CAA.
 
- HBO Orders Martin Scorsese-Mick Jagger-Terence Winter Rock Drama to Series
The premium cable network has picked up to series the Boardwalk Empire duo's rock 'n' roll drama that's also exec produced by Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and Breaking Bad's George Mastras, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The 1970s drama — which remains untitled — explores the drug- and sex-fueled music business as punk and disco were breaking out, all through the eyes of a record executive trying to resurrect his label and find the next new sound.
 
- EW: 'Preacher' TV series gets AMC pilot order
Preacher has taken another major step toward becoming a series. AMC has given a pilot order to the project based on the surreal, irreverent 1990s comic series created by writer Garth Ennis by artist Steve Dillon.

Sam Catlin (Breaking Bad) will serve as executive producer and showrunner, while Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (This is the End) will executive produce and direct the pilot, which is written by Catlin.

AMC’s official description: “Based on Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s twisted ‘90s comic book series, Preacher is about Jesse Custer, a conflicted Preacher in a small Texas town who merges with a creature that has escaped from heaven and develops the ability to make anyone do anything he says. Along with his ex-girlfriend, Tulip, and an Irish vampire named Cassidy, the three embark on a journey to literally find God.”

“Preacher has been our favorite comic since it first came out,” Rogen and Goldberg said in a statement today. “Garth Ennis is one of our idols and it’s an incredible honor to be working on this. We promise we won’t make too many dick jokes and ruin it.”

Said Ennis, who is serving with Dillon as co-executive producers on the project: “Steve Dillon and I are extremely pleased to know AMC has taken Preacher to pilot. We have had an ongoing voice in the efforts of the writers whom Sony TV and Original Film entrusted with this project, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Sam Catlin, and have been most gratified that they continue to include us, and that they have tackled the project with the type of unwavering commitment and courage needed to present the material as Steve and I intended. This has been a long time coming, but that it continues apace, and with the chance to be delivered episodically, gives Preacher an opportunity to be seen in its best possible medium, not previously possible. And many thanks indeed to [executive producers] Ken Levin and Neal Moritz for their never flagging commitment to Preacher, and for never giving up well past the point when I myself grew skeptical—we have principally gotten to where we are today because of Neal and Ken.”

The pilot will be made in summer 2015, and could hit the air on AMC sometime in 2016.
 

TheOddOne

Member
- Deadline: Paul Dano To Co-Star In Steve McQueen’s HBO Pilot ‘Codes Of Conduct’
12 Years A Slave director Steve McQueen has recruited the film’s co-star Paul Dano for his HBO drama pilot Codes Of Conduct. Dano will co-star opposite Devon Terrell in the project — a provocative exploration of a young black man’s experience entering New York high society.

Co-written by McQueen and World War Z co-writer Matthew Michael Carnahan, Codes Of Conduct, centers on Beverly Snow (Terrell), a young man from Queens as talented as he is ambiguous. His self-confidence will enable him to break into the social circles of Manhattan’s elite, testing the boundaries of access and social mobility. Dano plays Jared Rotmensen, a hip yet altruistic entrepreneur who brings Beverly into his fold. Filming on the pilot starts in New York next week. McQueen and Carnahan executive produce with Russell Simmons, Iain Canning and Emile Sherman.
HYYYYYYPED.
 
- EW: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Luke Wilson to star in Showtime pilot
Showtime has firmed up its Roadies cast.

The one-hour comedy pilot following the behind-the-scenes action of a rock band’s crew has officially announced Luke Wilson (Old School) and Imogen Poots (The Look of Love) as the show’s stars. Both names leaked late last week, and now we can announce that they’ll be joined by Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider) and actor Peter Cambor (NCIS: Los Angeles).

Wilson will play a “road-weary, sleep-deprived tour manager,” Poots is “a first-rate electrical tech with a great heart,” Castle-Hughes “the band’s outspoken and passionate sound mixer” and Cambor is “an offbeat American anglophile guitar tech.”

Writer Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life) is the showrunner and these two guys who may have previously heard of — J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk — are executive producers.
 

Ashok

Banned
Anybody know what's up with that Ryan Murphy HBO pilot "Open"? I thought HBO dropped the pilot back in September. But IMDB Pro just switched it's status from Cancelled back to Pre-Production early this morning. A mistake?
 

TheOddOne

Member
- Deadline: ‘Krypton’ Series In Works At Syfy From David Goyer & Ian Goldberg
Syfy and Warner Horizon Television have teamed for Krypton, a one-hour drama about Superman’s grandfather set at the fictional planet.

Years before the Superman became a superhero, the House of El was shamed and ostracized. This series follows The Man of Steel’s grandfather as he brings hope and equality to Krypton, turning a planet in disarray into one worthy of giving birth to the greatest Super Hero ever known. The planet was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and fist featured in a 1938 DC comic.

Krypton, now in development, is being executive produced by David S. Goyer (Constantine) and Ian Goldberg (Once Upon A Time). Goldberg is writing the pilot teleplay based on a story conceived by Goyer & Goldberg
 

Wiktor

Member
That sounds expensive and... not interesting.

Should've just made that Booster Gold show.

Meh. I don't have anything against straight adaptations, but DC has like 12 of them in development. Krypton sounds nice because it's bassicaly a blank canvas.
 
- Vulture: George Clooney Is Pitching a TV Dramedy About the 1990s Movie Business
George Clooney, who shot to stardom in the 1990s, is headed back to the decade for a new TV project. The actor/producer/director, whose Smokehouse Pictures production company signed an overall deal with Sony Pictures Television last summer, has teamed up with Foxcatcher director Bennett Miller and Rescue Me creator Peter Tolan for a one-hour comedic drama that will explore the movie business of the early 1990s, Vulture has learned. Details of the project are scarce right now, but people familiar with the project call it a dark comedy looking at the movie business through the eyes of the studio executives running it.
The project has drawn strong interest from network execs who’ve heard the pitch from Clooney and Tolan this week: Two people familiar with the potential series tell Vulture the only question now is where it will land and what sort of financial commitment it will generate. Sony has had meetings with basic and premium cable networks, as well as at least one streaming service.
Sounds amazing.
 
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