Category: The TV Biz

2018 Universal Writers Program Participants Announced

TVWriter™ Press Service Thanks the Universal Writers Program, Deadline.Com, MovieBytes & all the Usual Showbiz Sources

HOT OFF THE PRESSES…if there still were real printing presses:

The Universal Writers Program, a one-year program giving selected writers the opportunity to develop feature film scripts while working with executives and producers at Unversal and its Focus Features subsidiary, has announced the following participants:

Evan Dodson
A Baltimore native and graduating senior of USC’s John Wells Writing for Screen and Television program, who is the youngest writer ever to be featured on The Black List. read article

Agencies, Writers Guild on Collision Course

Yesterday we talked about the Writers Guild’s unhappiness with the writer-agent relationship that has been screwing writers over for forty years. (Yeah, yeah, we know that’s a loaded sentence. We used it deliberately because – yeah, yeah – we’ve definitely got a horse in this race.)

Well, the agents have responded, and here’s a pretty fair analysis of what they’ve said. Bottom line: Could be time to take up battlestations, y’all.

image credit: Dale Edwin Murray

by Jonathan Handel

As Endeavor and CAA encroach on studio turf, the union is seeking to halt production activity and renegotiate the “outdated” franchise agreement, citing potential conflicts of interest for agents. read article

WGA Rattles More Sabers at Hollywood Agents

More on the potential upcoming War on Agency Packaging Fees. Or, to be more blunt: On the absurd conflicts of interest that have influenced everything we see on TV and film while making the agents far richer than those they represent over the last 40 years:

Writers Guild Seeks to Reshape Talent Agency Business in Proposed Deal
by Dave McNary

Amping up its battle with talent agents, the Writers Guild of America has issued proposals to Hollywood agents aimed at stopping potential conflicts of interest. read article

TV Keeps On Growing…and Growing – Part 2

Just when you thought there was nothing left for TV to do, here’s another peek at Peak TV, non-fiction style (with one new drama thrown into the mix). Have a look into what Bravo believes America will want to see in the coming months:

Bonnie Hammer, Chairman of Bravo Network – and others

Bravo Expands Originals to 7 Nights With 10 New and 20 Returning Series
by Leslie Goldberg

Bravo is expanding its original programming to seven nights.

The NBCUniversal-owned cable network, which recently entered the premium scripted space with anthology Dirty John, has handed out series orders to 10 more new shows to join a slate of 20 returning favorites. read article

TV Keeps On Growing…and Growing – Part 1

Just when you thought there was nothing left for TV to do, here’s a peek at Peak TV, non-fiction style. Have a look into what CNN believes America will want to see in the coming months:

CNN head honcho Jeff Zucker

On Wednesday, CNN announced plans for six new original series next year, including shows about former President Richard Nixon and the Bush family.

One of the six is a four-part show, American Style, produced by Vox Media’s programming division, Vox Entertainment. The show “examines how America’s changing style through the decades has mirrored the political, social, and economic climate of the time, shaping our unique American identity,” and represents a high-profile offering for the digital media company’s linear programming ambitions. read article