Support NeoGAF

[BluWacky]

Pushing Daisies' Lee Pace to Headline AMC Period Drama Halt & Catch Fire

Lee Pace = yay!

Breaking Bad EP = yay!

Slightly odd sounding tech drama = hmmm!

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Pushing Daisies' Lee Pace to Headline AMC Period Drama Halt & Catch Fire

Scoot McNairy Joins AMC Pilot Halt and Catch Fire

Scoot McNairy, who appeared in three episodes of Bones as a spy-slash-informant working for Booth and Brennan, has been cast opposite Lee Pace in AMC’s drama pilot Halt and Catch Fire, TVLine has learned.

 

[Clevinger]

That's one unfortunate name.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

SYFY GREENLIGHTS NEW SCRIPTED SERIES HELIX FOR 2013

Syfy is giving a 13-episode greenlight to Helix (working title), its newest original scripted series for 2013, it was announced today by Mark Stern, President of Original Content, Syfy and Co-Head Original Content, Universal Cable Productions. Helix is Executive Produced by Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica), Lynda Obst (Sleepless in Seattle, Contact), Steven Maeda (Lost, CSI: Miami, The X-Files) and Cameron Porsandeh, who wrote the pilot, will serve as Co-Executive Producer. The series will be produced by Sony Pictures Television.

Helix is an intense thriller about a team of scientists from the Centers for Disease Control who travel to a high-tech research facility in the Arctic to investigate a possible disease outbreak, only to find themselves pulled into a terrifying life-and-death struggle that holds the key to mankind’s salvation or total annihilation.

Helix is expected to begin production early in 2013 to debut later this year.

 

[beat]

I'm nearly a year late with this, but Maria Thayer / Andy Blitz's "Pilot Season" webseries is hilarious. Writeup here or linked off Thayer's FunnyOrDie page.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

SYFY GREENLIGHTS NEW SCRIPTED SERIES HELIX FOR 2013

Pretty much The Thing: The Series.

BEAR MCCREARY FOR SOUNDTRACK PLEASE.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Pretty much The Thing: The Series.

BEAR MCCREARY FOR SOUNDTRACK PLEASE.

Yep. Make it so, Syfy!

 

[Cornballer]

- Deadline: Ang Lee To Direct FX Pilot ‘Tyrant’ From Howard Gordon, Gideon Raff & Craig Wright

On the heels of winning his second directing Oscar for Life of Pi, Ang Lee will make his television directorial debut with FX’s high-profile drama pilot Tyrant, from Homeland executive producers Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff and Six Feet Under alum Craig Wright. This represents a major coup for FX and Tyrant producers Fox 21 and FX Prods. as Lee had been approached numerous times for pilots, but this is the first one he has committed to. In addition to directing, Lee is executive producing Tyrant, his first project following Life of Pi. It tells the story of an unassuming American family drawn into the workings of a turbulent Middle Eastern nation. The series was created by Raff and developed by Gordon and Wright. Raff wrote the pilot, which comes from Gordon’s 20th TV-based company Teakwood Lane. “Ang Lee has demonstrated time and again an ability to present characters with such depth and specificity that they reveal the universal human condition,” said FX president John Landgraf. “No one could be a more perfect film maker to bring Howard Gordon, Gideon Raff, and Craig Wright’s Tyrant to indelible life.”

Nice get for FX.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

- Deadline: Ang Lee To Direct FX Pilot ‘Tyrant’ From Howard Gordon, Gideon Raff & Craig WrightNice get for FX.

That's a pretty massive coup for FX.

They sure have a lot of promising drama projects in development: The Bridge, Tyrant, and The Strain from Guillermo del Toro. Hopefully the latter two get picked up to series.

 

[Cornballer]

They sure have a lot of promising drama projects in development: The Bridge, Tyrant, and The Strain from Guillermo del Toro. Hopefully the latter two get picked up to series.

