Support NeoGAF

[Dan]

Oh... that's a strange choice of writer. Hope he's up for the challenge and has some dramatic chops.

 

[berzeli]

lol, Twin series!
Showtime Orders Boston 1990s Crime (sort of at least) Drama Pilot From Ben Affleck & Matt Damon, Gavin O'Connor To Direct
AMC Developing Chicago 1990s Crime Drama Series From Ben Watkins With Ed Burns Set To Exec Produce & Co-Star

 

[Dan]

lol, Twin series!
Showtime Orders Boston 1990s Crime (sort of at least) Drama Pilot From Ben Affleck & Matt Damon, Gavin O'Connor To Direct
AMC Developing Chicago 1990s Crime Drama Series From Ben Watkins With Ed Burns Set To Exec Produce & Co-Star

It's funny because you switched the links.

Also, of course the Damon/Affleck show is based in Boston.

Both have potential if they're truly allowed to say something about the complicated sociopolitical and socioeconomic elements rather than being content to revel in the moral ambiguity of crime.

Edit:
‘Wonder Woman's' Chris Pine, Patty Jenkins to Reteam on TNT Series ‘One Day She'll Darken'

After delivering a smash hit with ”Wonder Woman," director Patty Jenkins and star Chris Pine will re-team on the new TNT drama series ”One Day She'll Darken."

TNT has given a green light a straight-to-series order with Jenkins attached to direct the pilot and potentially additional episodes. Pine is attached to star in all six episodes.

Sam Sheridan, author of ”A Fighter's Heart and The Disaster Diaries" is set to write the six-episode series, inspired by the autobiography of Fauna Hodel. The series is being produced by Turner's Studio T, with Jenkins, Michael Sugar, Sheridan and Pine serving as executive producers. Plans are to shoot the show this fall.

”One Day She'll Darken" tells the story of Hodel who was given away by her teenage birth mother to a black restroom attendant in a Nevada casino in 1949. As Hodel begins to investigate the secrets to her past, she follows a sinister trail that swirls ever closer to an infamous Hollywood gynecologist, Dr. George Hodel, a man involved in the darkest Hollywood debauchery, the spider in the web around the legendary ”Black Dahlia" murder of Elizabeth Short in Los Angeles in 1947.

Pine will play Jay Singletary, a former Marine-turned-hack reporter and paparazzo. Jay was disgraced over his story about Hodel years prior, but now he sees a glimmer of redemption. Jay sees an opportunity, but is also caught in a moral quandary.

Jenkins is making up for lost time!

 

[berzeli]

It's funny because you switched the links.

Oh god... can we pretend that it is commentary on how generic the shows are and not the result of sleep deprivation?

Jenkins is making up for lost time!

Huh. Well at least it won't be worse than De Palma's take on The Black Dahlia.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

lol, Twin series!
Showtime Orders Boston 1990s Crime (sort of at least) Drama Pilot From Ben Affleck & Matt Damon, Gavin O’Connor To Direct
AMC Developing Chicago 1990s Crime Drama Series From Ben Watkins With Ed Burns Set To Exec Produce & Co-Star

The AMC series sounds far more interesting.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Stephen Colbert To EP Animated Series About Trump White House For Showtime

Blumhouse TV Acquires Book About Steve Bannon & Donald Trump For Limited Series Adaptation

(this doesn't need to be a thing btw)

 

[Joni]

lol, Twin series!
Showtime Orders Boston 1990s Crime (sort of at least) Drama Pilot From Ben Affleck & Matt Damon, Gavin O’Connor To Direct
AMC Developing Chicago 1990s Crime Drama Series From Ben Watkins With Ed Burns Set To Exec Produce & Co-Star

I have always heard in cases like this, that it is possible that they were initially the same script that got twisted into two different movies.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Canal Plus Books Appointment With Joann Sfar’s ‘Monsters’ Shrink’ Vampire Series

Director and graphic artist Joann Sfar is embarking on his first English-language live-action drama with Monsters’ Shrink. Canal Plus has ordered the eight-part series that’s loosely based on Sfar’s book L’Eternel.

Canal’s RED Production Company will work with Sfar on the project about Rebecka, a New York psychoanalyst who discovers her husband has been found dead at their South of France villa.

Determined to discover the real story of his demise, Rebecka heads to Antibes and is confronted graveside by Ionas, a vicious and intellectual Eastern European Vampire — who is also a surprisingly good handyman — and is desperate to change. Ionas convinces the wary and scared Rebecka to give him therapy sessions, after she realizes he might be connected to her husband’s death. In order to access their knowledge and information, Rebecka agrees not just to analyze Ionas but to become a shrink for all monsters, discovering an entire underworld hidden in the dirty streets, shops and houses of France.

Sfar’s credits include features The Prophet, The Rabbi’s Cat and Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life. The latter won three Cesars in 2011.

