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Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- Glen Mazzara (THE WALKING DEAD) is recovering from being tossed off that show via an overall deal with Fox Television Studios to develop cable projects. (Which has got to be better than staying on DEAD and having to answer to a, you know, comic book guy. Read between the lines of his departure, kiddies.)
- Amy Poehler’s (PARKS & RECREATION) web series BROAD CITY is moving to the bigger small screen via Comedy Central, with Amy writing a new pilot for the TV version. (Because web-to-TV is very, very in, hip and trendy now…especially if you’re already a, erm, star.)
- HBO is looking for writers for a TV movie based on Marisa Acocella Marchetto’s graphic novel, Cancer Visen: A True Story. (Because the project already just happens to have a producer/star named Cate Blanchett, and working with Oscar winning stars will always be as in, hip and trendy as can be.)
- Inspired by the Kickstarter success of the new VERONICA MARS movie, which, if you’ve been hiding inside a vacuum cleaner, raised $2 mil in about 24 hours and as a result has been greenlighted by WB), Bryan Fuller, Shawn Ryan, and Mike Royce (writer-creators of PUSHING DAISIES, TERRIERS, and MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE respectively) are talking about getting their own piece of rabid fan action to resurrect their cult shows’ beloved corpses. (As huge Kickstarter boosters as TVWriter™ is, we can’t help but get a little testy, however, at the idea of fans bankrolling major studio productions without getting anything but some T-shirts or other souvenirs in return. Hmm, do we smell a new business model developing?)
- Brian Buckner (TRUE BLOOD) is moving up to showrunner of TRUE BLOOD, replacing Mark Hudis, who replaced Alan Ball. (Which tells us that this isn’t an easy show to take charge of. But at least there’s no Robert Kirkman prob.)
Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- Rene Balcer (LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT) will be showrunner of the new CBS drama, THE ORDAINED, working with Lisa Cullen, the show’s creator. (So if you’re an old writer bud, now’s the time to start bugging your pal for a new gig!)
- Andy Briggs (TARZAN ) is writing THE DRAKE EQUATION, a drama pilot about a Space Intelligence Agency. (And the showrunner will be Tim Kring. But don’t worry about getting on staff just yet. The notion is still homeless for now. )
- Aaron Guzikowski (PRISONERS) has gotten the Sundance Channel to greenlight his drama series THE DESCENDANTS straight to series. Of course, he had to make them the owners of the show, but, hey, we do what we gotta do. (And now what you’ve got to do is find out who you know who’s BFF with Aaron and use that to make your writing staff dreams come true. We know you’ve already got the talent, right?
- Curtis Gwinn (NTSF:SD:SVU, DEATH VALLEY), Channing Powell (WHITE COLLAR), and Matt Negrete (also WHITE COLLAR) have joined the writing staff of THE WALKING DEAD, with Curtis as Supervising Producer. (So call ’em! Now!)
- Kyle Killen (AWAKE) has written INFLUENCE, a drama pilot for ABC that will star Christian Slater as a slick ex-con who solves people’s problems by, um, manipulating the folks who’re giving them trouble. (We love these truelife adventures!)
Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- Angela Santomero (BLUE CLUES) is developing SARA SOLVES IT, a children’s show for Amazon Studios which will be one of several completed pilots that Amazon will test online, looking for audience feedback, at al. (Which brings up a question: Can any tech company ever make decisions based on its gut? And another question: Can any artistic endeavor be successful if it doesn’t come from the gut?)
- Ron Moore (anybody remember BATTLESTAR GALACTICA? ) has gotten the go-ahead into series by Syfy for his hight-tech medical thriller, HELIX. (Which sounds to a us a bit too similar to some old Michael Crichton book. Anybody remember THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN?)
- Daron Nefcy (a newb illustrator from Cal Arts) has sold STAR AND THE FORCES OF EVIL, an animated series about a magical teen princess from another dimension, to the Disney Channel. (Which tells us that the way the characters look will probably be more important than the writing – and that it pays to go to school at a place known within the biz as “Disney U.”)
- Brian Buckner (TRUE BLOOD) is moving up to showrunner of TRUE BLOOD, replacing Mark Hudis, who replaced Alan Ball. (Which tells us that this isn’t an easy show to take charge of. But at least there’s no Robert Kirkman prob.)
Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- Roy Lee (BATES MOTEL) & John Middleton (Also BATES MOTEL) have made a first-look deal with Fox 21. (And, since Fox 21 emphasizes cable shows like HOMELAND and SONS OF ANARCHY, can more work for A&E at al be far behind?)
- Robert Kirkman (THE WALKING DEAD comic creator ) has sold his latest comic as a series to FOX International Channels. (And if you had any doubt about who the real showrunner of WALKING DEAD is they sure as hell should be as good as the previous official showrunners now.)
- Greg Garcia (creator of RAISING HOPE) has left the series to concentrate on his two CBS pilots. (And, no, the HOPE gig isn’t open, sorry. It goes to Mike Mariano, who’s already an EP of the show.)
- Sara Gran (author of the Claire DeWitt detective novels) will write the pilot for a TNT drama based on her books. (And, yes, we think that means we all should be publishing our own detective series now because, hell, the networks are buying the damn things. The future of television is…self-publishing? Cool!)
Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- Melissa Rosenberg (TWILIGHT) has signed on as showrunner for ABC’s drama, BIG THUNDER. (Which, since pilots don’t get “showrunners,” they get “Executive producers,” probably means the series, based on Disney’s (and therefore ABC’s) Big Thunder Mountain ride, is in the bag.)
- Tyler Perry (TYLER PERRRY’S HOUSE OF PAIN, etc. ) has shifted his TBS comedy, FOR BETTER OR WORSE, to OWN, which will own the first two seasons and also produce a second. (Which is what happens when a smart, rich writer buys a network, which for all practical purposes is what Perry has done.)
- Emily Spivey (UP ALL NIGHT) has made a deal to develop-write-produce series at 20th Century Fox TV, starting with the animated MURDER POLICE. (Which has to be in better shape than UP ALL NIGHT, which NBC seems to have totally destroyed because, well, probably because it could.)
- Kurt Sutter (SONS OF ANARCHY) & John Shiban (HELL ON WHEELS) are developing what FX calls “an action horror drama” for the network. (Which is fine by us because it can’t be any worse than the horror of Seth MacFarlane singing, dancing, and driving all the A List stars out of the Oscars audience last Sunday night.)