Category: TV Writing Deals

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 1/27/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  •  Robert Padnick (THE OFFICE) is writing an unnamed NBC comedy pilot about what crap dating is for 20-somethings. (Waitaminnit, if even 20-somethings hate dating, then who’s left not to? Kindergarteners?)
  • Leslye Headland, (BACHELORETTE) is writing an NBC comedy pilot called ASSISTANCE, about an idealistic assistant trying to lead her own life while dealing with her boss’ needs. (What? She thinks she’s entitled to her own life? Being employed isn’t enough? How unreal can you get?)
  • Alex Schemmer (actor – COMMUNITY) is writing yet another NBC comedy pilot, this one about a dood who has a relationship created by his days as a sperm donor. (Ah, Golden Days if we ever heard of them!)
  • Greg Garcia (RAISING HOPE)is writing two CBS comedy pilots, SUPER CLYDE, about a meek  McDonald’s worker who wants to be a superhero, and a nameless show about a recently divorced man whose parents come to live with him. (We have two words for both these projects: Oy vey!)

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 1/24/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • Nick Bakay (TWO AND A HALF MEN) is writing the script for an NBC sitcom based on Jessica Simpson’s life and starring – OMG! – Jessica Simpson. (Former NBC programming chief  Ben Silverman is the producer here, demonstrated his vaunted good taste and judgment by saying, “Jessica Simpson is truly a modern-day Lucy with incredible comedic chops….” He said some more too, but we were too busy gagging to listen.)
  • Shane Brennan (NCIS) has a 10 episode commitment for an untitled TNT series based on novelist David Baldacci’s books about a couple of private eyes. (Considering that Shane’s one of those writers who has kept CBS on top for so many years, we’re kinda curious about why this project didn’t end up there. Anybody got a guess?)
  • Steven Bochco (um, what hasn’t he written?) & Eric Lodal (nol produced credits but a great IMDB bio) have sold MURDER IN THE FIRST to TNT, about two San Francisco homicide detectives working on a high profile murder case. (We love Bochco, but when we think of his last TNT outing, RAISING THE BAR, we start getting a little nervous.)
  • Jeffrey Nachmanoff (THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW) is writing and directing the drama HOSTAGES at CBS. (The good: It’s based on an Israeli series. The not-so-good: The Israeli series was never produced.)
  • Scott Pendergast & Amy Berg Scott did WILFRED, Amy’s a documentarian) have written the script for are an unnamed TNT drama starring Geena Davis as a bail bonds-uh-person. (The good: It’s being produced and, presumably, run, by LEVERAGE’s Dean Devlin. The bad: It stars Geena Davis, whom we all remember from…um…wait, it’s on the tips of our tongues….See what we mean?
  • ALPHAS, a Syfy show featuring one of the least distinguished casts in TV history, has been cancelled. “We’ve been proud to present this entertaining, high-quality series for two seasons and to work with an incredible ensemble of talented actors, producers and creatives,” says someone identified as “The Network.” Our 1st question: What? You didn’t work with any writers? Our 2nd question: What? The show’s writers weren’t creative? OTOH, looks like TNT isn’t blaming the writers this time around.

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 1/21/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • Jim Gaffigan (WELCOME TO NEW YORK) & Peter Tolan (RESCUE ME) are co-writing an untitled CBS sitcom about “a happily married and harried NYC father of five.” (In other words, it’s about Gaffigan, who also will star. How come nobody ever wants to do a series about us and let us star?)
  • Mark Goffman (THE WEST WING) will write I AM VICTOR, based on the book by Jo Nesbo about an attorney who is remarkably similar to Dr. House of, um, HOUSE fame. (In other words, HOUSE executive producer Katie Jacobs will be in charge of the show. How come nobody ever wants to hire me to do a series where I rip myself off and produce?)
  • John Logan (SKYFALL) is writing Showtime’s PENNY DREADFUL, a period “psychosexual horror” show featuring the characters of Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, Dr. Van Helsing and others in Victorian London. The show already has a series commitment. (How come nobody ever wants to give me a series commitment? Not even for that idea I had featuring The Wizard of Oz, Tom Sayer, and Jane Eyre in pre WWI Berlin?)
  • Joe Port & Joe Wiseman’s (Joe Wiseman was an early student of Our Fearsome Leader, LB, Joe Port, um, wasn’t) script, JOE, JOE AND JANE, a sitcom about a writer constantly having to attend to the needs of his wife and his co-author and based on the writers’ lives, has been given the go-ahead into produced pilot by NBC. (How come nobody wants to give the go-ahead into produced pilot to me for my life story of constantly having to attend to the needs of my left hand and right foot? Damn!)

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 1/17/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • Eric Amadio (SHADOWS & LIES) is writing the pilot for Starz drama OFF SEASON, a drama about a pro football team and its young coach. (Of course the coach is young. No network wants an audience in the demo that NFL coaches actually belong to.)
  • David Graziano, (AWAKE, LIE TO ME) has written the pilot for NBC’s BLOODLINE, a contemporary thriller about a young girl trapped in the middle of two warring families of killers-for-hire. (NBC gives a much longer description, but we didn’t want to bore you the way we were when we read it.)
  • Katherine Lindberg & Ted Cyr (newbies, hurrah!) have written the time travel drama TOMORROW for ABC. (Think LOOPER combined with LOOPER with a dash of LOOPER thrown in. Except that the hero’s in the FBI so he’s a good guy not a hit man. Got it?)
  • Jon Lucas & Scott Moore (THE HANGOVER) will write MIXOLOGY, a sitcom, for ABC. (Says here it’s about a sexy Manhattan bar and chronicles the humorous adventures of singles looking for love, with each episode taking place in one night. Which part of the premise do you think will get tossed out first? Maybe we should have a contest…)
  • Dan Goor & Mike Schur (PARKS AND RECREATION) are creating/writing an untitled Fox comedy about “a diverse group of detectives at a New York precinct.” (The press release description reminds us of the classic series BARNEY MILLER, created by Ted Flicker, but we’re afraid to get our hopes up.)
  • Hey, y’all, BONES has been picked up for another full season! (Meaning that staffers on that show are gonna get even richer. Yeah! – well c’mon, you didn’t think TV was about creativity, didja?)

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 1/13/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  •  Shepard Boucher (MEN AT WORK) has written an unnamed comedy pilot for Fox TV which is being shopped around with Sarah Michelle Gellar attached as the star. (Wonder if Boucher has been paid anything yet because normally companies only spend a network’s money and not their own.)
  • Emily Spivey, creator of NBC’s sitcom UP ALL NIGHT has left the show. (No replacement has been named, so get those credit lists and spec sitcoms ready, gang.)
  • Cher (yeah, that Cher) & Ron Zimmerman (CHARLES IN CHARGE) are teaming up to write a pilot for Logo about life in ’60s Hollywood. (Yes, he’s her BF. But she’s really going to do a lot of writing on this project. Rilly.)
  • Liz Heldens & Peter Elkoff (both from DECEPTION) are writing/running CAMP, a drama about , well, summer camp. (The press release calls it a drama but also compares the show to MEATBALLS and DAZED AND CONFUSED, which means that somebody else here must also be pretty damn dazed and confused, don’tcha think?)
  • Agnes Nixon (ALL MY CHILDREN & ONE LIFE TO LIVE creator) is aboard for The Online Network’s web series versions of both shows as a consultant. (Which means the shows might actually get made after all. Maybe. Um, on second thought it probably doesn’t mean anything at all. Sorry.)