His comic books include Donjon, The Little Vampire and The Rabbi’s Cat which became an animated film, winning the Cesar for best Animation.

Vampires are a bit played out, but as a fan of Sfar's work I'm interested to see how this turns out.

 

[Busty]

Stephen Colbert To EP Animated Series About Trump White House For Showtime

Blumhouse TV Acquires Book About Steve Bannon & Donald Trump For Limited Series Adaptation

(this doesn't need to be a thing btw)

Exactly. More and more I find myself asking of different projects, who is the audience for this? It's bad enough we have wall to wall Trump on the fucking news now we need him in our 'off hours' too?

Having Baldwin mock him on SNL is more than enough, we don't need a fucking animated show.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon Partner To Star In TV Series

The Untitled Morning Show Project, which hails from former head of HBO drama Michael Ellenberg, is an hourlong drama series that explores network morning shows and the larger New York media scene they inhabit. House of Cards’ Jay Carson is set to write the script. The project is expected to be shopped to premium cablers and streaming services in the next week or so.

 

[big ander]

Stephen Colbert To EP Animated Series About Trump White House For Showtime

Blumhouse TV Acquires Book About Steve Bannon & Donald Trump For Limited Series Adaptation

(this doesn't need to be a thing btw)

zero need for these. The President Show on CC is already exactly the Colbert Report style excoriation we need.

 

[Dan]

Yeah, hard pass on biopics and fictional tales of this administration. I don't understand who wants this stuff right now. Reality is more than enough. Maybe in 30 years.

Deadline: Samuel L. Jackson To Star In ‘Old Man’ Drama Series From Jon Steinberg, Warren Littlefield & Fox 21 TV Studios

EXCLUSIVE: A marquee drama series package is heating up the marketplace. I hear Old Man, starring Samuel L. Jackson in his first TV series gig, from Black Sails co-creator Jonathan E. Steinberg, Fargo and Handmaid’s Tale executive producer Warren Littlefiueld and Fox 21 TV Studios, is being pitched to the major basic and pay cable networks and streaming platforms, including FX, TNT, HBO, Showtime, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, with multiple offers already on the table.

Written by Steinbarg based on the book The Old Man by Edgar Award-winning crime thriller author Thomas Perry, Old Man centers on widower Dan Chase (Jackson), an average Vermont retiree with a dark secret. Following Chase’s involvement as a young army intelligence hotshot in a botched operation in Libya thirty five years ago, he went on the run, trying to escape people who want him dead. Just as he had begun to think he was finally safe, Chase finds himself again in the crosshairs.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Starz, Lionsgate & Liberty Global Team On Spy Thriller ‘The Rook’ With Stephenie Meyer

The London-set series centers on a young woman pursued by shadowy paranormal adversaries while grappling with extraordinary abilities of her own. After waking in a park with total amnesia — and surrounded by dead bodies, all wearing latex gloves — she must fight to uncover her past, and resume her position at the head of Britain’s most secret (supernatural) service before the traitors who stole her memory can finish what they started.

Based on the novel by Daniel O’Malley, it’s adapted and co-produced by playwrights and screenwriters Sam Holcroft (Rules for Living) and Al Muriel (Precious & Rich).

The Rook was originally set up at Hulu, but the new configuration appears to be a more strategic fit for the partners.

This is Starz’s first series order from Lionsgate TV since Lionsgate acquired the pay cable network last year.

...eh

 

[Norwegian Rudo]

Starz, Lionsgate & Liberty Global Team On Spy Thriller ‘The Rook’ With Stephenie Meyer


...eh

First book is great, bought the second but haven't read it yet. Should be a terrific part for the lead actress as the main character changes a lot as the story unfolds.

 

[Dan]

Tons of IFC shows if you care.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Tons of IFC shows if you care.

Elna
A half-hour scripted comedy about what it's like to be Mormon and lose your faith. Elna Baker, a 27-year-old virgin in NYC, must cross over to the dark side in her search truth, life experience and autonomy. Starring written and executive produced by Elna Baker, and written and executive produced by Eric Gilliland (Roseanne). Executive produced by Left Right Productions (The Circus, Odd Mom Out).

Greener Grass
Based on a short film of the same name, the small town of Greener Grass is a living Norman Rockwell painting whose welcome sign boasts ”Nothing bad ever happens here." However, beneath the town's gilded facade lies a world of bad things happening. Starring, written and executive produced by Upright Citizens Brigade alums Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe.

The Last Hotel Detective
Ainsley Steele is an in-house private detective employed by the historic and luxurious Palace Hotel to solve guests' minor crimes and delicate mysteries. He is a character out of a Raymond Chandler novel living in a digital world and the last of his kind. Written and executive produced by Gabe Delahaye (Brad Neely's Harg Nallin' Sclopio Peepio).

