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Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- Jay Beattie & Dan Dworkin (CRIMINAL MINDS) are writing the horror drama pilot SCREAM, based on the successful film franchise, for MTV. (Chalk up another victory for ye olde tried-and-true, both in terms of the writers and the project.)
- Carter Covington (HART OF DIXIE) is writing the pilot for MTV’s sitcom FAKING IT. (Ah, MTV, we applaud your embrace of scripted television with palms that are smacking together so loud that it hurts!)
- Which reminds us that Ben Epstein (DADDY’S GIRLS) is also developing an MTV comedy pilot titled HAPPYLAND. (We don’t want to reveal too much about it cuz the synopsis sounds great and we’re afraid that if we tell you we’ll all get crushed together if it doesn’t pan out.)
- David Milch (DEADWOOD) is developing THE MONEY, a drama about – duh – rich people, at HBO. (Wonder what excuse he’ll come up this time when he abandons the series halfway through. You know, like DEADWOOD and LUCK.)
- Jonathan Lisco (SOUTHLAND) will be showrunner of AMC’s upcoming series HALT & CATCH FIRE as part of this new overall deal with the network. (AMC is the new TNT. Ahh.)
Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- Dana Klein (the upcoming FRIENDS WITH BETTER LIVES) has a new overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television. (And we have nothing snarky to say about this at all. Just a good old-fashioned, “Congrats!”)
- Tony Phelan & Joan Rater (GREY’S ANATOMY) have made an overall deal with CBS Television Studios. (Nothing bitchy here either: These two worked long and hard for Shonda Rhimes and deserve their big chance here.)
- John Sullivan (THE REAPER comic books) is developing a “supernatural family show” called BOOGEYMEN as for Nickelodeon Original Films. (It’s about time Nickelodeon risked another film. Congrats on growing a pair, guys.)
- Danny McBride & Jody Hill (EASTBOUND & DOWN) are developing a new comedy for HBO. (Presumably it’ll be their fulltime gig after EASTBOUND finishes its last season, which starts in September of this year.)
- Syfy has announced that it has ordered a pilot based on the feature film LEGACY. But of course the series will be named DOMINION cuz why the hell not? (Nope, no writer has been named on this deal. We’re thinking that no writer wants anybody else to know s/he is working for Syfy. The place seems to be career poison for everybody but Ron Moore.)
Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- THE DIVIDE, a very serious legal drama created by Richard LaGravenese (BEHIND THE CANDELABRA) & Tony Goldman (SCANDAL) , has been picked up for 10 episodes by AMC Networks. (The show actually will appear on WE TV, presumably because, you know, it can.)
- Speaking of WE TV, Chris & Paul Weitz are developing another drama series, ALL AMERICAN WOMAN, for the new network. (Like THE DIVIDE, this is a turnaround series originally aimed elsewhere. Looks like WE is a good place to have in your hip pocket.)
- Oh, and look at this. WE TV is also doing DIRTY, written by Nancy Fichman & Jennifer Hoppe (DAMAGES). (Yeppers, another drama, this one about a zillionaire woman who falls on hard times and ends up living and working with her housekeeper. Oh, the ignominy of it all!).
- Wait, one more WE TV drama project: Susanna Styron (BORGIA) is writing HEADHUNTERS. (Which is described with bullshit double-talk that we have no idea what it really will be except that it’s about the kind of women who scare the hell out of, well, us. You know, modern ones.)
- Jason Katims & Sarah Watson (PARENTHOOD) are developing an unnamed 1-hour comedy about a woman lawyer who sounds a lot like the women in HEADHUNTERS, for ABC. (Presumably, if ABC passes WE TV will be waiting to snatch this one up too.)
Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- David Schulner (THE EVENT) is developing the drama series CLONE for Universal Television, from the comic of the same name by Robert Kirkman. (No network is involved yet, but if Kirkman’s THE WALKING DEAD continues its ratings dominance that won’t be a problem.)
- KJ Steinberg (MISTRESSES) is writing the legal drama LAWLESS for ABC. (No problem withthis one getting on the air. It’s being done with Shonda Rhimes, and we all know how ABC feels about her. Hint: It’s a 4 letter word starting with “L” and it has a “V” in it too.)
- Terry Matalas & Travis Fickett (TERRA NOVA) are writing the TV movie/backdoor pilot for 12 MONKEYS for Syfy. (Yeppers, we’re talking about that 12 MONKEYS, the Bruce Willis-starring feature film by Terry Gilliam. And those Syfy motherfuckers better not screw this up, y’hear?)
- Speaking of the Evil Minions of Syfy, that network is looking for a writer for a miniseries to be called WARRIORS OF OZ, an action-adventure version of, oh, you guessed it, THE WIZARD OF OZ. (Nopoint in worrying about Syfy turning this into a steaming pile. Just from the concept we know that without one word written they already have.)
- On a more positive note, Shane Dawson, a comedian with almost 9 million subscribers to his YouTube channels, just launched a podcast called SHANE AND FRIENDS which became #1 on iTunes within 24 hours. (In other words, the do-it-yourself showbiz model works, laddies and lassies. Write your own material, perform it, present it to the world, and you’ll never have to worry about Syfy’s execrable taste again!)
Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- Mark Friedman (BELIEVE) has left the upcoming NBC show, which he co-created with Alfonso Cuaron. (We’d tell you to get our agents hustling for you to take over Mark’s showrunner gig, but we have a feeling it isn’t a job anybody should want. No, we can’t say anything more, but it’ll come out soon enough. Sorry.)
- Jon Bokenkamp THE BLACKLIST creator) has signed an overall deal with Sony TV. He’ll be writing, producing, all those wonderful things you/we want to do. (Damn you, Jon Bokenkamp! We’re sooo jealous.)
- Manny Coto (DEXTER) will be sequeing over to a showrunner gig 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY as part of a new overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television (Inasmuch as Manny wrote some of the best episodes of the original 24, this is great news for fans…as well as writers who’ve already made friends with him. Hehehe.)
- Stephen Falk (WEEDS) has sold YOU’RE THE WORST, a sitcom pilot, to FX. The show is about what happens when two self-destructive people fall in love. (Just between us, this sounds like every relationship ever between people in showbiz, so if it isn’t the most realistic, brilliantly written comedy ever, something will have gone terribly wrong.)
- This is more about love than money, we thinks, making it big writing news indeed. Humanitas Prize Finalists have been announced, and the TV writing nominees are:
90 Minute Category
Abducted: The Carlina White Story Written by Elizabeth Hunter
Betty & Coretta Written by Shem Bitterman and Ron Hutchinson
Firelight Written by Ligiah Villalobos
60 Minute
Bones, “The Patriot in Purgatory” Written by Stephen Nathan
House, “Everybody Dies” Written by David Shore, Eli Attie & Peter Blake
Monday Mornings, “Truth or Consequences” Written by Karen Struck & David E. Kelley
30 Minute
Modern Family, “Party Crasher” Written by Danny Zuker & Christopher Lloyd
Nurse Jackie, “Disneyland Sucks” Written by Liz Brixius
The New Normal, “The Godparent Trap” Written by Mike Scully
- Three Humanitas Winners have also been made public:
Children’s Live Action
Let It Shine Written by Eric Daniel & Don D. Scott
The David & Lynn Angell Fellowship in Comedy Writing
Jason Romaine
Fellowship in Dramatic Writing
Taylor MartinCongrats from TVWriter™!