Category: News

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 12/17/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • Mike Kelly (REVENGE) has a new overall deal with HBO after being fired from REVENGE, which has had declining ratings. (Proving that he’s a heck of a good guy in the room, no? We mean as well as being a brilliant writer who isn’t necessarily in tune with audience desires…which pretty much describes exactly what HBO is all about, which, FTR, we do not think is a bad thing.)
  • Alex Taub (DROP DEAD DIVA) is adapting Carl Hiaasen’s novel, Basket Case, into a drama series for Spike TV. (Carl Hiaassen! On TV! Finally! TVWriter™ congratulates Spike TV for finally moving in a direction we approve of. And you know how important our congratulations – and approval – are, don’tcha? Yeah, we’re afraid we know the true answer to that too. Sigh…)
  • Sam Ernst & Jim Dunn (HAVEN) are adapting Stephen King’s short story “New York Times at Bargain Rates” into a series for ABC. (How good will this be? We figure that’s in inverse proportion to Mr. King’s active participation. Hey, we love the guy’s writing, but every time he pokes his verbiage into the screen versions…)
  • Patrick Moss & Jeremy Anderson (GREAT EXPECTATIONS) are writing KING DAVID, a to-be-syndicated series featuring a take that’s likely to raise hella hackles among Bible fans. (What? You don’t think anybody will object to what the PR is describing as “a mafia show in biblical clothing?” What planet are you on?)
  • Lizzy Weiss (SWITCHED AT BIRTH) is developing INTO THIN AIR, a so-called “family drama,” for ABC family. (Just in case you still thought ABC family was really for, you know, families, this is further described as having “thriller elements.” Just what you want to sit down with your kids to watch, right?)

Did Netflix Kill the DVR Star?

Food for thought from the new, improved Deadline.Com. (And we hate saying that cuz we really love Nikki.)

Has Netflix Helped Cap DVR Growth?
by David Lieberman

The $7.99-a-month streaming service appears to have dampened many consumers’ interest in DVRs, which cost $10 or more a month,  according a study out this morning from Leichtman Research Group.

Netflix-and-TiVo-DVR__131206162227It shows DVR growth plateauing: 47% of households have one vs 45% last year and 44% in 2011. (It was 23% in 2007.) That’s partly due to cable marketing strategies. It’s easier to entice well-to-do customers to pay for multiple DVRs than to persuade people who don’t have one to buy. Half of homes that do take DVR service have more than one, up from 43% last year and 33% in 2011. read article

Amazon Studios is Still Looking for Pitches

Amazon Pitch CaptureFind Out More!

And know what? They’ve finally worn us down. We think everyone should click above and seriously consider submitting cuz…why the fuck not?

That’s right, boys and girls. The way we see it Amazon’s done so many wonderful things for us, let’s give ’em the Christmas present they deserve. And by Christmas present we mean Our Life’s Blood. Our Creativity. Our fucking souls for a pittance! Oh, yeah, Amazon Studios, you really, really, really rock!

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 12/12/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • Amanda Brotchie (Australia’s LOWDOWN) is writing the pilot for a U.S. version of the comedy project on E! (Considering how much we’ve enjoyed another Australia-to-U.S. comedy, WILFRED, we’re gonna look forward to this one.)
  • Drew Goddard (CLOVERFIELD) is developing DAREDEVIL for Netflix. (And considering that he also wrote and directed THE CABIN IN THE WOODS we find ourselves looking forward to this one too. A horror movie style Daredevil? You know it’s awesome.)
  • Al Gough & Miles Millar (SMALLVILLE) are adapting Terry Brooks’ Sword of Shannara books into a series for, of all places, MTV. (Two hits and then this obvious miss. Sword of Shannara? Worst inadvertent fantasy pastiche evah! SMALLVILLE? Most mind-numbing comic book adaptation evah! MTV committing to a majorly scripted series? Worst idea for a network push evah! Oyyy! Guess we’ve made ourselves clear here, huh?)
  • Alice Hoffman’s historical novel, The Dovekeepers, is being adapted into a CBS miniseries about “four extraordinary women whose lives intersect in a fight for survival at the siege of Masada.” (For us, this is a definite Pee-yoo cuz, well, for one thing we know going in that these women ain’t gonna survive because Masada=everybody dies; for another thing what happened to the men?; and for yet another thing…it’s being produced by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. Which means that we know damn well that if we even tried to watch we’d never survive the first act.)
  • Chris Mundy (LOW WINTER SUN) has segued from his AMC series failure (by which we mean LOW WINTER SUN) to an overall deal with that very same network. (Cuz you know the old TV development saying, “Better the worst known quantity than the best unknown.” Yeppers, this is risk avoidance at its peak nadir.)

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 12/11/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • Bernie Richburg (a pal of Pam Grier) is writing the pilot for an Entertainment One series starring Pam Grier as the head of a squad of “shoot first, ask questions” later Homeland Security agents. (Ethical/political considerations aside, this thing has “hit” written all over it cuz Pam Grier, Pam Grier, PAM GRIER!!!)
  • Christina Wayne (a Development Exec – uh-oh) has a new producing deal at Endemol Studios and is looking to develop projects so don’t just sit there, get in touch with her. (Pretend you know her. Take it her to lunch. This is opportunity knocking, gang. For reals.)
  • Carol Flint (ER) is writing the pilot for MDX, an Endemol Studios TV project. (See? We toldja they were real.)
  • Zack Stentz & Ashley Miller (THOR) are developing a new TERMINATOR TV series for Fox. (And they’ll be syncing it with the franchise’s return to the big screen as well. Which could be terrific…or horrible, depending on the way the two work together. Or if Pam Grier is involved. Yeah, Pam Grier as a TV terminator. Would that not be amaaazing?)
  • Doug Ellin (ENTOURAGE) has a new overall deal at CBS studios. (Nothing to see here, folks. Move along, move along. Maybe you’ll run into Pam Grier around the corner, who knows?)