Dr. Taco
Based on the non-fiction book by the same name. Six American misfits, unable to get into medical school in the U.S., instead find themselves getting a very hands-on education in a small medical clinic in Mexico, deep in the cartel-controlled mountains of Durango. Written and executive produced by Mike Barker (Family Guy, American Dad) Carlo Hart, Evan Sandman, and Keshet Studios.

Bad Beta
A brilliant female scientist, with relationship issues, is forced to care for the botched version of a billion-dollar artificial intelligence cyborg she created that unfortunately has the personality of a frat-jerk/party guy. Written and executive produced by Emmy-winning comedy writer Jay Kogen (The Simpsons, Fraiser, Malcom in the Middle).

New Hope
New Hope University is a well-known evangelical Christian college in the Midwest run by a world famous but aging and increasingly senile religious leader where a power struggle is afoot between jealous family members for control of the church and school. Written and executive produced by Emmy-nominated writer Boyd Hale (Late Night with David Letterman).

Lee's Kill List
Trapped in an oppressive work environment, Lee takes matters into her own hands by killing the bullies and bosses that threaten her job as a cleaning solution salesperson. Created, written and directed by Josh Ruben and Vince Peone.

These ones sound like they could be interesting.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

SundanceTV Orders Miniseries About the Emergence of HIV in Canada in the Early '80s

SundanceTV continues to add to its original lineup. The AMC-owned network has teamed up with Canada's CBC and ordered a miniseries about the emergence of HIV and Hepatitis C in Canada in the early 1980s, TV Guide has learned.

Titled Unspeakable, the eight-part series comes from Robert C. Cooper (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency) and chronicles the tragedy that occurred when thousands of people were unnecessarily infected by tainted blood. The series is based on first-person experiences and two non-fiction books: Bad Blood by Vic Parsons and The Gift of Death by Andre Picard.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

‘Sweetbitter’ Drama Based On Book From Plan B In Series Consideration At Starz

I hear Starz is ordering additional scripts and assembling a small writers room with an eye toward a potential straight-to-series order. This is a model the network has been using for its scripted series development, bypassing filming a pilot and instead setting up mini writers rooms on projects Starz brass are high on and evaluating multiple finished scripts before making a series greenlight decision.

Sweetbitter follows 22-year-old Tess who, shortly after arriving in New York City, lands a job at a celebrated downtown restaurant. Swiftly introduced to the world of drugs, alcohol, love, lust, dive bars, and fine dining, she learns to navigate the chaotically alluring, yet punishing life she has stumbled upon. This is the story of a young woman’s coming-of-age, set against the rich and grimy backdrop of exclusive restaurants, evoking the possibility, beauty, and fragility of being young and adrift.

The novel “Sweetbitter” was selected as an NPR Best Book of 2016 and ranked on the New York Times’ Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List, reaching #10.

Hooray for more half hour dramas!

 

[berzeli]

CBS All Access Greenlights Drama Series ‘Strange Angel’ & ‘$1’, First Comedy Series ‘No Activity’, Mulls More ‘Big Brother’

STRANGE ANGEL, a drama series created by Mark Heyman (Black Swan, The Wrestler) and based on George Pendle’s book of the same name, explores the dramatic intersection between genius and madness, science and science fiction. The story follows the life of Jack Parsons, a mysterious and brilliant man in 1940s Los Angeles, who by day helps birth the entirely unknown discipline of American rocketry, and by night is a performer of sex magic rituals and a disciple to occultist Aleister Crowley. Strange Angel will be produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Scott Free Productions. Mark Heyman, David DiGilio, Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker will serve as executive producers; Clayton Krueger as co-executive producer and David Lowery (A Ghost Story, Pete’s Dragon) will direct and executive produce.

NO ACTIVITY is a comedy series from Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Funny Or Die. In what should be a high stakes sting operation, No Activity celebrates the mundane. Set against the world of a major drug cartel bust, the series follows two low-level cops who have spent far too much time in a car together; two criminals who are largely kept in the dark; two dispatch workers who haven’t really clicked; and two Mexican tunnelers who are in way too small a space considering they’ve only just met. No Activity will be produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Gary Sanchez and Funny Or Die and is based on the Australian series produced by Jungle and broadcast by Stan. Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Patrick Brammall, Trent O’Donnell, Jason Burrows and Joe Farrell will serve as executive producers.

$1, A mystery/thriller set in a small rustbelt town in post-recession America, where a one-dollar bill changing hands connects a group of characters involved in a shocking multiple murder. The path of the dollar bill, and point of view in each episode, paints a picture of a modern American town with deep class and cultural divides that spill out into the open as the town’s secrets get revealed. $1 will be produced by CBS Television Studios. The series is created by Jason Mosberg. Matt DeRoss and Alexandre Dauman will serve as executive producers and Craig Zobel (Compliance, The Leftovers) will direct and executive produce.