Yeah, there's some potentially good stuff coming up. I'm looking forward to True Detective on HBO and Low Winter Sun on AMC, too.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

J.J. Feild Cast In AMC Pilot ‘Turn’

British actor J.J. Feild (Captain America: The First Avenger) has been cast in AMC‘s pilot Turn. Written by Craig Silverstein based on the book Washington’s Spies and directed by Rupert Wyatt, Turn is set in the summer of 1778 and tells the story of New York farmer Abe Woodhull (Jamie Bell), who bands together with a group of childhood friends to form The Culper Ring, an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America’s fight for independence.

David Wilson Barnes Joins AMC Pilot ‘Halt’

David Wilson Barnes (You Don’t Know Jack) has been cast in AMC‘s drama pilot Halt & Catch Fire. Set in the early 1980s, it dramatizes the personal computing boom through the eyes of a visionary, Joe (Lee Pace); an engineer, Gordon (Scoot McNairy); and a prodigy, Cameron (Mackenzie Davis), whose innovations directly confront the corporate behemoths of the time. Barnes, repped by Innovative Artists, will play Dale Barnes, SVP of Sales, North America, for IBM. He is Joe’s foil, with the conflict between these two men being personal as much as it is professional.

Comedy ‘Getting On’ Picked Up To Series By HBO

Big Love creators Mark V. Olsen & Will Scheffer are returning to HBO’s primetime. The pay cable network has picked up the duo’s comedy pilot Getting On to series with a six-episode order. An U.S. version of the award-winning BBC Four medical comedy of the same name, HBO’s Getting On stars Laurie Metcalf, Alex Borstein and Niecy Nash. Set in a women’s geriatric extended care wing of a down-at-the-heels hospital as put-upon nurses, it follows anxious doctors and administrators as they struggle with the darkly comic, brutally honest and quietly compassionate realities of caring for the elderly in an overwhelmed healthcare system.

I really wish HBO hadn't passed on Olsen & Scheffer's mixed race android family drama. ;__;

 

[Flash]

Interesting.

I think they were shooting the pilot for this very close to me (in Toronto) this morning. Almost missed my pharmacy school interview because they wouldn't let me cross the street to get to the subway lol

 

[RatskyWatsky]

FX Teams With Stephen Gaghan For Limited Series About The Vietnam War

FX Developing Limited Series About The Fall Of The Inca Empire

*bow* FX/FXX/FXM *bow*

 

[ivysaur12]

Broadcast pilots should be wrapping over the next week or so. Then we get the first WHAT'S HOT WHAT'S NOT that's just gossip. FUN.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Cinemax Orders 1970s Drama Quarry

Looking to further expand its original programming slate, Cinemax has ordered a ’70s-set drama pilot titled Quarry, TVLine has learned.

Based loosely on a series of books by Max Allen Collins, the project centers on a Marine marksman who, upon returning home from Vietnam in 1973, finds himself shunned by those he loves and demonized by the public. The disillusioned vet is quickly recruited into a network of contract killers and corruption spanning the Mississippi River.

Sounds awesome.

 

[TheOddOne]

Cinemax Orders 1970s Drama Quarry

Sounds awesome.

Do want.

John Hillcoat (Lawless, The Road), meanwhile, serves as EP and director of the pilot.

 

[Dan]

FX Teams With Stephen Gaghan For Limited Series About The Vietnam War

FX Developing Limited Series About The Fall Of The Inca Empire

*bow* FX/FXX/FXM *bow*

Cinemax Orders 1970s Drama Quarry



Sounds awesome.

These sound interesting, although I'd really like to see more modern dramas. Does everything really have to be a period piece?

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Does everything really have to be a period piece?

Yes. Yes it does.

 

[ivysaur12]

From Deadline (also, these are not even worth anything this stage in the game BUT IT'S FUN):

Locks: SHIELD (ABC), Mom (CBS), The Originals (the CW)

ABC:

- Big Thunder is a front runner (I've heard the script is good, I can't get over the origins of the show to read it).
- Venice, Betrayal, Gothica all are strong
- Reckless, The Returned are dark horses.

- Bad Management is a frontrunner
- Cullen Bros., How the Hell am I Normal?, Trophy Wife are solid.
- Early order Super Fun Night is strong, especially since Rebel Wilson is becoming a legit star.

