By munchman – Page 37

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 3/26/14

Anna Fricke (BEING HUMAN) has a new overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television and will serve as showrunner of HIEROGLYPH, for which she wrote a pilot so hot that they aren’t even wasting time shooting a pilot. It’s just go, go, go on the series itself. (Hey, Anna, you don’t know the munchman but I’m flat out calling it – munchie adores your work. Good luck on this one!)
Matt Miller, Caitlin Barlow, Katy Colloton, Cate Freedman, Kate Lambert, Katie O’Brien and Katie Thomas have a deal with TV Land to bring their web series, TEACHERS, to the Big Time Small Screen. (And if this doesn’t get all you TVWriter™ers working on your peer production you deserve what you get…or, in that case, don’t get. CREATE YOUR OWN WEB SERIES, DAMMIT. AL OF YOU!)
Seth Fisher & Danny MacKey (newbs!) are developing JACKASS OF ALL TRADES, a comedy about a guy trying to make his living via odd jobs on Craigslist, for TBS. (Oh frabjous day! All our announcements are belong to really cool people finally getting the kinds of chances they deserve! Halloo, hallay!)

Walon Green (LAW & ORDER) has gotten the word to expand his National Geographic KILLING JESUS project into a 4-hour mini-series. (Your munchman is calling this show fictional cuz it’s based on a book by Bill O’Reilly and, you know. I’d never insinuate that Jesus his godly self wasn’t real. Oh no, not moi….)
Chris Colfer (one of the glamorous and cool stars of the equally glamorous and cool series GLEE) is writing an episode of that very show. (Cuz he’s a pushy little fuck, methinks. At least he was when we took an acting class together. Hi, Chris! Love you, kiddo! Rilly!)
Marta Kauffman (FRIENDS) & Howard J. Morris (HOME IMPROVEMENT) are developing GRACE AND FRANKIE, about two women who bond cuz their husbands have left both of them for each other for Netflix. (Oh, and the stars are already set: Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Could be a lotta fun watching the worlds of those two Big Names collide!)
Ryan Murphy (AMERICAN HORROR STORY) has optioned the book, Empty Mansions: They Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman & Paul Clark Newell Jr. but nobody’s saying if he plans to make it into a film or a TV series. (And here at TVWriter™ I munchman am of course hanging on every clue cuz everybody knows yours truly has absolutely no life at all.)

Marc Klein (MIRROR, MIRROR) is developing KISMET, a parallel-reality love story, for the mighty Amazon Studios. (Does this mean that Amazon’s pay scale is a little better for established writers than it is for the newbies it’s taking advantage of? Or has Marc fallen on some very hard times? Dude, let us know!)
Freemantle Media is developing a TV series based on The Hunchback of Notre Dame. (So if you know anybody there, are friends with the project’s producer-director Roland Joffe, or are an old bud of original writer Victor Hugo now is the time to get in touch with them and become part of one of the dumbest-sounding project your friendly neighborhood munchman has ever watched other people taking seriously.)
Steve Levitan (MODERN FAMILY) has just made what munchie absolutely guarantees is a better deal then Marc Klein’s with 20th Century Fox TV, where he’ll be creating, creating, creating from the luxury of his palatial estate. muncho salues you, m’friend.)

Nikki Toscano (BATES MOTEL) has a 2-year deal to develop new series at Universal TV. (Cuz she has a pilot at CBS that’s looking very, very good for a pick-up and Uni wants to make sure she’s locked up before she wants an even richer deal.)
Entertainment One TV (HELL ON WHEELS) has acquired the rights to Frederick Pohl‘s justly iconic book series Gateway and is looking for a writer/developer/showrunner. (So if you’re a science fiction freak with TV credits up your, um, gateway, get your people to corner their people and start what could be a very entertaining journey.)
Aaron McGruder (BOONDOCKS) has a series order from Adult Swim for his new live-action scripted comedy BLACK JESUS. (And believe your l’il munchman when I tell you I really, really, really hope that the execution of this show is at least half as good as the title.)

Peter Lenkov (HAWAII Five-0) has made a 2-year deal to develop new series at CBS Studios. (Cuz…HAWAII FIVE-0. Waitaminnit, what? HAWAII FIVE-0 has been the epitome of the in-danger, borderline show since it debuted. Which brings us to the real question: WTF?!)
Max Brooks (World War Z) just sold his upcoming graphic novel, The Harlem Hellfighters, to Sony pictures. Which is a major victory for literature cuz your favorite munchman has seen this baby and it’s, like, real in every way. So real that mm is glad to forgive Max for the fact that it’s going to be a movie and not a TV series. C’mon, Maxie, give us TV addicts a little something too, willya?)
Alec Berg (the upcoming SILICON VALLEY) has made an overall deal with HBO. (Which makes more sense than Petey Lenkov’s cuz the dood was writer-director-executive producer of a little show called CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM for 4 years and therefore probably knows a little something that audiences will like. Whereas anybody associated with FIVE-0…well, you get it.)
Petter Skavlan (KON-TIKI) is devloping the Norwegian TV series THE INSTITUTION, which is a fictional look at the inner workings of a contemporary European royal family. (And which must be headed for U.S. TV because otherwise why would whatever mysterious institution that’s running this show be announcing it here? munchie is munchin’ at the bit for this one. Honest.)