I'm kind of interested in all of these? Or definitely the first two at least. Am... Am I getting converted into believing in CBS All-Access?

 

[Dan]

Strange Angel was formerly at AMC.

I'm having a hard time imagining how No Activity works as a series as opposed to a movie.

 

[TDLink]

Ah yes, Sex Magic Rituals

 

[berzeli]

‘Ascendant’: TV Series Based On the ‘Divergent’ Movie Franchise In Works At Starz From Lionsgate

A major title in Lionsgate’s movie library is eyeing a TV series adaptation at the company’s new subsidiary, Starz. I have learned that Starz is developing Ascendant, a drama TV series based on the Summit/Lionsgate movie franchise.

The project, which is in early stages, is being written/executive produced by Adam Cozad (Tarzan, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit) and directed/executive produced by Lee Toland Krieger (The Age Of Adaline). The two were previously attached to write and direct Ascendant when it was envisioned as a feature and fourth installment in the Divergent film series.

Please have blood, boobs, butts and schlong in your Divergent series Starz. I know you can do it!

 

[Norwegian Rudo]

I'm having a hard time imagining how No Activity works as a series as opposed to a movie.

I think you're imagining it as something different from what it is (or at least what the Australian original is).

That is an ultra low budget comedy that consists 98% of pairs of people talking to each other. The plot, such as it is, happens mostly in the background and is rarely seen.

 

[berzeli]

Ava DuVernay, Charles D. King’s Macro & Victoria Mahoney To Adapt Octavia E. Butler’s Sci-Fi Novel ‘Dawn’ For TV

A new dawn on the small screen is coming for Octavia E. Butler’s Dawn.

In what is remarkably the first time that Science Fiction Hall of Famer’s Butler’s work has been adapted for TV, Mahoney will pen the series about an African-American women who works with aliens to resurrect the human race 250 years after a nuclear war.

Edit: well I posted too early. The Coens are making a show for Netflix, made a thread

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Ava DuVernay, Charles D. King’s Macro & Victoria Mahoney To Adapt Octavia E. Butler’s Sci-Fi Novel ‘Dawn’ For TV

I hope it doesn't land at OWN...

 

[Decado]

‘Ascendant’: TV Series Based On the ‘Divergent’ Movie Franchise In Works At Starz From Lionsgate

Please have blood, boobs, butts and schlong in your Divergent series Starz. I know you can do it!

Only way I'd watch...

 

[berzeli]

ABC Signature Lands Julia Child As CIA Agent Dramedy Spec By Benjamin Brand

ABC Signature, the cable/digital division of ABC Studios, has landed the hot hourlong spec Julia, a darkly comedic dramedy about celebrity chef Julia Child from writer Benjamin Brand and ABC Signature Studios.

The fictional project is based on a true fact: before she was the world’s first celebrity chef, Julia Child was an agent for the OSS, the precursor to the CIA, during World War II. Extrapolating from that, Julia imagines a world where the CIA takes advantage of Julia Child’s newfound celebrity status and drags the French Chef back into action as a covert operative.
...
Brand drew inspiration for Julia from a 1990s PBS program titled Cooking for the C.I.A. “I was disappointed when I learned that in this case, the C.I.A. stood for the Culinary Institute of America,” Brand said. “Cooking Secrets of the Central Intelligence Agency always seemed like a more interesting show to me. Many years later, when I read a biography of Julia Child and learned about her experiences during World War II, working for the Office of Strategic Services — the precursor to the C.I.A. — the story of Julia quickly fell into place.”

This is just amazing.

Annapurna Television Acquires ‘The Changeling’ Novel To Develop As TV Series

Annapurna Television, the TV division of Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures, has acquired Victor LaValle’s new novel The Changeling to develop as a television series. The book, described as a mix of horror, fantasy and realism, was published on June 13 by Spiegel & Grau.

In The Challenging, when Apollo and Emma have their baby, Brian, it feels like both a reward and a challenge for the new dad. Apollo, the son of a single mother, had been scraping by as a bookseller who hunts estate and garage sales for rare first editions, so even the unusual circumstance of Brian’s birth (on a stalled subway train) seems like a blessing, as does the way Apollo stumbles across a first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird (inscribed by Harper Lee to Truman Capote, no less) shortly thereafter. But after some young-parent squabbles and inexplicable images on their smartphones foreshadow trouble, the story turns nightmarish

White House Political Drama From Berlanti Prods. Gets NBC Put Pilot Commitment

In a competitive situation, NBC, the network that aired the Emmy-winning The West Wing, has landed Republic, a White House drama from the Blindspot team of co-executive producer Alex Berger, creator/exec producer Martin Gero and Greg Berlanti’s Berlanti Prods. and Warner Bros. TV, which produce the NBC series. Republic has received a put pilot commitment from the network.
...
Republic is described as “a hopeful political drama,” which follows the newly minted female Chief of Staff to a "moderate" Republican president. With their administration in dire crisis, they find themselves under fire from extremists on both sides, defending their "well-intentioned" actions both politically and legally.