Fox:

- Andy Samberg cop comedy is a frontrunner
- Dads may go on Sunday
- Enlisted and I Suck at Girls are getting buzz on the "male" side
- Us And Them and To My Future Assistant getting buzz.
- The Gabriels is a possibility

- Rake is the frontrunner (Why? I have no idea)
- Gang Related and The List will fight out for a spot, Gang Related seems to have the edge
- Sleep Hollow "gaining momentum"
- Boomerang solid
- Inhuman not delivered

CBS:

- Mom on the schedule even though it hasn't been shot.
- CBS will pick up 1 to 2 single cams (I would have though 2 to 3, but I understand the hesitation)
- Super Clyde is the early frontrunner
- The other two single cam ones that are strong are The McCarthy's (Ivy's favorite comedy pilot script from this season) and Crazy Ones.
- Friends With Better Lives solid with multicam pedigree.
- Debra Messing and Matthew Broderick haven't gotten a lot of buzz because of their late casting, but still in the mix.
- Rules of Engagement not returning
- Likely to open another block of comedy, either on Thursday or somewhere else. That would open up 3 spots plus 1 at midseason (which would mean that it'll be Mom & a multi-cam, plus two single cams)

- NCIS:Red not received that well, but it's a top contender.
- Beverly Hills Cop hot
- Hostages also hot
- Others in the running are: Second Sight, Intelligence, Backstrom


NBC:

- The Sixth Gun is a surprising front runner (One of Ivy's favorite scripts from this year and one of the few broadcast drama scripts worth a damn this season)
- Believe also hot
- The Blacklist hot
- Committed to I Am Victor, even though there were huge creative differences between the network and creative
- Unt. Rand Ravich is also in the running

- Sean Hayes, Assistance hot (Assistance is good, and Bycel/Fener are great people)
- Looks like Revolution and Grimm will get early renewals next week. Heard this too.
- The Gates, Welcome to the Family, Undateable, and About a Boy also in the running.
- One of Greg Daniels's pilots likely to get on the schedule

CW:

- The 100 is hot
- Oxygen is getting good buzz.
- The Selection isn't a lock, but considerably improved from last year's
- Reign has nice visuals


Again, none of this means anything for another week or so when they start to do testing and screenings.

http://www.deadline.com/2013/04/primetime-pilot-panic-the-early-buzz/

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Starz Developing Vietnam Drama From ‘Spartacus’ Producer

Starz has put in development Airborne, a drama series from writer Gideon Yago (The Newsroom) and Spartacus executive producer Rob Tapert. Airborne is a coming-of-age story set at the dawn of the Vietnam War. It follows a young helicopter crew as they fight for survival, sanity, their souls, and each other in a country — and war — that are descending into chaos.

:O

 

[TheOddOne]

That sounds freaking awesome.

 

[TheOddOne]

Syfy On Galaxy Quest With Order To Bryan Fuller Pilot, Other Space Series In Development

Over the past year, Syfy has been quietly amassing a slate of space/alien drama projects with the goal of launching a new series in the genre that has felt a void after the end of Battlestar Galactica. The effort started in February 2012 with the decision to develop a series adaptation of the 2010 supernatural Sony movie Legion with the film’s director Scott Stewart. The network went on to take in Georgeville TV’s adaptation of British classic Blakes 7, Bryan Fuller’s High Noon and several other projects. Today, High Noon was ordered to pilot, with several other space projects remaining in development.

High Moon is described as an imaginative, out-of-this-world series exploring what happens when the countries of Earth establish colonies to mine the Moon’s resources and discover a new form of life. Chaos erupts in a genuinely emotional, humorously thrilling and always unexpected fashion as the people of the Moon race to uncover this life form’s powerful secrets. Co-executive producer/writer: Jim Danger Gray (Pushing Daisies). Executive producer/writer: Bryan Fuller. The pilot is written by Gray from a story by Fuller and Gray. Executive producers: Cary Granat & Steve Granat of Reel FX and Don Murphy & Susan Montford of Angry Films. Studio: UCP.

 

[Clevinger]

That Bryan Fuller Syfy thing is taking forever. Feels like it was years and years ago that I first heard about it.