Fuck off.

 

[Cornballer]

- ‘Justified’ Producers Developing Elmore Leonard Detroit Novels As TV Series

Justified executive producers Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman are returning to the works of Elmore Leonard, optioning three of the late author’s praised Detroit novels as the basis for a new TV series targeted for cable and streaming networks.

Via their Timberman-Beverly production company, which is based at CBS TV Studios, the duo has optioned Unknown Man #89, Pagan Babies and Mr. Paradise and is actively exploring other Detroit novels by Leonard as well.

Written by Tod “Kip” Williams (Door in the Floor), the series adaptation is envisioned as focusing on one novel each season, with characters occasionally appearing in multiple seasons as they often did in Leonard’s novels. Additionally, novels may spawn related, but narratively original seasons, based on featured or tangential characters and storylines in the original books.

Timberman and Beverly will executive produce with Elmore Leonard’s son, author Peter Leonard (Quiver, Unknown Remains), and their frequent collaborator Kerry Schmidt. Producers are out to directors with the goal of bringing the project to market later this year.

Leonard, often called the “Dickens of Detroit” wrote 12 crime novels set in the once-heralded city. Once America’s third largest city, and by many measures its wealthiest, Detroit declared bankruptcy in 2013 and has seen the mass exodus of its once proud population.

In addition to Justified, based on Leonard’s short story “Fire in the Hole,” which ran on FX for six seasons, Timberman-Beverly’s series credits include Elementary, Masters of Sex, and new CBS fall drama Seal Team.

Williams, who has written multiple Leonard adaptations in addition to adaptations of John Irving and Stephen King, is repped by ICM Partners. Timberman-Beverly Prods. and Schmidt are repped by CAA. Leonard is repped by Amy Schiffman at Intellectual Property Group.

 

[captjohnboyd]

- ‘Justified’ Producers Developing Elmore Leonard Detroit Novels As TV Series

I adored justified but I kind of got annoyed by the end of the series that Boyd, this supposed badass, literally NEVER got a win. Like never. Is was basically him stumbling from one ill conceived plot to another. Still watching him and raylen together was never not a treat.

I'm also a massive Elmore fan and his stuff (caveat: when done well) is always amazing so I'll be looking forward to this.

Side question for cornballer. Any new news on the passage series? Is it going to be a train wreck? Please say yes and no in the order

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Any new news on the passage series? Is it going to be a train wreck? Please say yes and no in the order

The network's small screen take on Justin Cronin's fantasy book trilogy is now being redeveloped for 2018-19 season consideration. To that end, the project - which shot a pilot off-cycle with an eye towards a midseason order - is opening a writers' room and may undergo reshoots.

Source

 

[Cornballer]

- Variety: Matthew Weiner’s ‘The Romanoffs’ Sets Creative Team

“Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner has filled out the creative team for his return to series television, Amazon’s “The Romanoffs.”

Produced by The Wenstein Company, “The Romanoffs” has added executive producer and writer Semi Chellas (“Mad Men”); co-executive producers Kriss Turner Towner (“The Bernie Mac Show”), Blake McCormick (“Mad Men”), and Kathy Ciric (“Z: The Beginning of Everything”); and consulting producers and writers Andre Jacquemetton (“Mad Men”) and Maria Jacquemetton (“Mad Men”).

In addition, the series has added director of photography Chris Manley (“Mad Men”); costume designers Janie Bryant (“Mad Men”) and Wendy Chuck (“Spotlight”); production designers Henry Dunn (“Mad Men”) and Christopher Brown (“Mad Men; Hair and make-up heads Theraesa Rivers (“Mad Men”) and Lana Horochowski (“Mad Men”); and casting directors Carrie Audino (“Mad Men”), Laura Schiff (“Mad Men”), and Kendra Clark (“Mad Men”).

“It’s an honor to be working with these exceptional storytellers and collaborators–many of whom I know from Mad Men—and all of whom are wonderful artists with incredible vision,” said Weiner, creator and executive producer. “We are all looking forward to bringing this unique project to life.”

“The Romanoffs” will consist of eight hour-long episodes, each of which will tell a standalone story with no recurring plot elements or actors. Each episode will tell the stories of people in contemporary times who believe they are descendants of the imperial family that ruled Russia from 1613 until the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917.

Weiner will direct all eight episodes. The cast includes Aaron Eckhart, “Mad Men” alums Christina Hendricks and John Slattery, Isabelle Huppert, Jack Huston, Amanda Peet, and Marthe Keller. Harvey Weinstein also serve as executive producer.

 

[Cornballer]

- Deadline: ‘Mogadishu, Minnesota’ Pilot From K’naan Warsame & Kathryn Bigelow Not Going Forward At HBO

HBO has opted not to proceed with its drama pilot Mogadishu, Minnesota, written, directed and executive produced by rapper K’naan Warsame and executive produced by Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker‘s Kathryn Bigelow.

“Mogadishu, Minnesota will not be moving forward as a series,” HBO said in a statement to Deadline. “We value the relationship we’ve built working with the talented K’Naan Warsame and hope to have a chance to work with him in the future.

Mogadishu, Minnesota is a family drama that grapples with what it means to be American – among the Somalis of Minneapolis. It was ordered to pilot in June 2016, along with Adam McKay’s Succession, which was picked up to series in February.

The project was subject to scrutiny from the get-go. The filming of the pilot in Minneapolis faced objections from some in the local Somalian community who were concerned that the show may reinforce stereotypes that Muslims in the U.S. are involved in terrorist cells. While terrorism was part of the plot of Mogadishu, Minnesota, HBO executives have stressed in interviews that it was a small part and the drama was mostly about how young Somali Americans are torn between holding to their parents traditions and embracing American culture.

 

[Dan]

That's disappointing, but not surprising.

 

[Cornballer]

- CBS Developing ‘L.A. Confidential’ Drama Series Based On James Ellroy Novel With Arnon Milchan Producing

CBS has put in development L.A. Confidential, a drama based on James Ellroy’s noir classic novel, from Oscar-nominated producer Arnon Milchan, who produced the 1997 movie, and his New Regency, Gotham and The Mentalist producer Jordan Harper, Lionsgate Television and CBS Television Studios.

Written by Harper, L.A. Confidential follows three homicide detectives, a female reporter and a Hollywood actress whose paths intersect as the detectives pursue a sadistic serial killer through the seedy underbelly of glamorous 1950s Los Angeles. Harper executive produces with Milchan and his New Regency, which produces with Lionsgate TV and CBS Television Studios.

L.A. Confidential is the third of Ellroy’s L.A. Quartet book series. The novel was adapted for a 1997 film of the same name, directed and co-written by Curtis Hanson, produced by Milchan and starring Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Kim Basinger, David Strathairn and Danny DeVito. The film received nine Oscar nominations, winning best supporting actress for Basinger and best adapted screenplay for Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland.

In addition to L.A. Confidential, Milchan also was nominated for a best picture Oscar as producer on Leonardo DiCaprio starrer The Revenant, which earned DiCaprio the Best Actor Oscar and Alejandro G. Iñárritu Best Director. His producer credits include Brazil, Once Upon A Time In America, The King of Comedy, Fight Club, 12 Years A Slave, Birdman and The Big Short.

Harper served as producer and writer on Bruno Heller-created CBS drama series The Mentalist and Fox’s Gotham.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Ryan Murphy’s Nurse Ratched Origin Series Starring Sarah Paulson Scores Big Netflix Order

In a very competitive situation, Netflix has landed Ratched, a marquee new drama series from Ryan Murphy, with Sarah Paulson set to star as a younger version of the diabolical Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and the film’s producer Michael Douglas set to executive produce alongside Murphy.

In one of the biggest deals of the year, which I hear followed a bidding war among Netflix, Hulu and Apple, Ratched scored a two-season, 18-episode, straight-to-series order at Netflix. Production on the drama, from Fox 21 TV Studios, is slated to begin sometime in mid-2018, with Murphy directing the opening episode as he does on all of his series.

Ratched is an origins story, beginning in 1947, which will follow Ratched’s (Paulson) journey and evolution from nurse to full-fledged monster. The series will track her murderous progression through the mental health care system.

 

[berzeli]

Film->TV sure is hot these days

- CBS Developing ‘L.A. Confidential’ Drama Series Based On James Ellroy Novel With Arnon Milchan Producing

This I can see working. Not that I think it will be great, but it can be worked into a CBS procedural. Especially since it is a period piece they can claim that it's historically accurate that the cast is nearly all white + a non threatening minority!

Ryan Murphy’s Nurse Ratched Origin Series Starring Sarah Paulson Scores Big Netflix Order

This though.
I have a high tolerance for Ryan Murphy and I don't want this. Like, Nurse Ratched doesn't need a fucking origin story. And US mental care at that period was enough of a horror story on its own.
Fuck this.

 

[berzeli]

From head writer of The Bridge comes the first Swedish original series for Netflix, Störst av Allt (Quicksand)

Continuing its investment in Europe, Netflix is partnering with award-winning production company FLX (Bonusfamiljen/The Bonus Family and The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared) to bring its first Swedish original series to Netflix members globally.

Störst av Allt (Quicksand) is based on the best-selling novel by Malin Persson Giolito which has been published in 26 countries and was voted Nordic Crime Novel of the year in 2016. When a mass shooting takes place at a prep school in Stockholm's wealthiest suburb, a normal high school student, Maja Norberg, finds herself on trial for murder. When the events of that tragic day are revealed, so too are the private details about her relationship with Sebastian Fagerman and his dysfunctional family.