 

[smr00]

SHIELD is the only one of that list where i would bet cash money it gets renewed for a 2nd season.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

That Bryan Fuller Syfy thing is taking forever. Feels like it was years and years ago that I first heard about it.

Really? This is the first time I've heard about it. Sounds really cool.

 

[Bladenic]

That HBO series Getting On sounds cool.

Crazy Ones is the SMG series right? I hope that turns out well. I didn't know it was single cam, didn't know CBS was in the business of making those.

 

[ivysaur12]

That HBO series Getting On sounds cool.

Crazy Ones is the SMG series right? I hope that turns out well. I didn't know it was single cam, didn't know CBS was in the business of making those.

They have 4-5 single cam pilots this year.

 

[Bladenic]

They have 4-5 single cam pilots this year.

Right but that's mostly a change from the past few years (decade maybe?) no?

 

[ivysaur12]

Right but that's mostly a change from the past few years (decade maybe?) no?

Yes.

 

[BluWacky]

That HBO series Getting On sounds cool.

The British original is very, very dark - I hope it either gets a straight adaptation or a sensible reversioning (like The Thick Of It -> Veep, rather than Free Agents UK -> Free Agents US, for instance).

 

[Clevinger]

Really? This is the first time I've heard about it. Sounds really cool.

Yup. It's been almost three years since it was first announced.

 

[ivysaur12]

@Variety_Cynthia 3m
Buzz on ABC's 'SHIELD' is predictably strong. Hearing it's meant to be fairly family-friendly. Time slot talk: Sun-9, Tues-8, Thurs-8

My bet is Thurs at 8.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Pretty excited for SHIELD

 

[Dan]

That High Noon project could be interesting. I'm honestly not really familiar with Bryan Fuller at all however, besides that first episode of Hannibal.

Pretty excited for SHIELD

Now called Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. Needed more branding.

 

[beat]

Yup. It's been almost three years since it was first announced.

So you're saying it's a few years younger than that still-stalled Pushing Daisies comic?

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

That High Noon project could be interesting. I'm honestly not really familiar with Bryan Fuller at all however, besides that first episode of Hannibal.



Now called Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. Needed more branding.

That. Is. Lame.

 

[ivysaur12]

That. Is. Lame.

It's not official.

 

[NathanMcMahon]

My bet is Thurs at 8.

That would be a bold move on their part. They've been grasping at the carcass of Must See Tv for years now. I'm not sure the shit network that is NBC has the balls to try new things that might succeed.

 

[Link]

Now called Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. Needed more branding.

Joss Whedon Presents: Disney's Marvel's Agents of SHIELD

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Ryan Murphy’s Provocative Relationship Drama ‘Open’ Lands At HBO With Pilot Order

Open, which Murphy co-wrote with Dexter co-executive producer Lauren Gussis, is described as a modern, provocative exploration of human sexuality and relationships.

:/

 

[TJ Bennett]

Beverly Hills Cop is a sure thing. CBS would be insane not to pick it up. I think it'll be a perfect fit in the Monday @ 10pm slot.

 

[Cornballer]

A piece of news from last month that slipped under my radar, apparently Neil Gaiman's American Gods adaptation at HBO is still moving forward. I haven't heard any news on this project in a long time, but this sounds promising:

The premiere episode of American Gods will be a lot like the opening chapters of the book, but will also contain new elements and details.

The first two seasons of the show will consist of the book. By then Gaiman hopes to have the American Gods sequel novel written and headed for release.

American Gods will debut this year if Gaiman can get the pilot script done in time to HBO's satisfaction.

Take that with a grain of salt given that this isn't through official channels, and the last point sounds somewhat dubious given how long it takes to get production up and running.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

and the last point sounds somewhat dubious given how long it takes to get production up and running.

Seriously. If he doesn't even have the pilot script done, there's no way in hell it's going to premiere this year. Nice to know that it's still in development though.

AMC Developing Sci-Fi Drama

AMC has put in development Ballistic City, a futuristic drama directed and executive produced by Oblivion helmer Joseph Kosinski and written/executive produced by Travis Beacham, co-writer of another upcoming tentpole sci-fi movie, Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim.