Of course it's a bloody Nordic Noir. The most interesting thing about this so far is that the English title has nothing to do with the Swedish one. A direct translation would be "Greatest/biggest of all", but sure call it Quicksand it's so likely to be mediocre in any case so who cares.

 

[Pachimari]

From head writer of The Bridge comes the first Swedish original series for Netflix, Störst av Allt (Quicksand)

Of course it's a bloody Nordic Noir. The most interesting thing about this so far is that the English title has nothing to do with the Swedish one. A direct translation would be "Greatest/biggest of all", but sure call it Quicksand it's so likely to be mediocre in any case so who cares.

Scandinavian titles are almost always translated into something entirely different lol. I remember Under Sandet > Land of Mine recently.

Why is it to be mediocre though? I thought Scandinavian crime stuff was considered the best.

 

[WaffleTaco]

How the hell does Ryan Murphy have this much time? How many series is he working on at this point?

 

[dcll]

Any info on Taboo season 2? I was surprised by the first season and am looking forward to a second

 

[berzeli]

Scandinavian titles are almost always translated into something entirely different lol. I remember Under Sandet > Land of Mine recently.

Why is it to be mediocre though? I thought Scandinavian crime stuff was considered the best.

Sure, but this one seems particularly nonsensical. I guess quicksand because she sinks deeper into trouble or something? idk, the tone of the two titles are just wildly different.

Eh, I'm just indifferent to a lot of it. I don't even care for The Bridge which is the biggest one out there.

How the hell does Ryan Murphy have this much time? How many series is he working on at this point?

He's the gay Greg Berlanti. Wait. fuck. Er, the gay-er Greg Berlanti?

I think it helps that he isn't writing all of his shows, from the article:

Like he has done before, Emmy winner Murphy is taking a chance on a newcomer writer with Ratched. The project was created by Evan Romansky who, fresh out of film school, penned the script on spec.

Any info on Taboo season 2? I was surprised by the first season and am looking forward to a second

It's been confirmed for a second series. Shooting will (hopefully) start in 2018

 

[RatskyWatsky]

How the hell does Ryan Murphy have this much time? How many series is he working on at this point?

American Horror Story (writer, director, producer)
American Crime Story (director, producer)
Feud (writer, director, producer)
9-1-1 (writer, producer)
Ratched (director, producer)
Pose (writer, director, producer) (hasn't been picked up to series yet)

 

[Cornballer]

- Showtime Picks Up ‘Ball Street’ Comedy Pilot; Don Cheadle & Andrew Rannells Star

House Of Lies star Don Cheadle is returning to Showtime with another half-hour comedy set in the business world. Cheadle and Andrew Rannells (Girls) have been tapped to star in the half-hour Wall Street comedy Ball Street, which has been formally greenlighted to pilot by the premium cable network. The project hails from Happy Endings creator David Caspe, Black List writer Jordan Cahan (My Best Friend’s Girl), Seth Gordon & Even Goldberg (Preacher) and Sony Pictures TV Studios.

Caspe and Cahan, who are lifelong friends, wrote the script and will serve as showrunners. Gordon and Goldberg will direct the pilot, slated to begin production in February.The four will executive produce the project, which will be a co-production between Showtime and Sony TV where Caspe, Gordon and Goldberg have been under overall deals.

Ball Street takes us back to October 19, 1987 – aka Black Monday – the worst stock market crash in the history of Wall Street. To this day, no one knows who caused it. Until now… Ball Street is the story of how a group of outsiders took on the blue-blood, old-boys club of Wall Street and ended up crashing the world’s largest financial system, a Lamborghini limousine, Don Henley’s birthday party, and the glass ceiling.

Cheadle will play Rod “The Jammer” Jaminski, a self-educated, self-made, self-destructive master of the universe whose firm the financial press called, “The L.A. Raiders of corporate raiders.” Rannells plays Blair Shmerman, a fresh-out-of-Wharton trading prodigy whose pure heart will struggle to survive Wall Street (from both a metaphoric and cocaine standpoint). The project’s third main character — yet to be cast — is Jammer’s top lieutenant, Dawn Darcy, the first female head trader on the street, who’ll ride the second wave of feminism through a sea of horny millionaires.

 

[torre_avenue]

Amazon picks up 4 pilots.

- Upload: " a single-camera comedy pilot from The Office creator Greg Daniels"
- Making Friends, a multi-camera one from How I Met Your Mother creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, exec produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg via Sony TV
- Untitled Fred Armisen-Maya Rudolph show: "The Armisen-Rudolph single-camera comedy is written by Master Of None co-creator Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard, reuniting after working together on Parks & Recreation. It marks Armisen's followup series to Portlandia, which is finishing its eight-season run on IFC."
- Tong Wars: "a drama from filmmaker Wong Kar-wai and Homicide creator Paul Attanasio" All episodes seem to be directed by Wong Kar-Wai. Story "is set against the Tong Wars of 19th century San Francisco."

Netflix orders "The Green Beret's Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse", "a hybrid scripted/unscripted comedy written, produced by and starring two military veterans, Shawn Vance, a former United States Special forces Green Beret, and Daril Fanin, a former combat army medic"

The duo brought the idea for a real-life ”survival guide" series to Matt Damon who, along with Jennifer Todd, came on board to executive produce through their Pearl Street Films. They in turn brought the project to Peter Berg, Matt Goldberg and Brandon Carroll of Film 45, who also executive are producing.

The Green Beret's Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse is a hybrid action comedy, described as a mix of a survival show full of usable survival skills and how-to's as well as smart low-brow humor. It is an anthology series, with each episode chronicling its own contained apocalypse as survived by the show's hero, Shawn (Vance).

The unconventional comedy received a green light from Netflix, and I hear it recently wrapped production on its eight-episode order in Vancouver, Canada.

 

[Cornballer]

A little extra flavor from the Variety article: Jeff Bezos Mandates Programming Shift at Amazon Studios

The mandate from Jeff Bezos is clear: Bring me “Game of Thrones.”

That’s the word that has the creative community buzzing this week about a major strategy shift underway for Amazon Studios’ original series efforts.

The CEO of the e-commerce giant is said to have tasked Amazon Studios chief Roy Price with honing the focus on high-end drama series with global appeal. Amazon’s decision this week to scrap plans for a second season of period drama “Z: The Beginning of Everything” reflects the new marching orders.

In an interview on Friday, Price told Variety that there is a new focus on finding “big shows that can make the biggest difference around the world” in growing Amazon Video’s reach and Amazon Prime subscribers. “Tong Wars,” the drama penned by Paul Attanasio and directed by Wong, is a prime example of a period piece that blends the epic history of Chinese immigration to the U.S. with a crime potboiler. “It’s a very compelling show,” he said.

Price said the strategic course has been informed by the wealth of data available to Amazon and is the consensus of senior management, including Bezos.

“It comes out of analysis of the data and conversations among the leadership team,” Price said. “We’ve been looking at the data for some time, and as a team we’re increasingly focused on the impact of the biggest shows. It’s pretty evident that it takes big shows to move the needle.”

Price cited Amazon’s “Man in the High Castle,” the unscripted “Grand Tour,” and the new comedy “The Tick” as examples of existing shows that fit the bill of having global appeal. And he doesn’t mince words about his interest in finding a show that packs the wallop of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”

“I do think ‘Game of Thrones’ is to TV as ‘Jaws’ and ‘Star Wars’ was to the movies of the 1970s,” Price said. “It’ll inspire a lot of people. Everybody wants a big hit and certainly that’s the show of the moment in terms of being a model for a hit.”

 

[Cornballer]

- ‘The Machine’ AI Pilot Not Going Forward At Syfy

- ‘The Greatest American Hero’ Reboot With Female Lead Gets Big ABC Commitment

A re-imagining of Steven J. Cannell’s 1981 cult classic The Greatest American Hero is flying back to development with a new creative team, a big new commitment and a big twist.

ABC has given a put pilot commitment to the half-hour single-camera project. In it, the unlikely (super)hero at the center — Ralph Hinkley (played by William Katt) in the original series — is Meera, an Indian-American woman. The Greatest American Hero comes from Fresh Off the Boat writer-producer Rachna Fruchbom and Nahnatchka Khan’s Fierce Baby. 20th Century Fox TV, where Fierce Baby is based and Fruchbom recently signed an overall deal, will co-produce with ABC Studios.

Written by Fruchbom, the re-imagining of Greatest American Hero centers on Meera, a 30-year-old Indian-American woman from Cleveland whose talents include tequila drinking, karaoke and not much else. Then some aliens entrust her with a super suit to protect the planet, and the world has never been in more unreliable hands.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

A little extra flavor from the Variety article: Jeff Bezos Mandates Programming Shift at Amazon Studios

And yet they're reducing their overall budget on originals...

 

[Cornballer]

And yet they're reducing their overall budget on originals...

Article claims they aren't, but they're not releasing numbers.

There’s been speculation about Amazon reining in its development expenditures — something that Price flatly denies. Amazon’s aggregate spending on original content will be up in 2018 versus this year, he said, although he would not cite specific dollar figures.

 

[torre_avenue]

- ‘The Greatest American Hero’ Reboot With Female Lead Gets Big ABC Commitment

Holy shit, an Indian woman????

I honestly feel like this part was written for Mindy Kaling, or more realistically Tiya Sircar.

DON'T FUCK THIS UP, ABC.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Article claims they aren't, but they're not releasing numbers.

Iiiiinteresting...