Ballistic City is described as “Blade Runner meets Battlestar Galactica” and tells the story of a former cop thrust into the criminal underworld of a city housed in a generational space ship destined for an unknown world. I hear the project is eyed as a potential companion to AMC’s genre blockbuster The Walking Dead.

:O

 

[ivysaur12]

Beverly Hills Cop is a sure thing. CBS would be insane not to pick it up. I think it'll be a perfect fit in the Monday @ 10pm slot.

Pretty much. We should start to get a clear picture this week.

 

[Dan]

Ballistic City - I definitely like the idea of doing a show on a generational starship. I wonder if this idea spiraled out of development of the Red Mars adaptation that AMC had once been working on. Maybe they liked the stuff on the starship but didn't see how it was feasible or cost effective to jettison the whole starship set and move onto Mars, as the book does about halfway through.

Not sure how much faith I have in that talent doing an intelligent show, however. The writer of Clash of the Titans (which was boring as shit) and Pacific Rim (which looks fun, but certainly not smart).

A piece of news from last month that slipped under my radar, apparently Neil Gaiman's American Gods adaptation at HBO is still moving forward. I haven't heard any news on this project in a long time, but this sounds promising:Take that with a grain of salt given that this isn't through official channels, and the last point sounds somewhat dubious given how long it takes to get production up and running.

American Gods will debut this year if Gaiman can get the pilot script done in time to HBO's satisfaction.

LOL

At best a pilot might begin production.

It's not official.

You sure about that? Seems pretty official to me. http://abcallaccess.com/show/marvels-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d/

 

[ivysaur12]

Ballistic City - I definitely like the idea of doing a show on a generational starship. I wonder if this idea spiraled out of development of the Red Mars adaptation that AMC had once been working on. Maybe they liked the stuff on the starship but didn't see how it was feasible or cost effective to jettison the whole starship set and move onto Mars, as the book does about halfway through.

Not sure how much faith I have in that talent doing an intelligent show, however. The writer of Clash of the Titans (which was boring as shit) and Pacific Rim (which looks fun, but certainly not smart).




LOL

At best a pilot might begin production.


You sure about that? Seems pretty official to me. http://abcallaccess.com/show/marvels-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d/

It's not official -- they're testing a bunch of titles. It might end up being the title. It might not.

 

[ivysaur12]

http://www.deadline.com/2013/04/primetime-pilot-panic-the-latest-buzz/#more-480241

New pilot buzz aka same shit, different day.

Network screening/testing start this week, so we'll start to get a clearer picture by the end of the week.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

AMC Gives Pilot Order To Blake Masters’ Sci-Fi Drama ‘Line Of Sight’

AMC has given a pilot order to drama Line Of Sight. The drama, from Brotherhood creator Blake Masters, was one of three projects that participated in last month’s annual AMC pilot script showcase where the writers/producers behind scripts identified by the cable network as its strongest pilot contenders are invited to present their projects.

Line of Sight is the story of Lewis Bernt, a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator who survives a mysterious plane crash, bringing him on an emotionally disorienting quest to discover the accident’s cause. This would mark AMC’s first foray into sci-fi original series.”Blake Masters has created a world and set of characters that defies the traditional boundaries of drama and sci-fi,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s EVP of original programming. “It’s got great elements of both genres while also having that unique blend of a conspiracy thriller. It is genuinely unexpected and unconventional.”

 

[RatskyWatsky]

http://www.deadline.com/2013/04/primetime-pilot-panic-the-latest-buzz/#more-480241

New pilot buzz aka same shit, different day.

Network screening/testing start this week, so we'll start to get a clearer picture by the end of the week.

New pilot buzz

NBC appears very pleased with their comedy pilots, including the pilot for the Michael J. Fox project, which already has a 22-episode order. I hear the network brass feel their half-hour development is so strong, they may bet heavily on new series and hardly keep any of the existing comedy series (besides Parks & Recreation, of course).

Whoa, haven't we been hearing the opposite for a while now?

Over at AMC, Turn is turning up the heat.

Yass!

 

[ivysaur12]

Michael J Fox's show will be called... The Michael J Fox Show.