Today’s TV Writing Deals Dept: 10/8/12

Insert unappreciated writer joke here and move on to:

  • Krista Vernoff (GREY’S ANATOMY) is writing and producing a musical dramedy about a top songwriter specializing in love songs even though she’s unlucky in love for NBC. (Cuz the network knows we all want to watch shows about people doing better than we are. Or about people doing worse. Talk about covering all the bases.)
  • Kate Walsh (PRIVATE PRACTICE) & Chris Case (RETIRED AT 35) are co-writing what’s described as a “semi-autobiographical comedy for NBC…even though neither of them is a recently divorced father who falls in love with a cop who has little experience with kids. (Isn’t it fun watching TV destroy the value of language!?)
  • Alex Gansa & Howard Gordon (HOMELAND)have a deal for ANATOMY OF VIOLENCE, an FBI series, at CBS. (Based on a neurological study by Adrian Raine which, according to Amazon.Com, has nothing in common with the series except for the title…and attitude. (Time now to ponder what purpose words can possibly have after they lose all meaning.)
  • Hilary Winston (MY NAME IS EARL) is writing the pilot for BAD TEACHER, a sitcom adaptation of the not-so-successful feature that starred Cameron Diaz for CBS. (Figuring what? that without Cameron Diaz it might succeed?)
  • Nancy Miller (SAVING GRACE) is adapting the hit Mexican telenovela TERESA for ABC. (Because we all know anything original might be risky. (EDITED TO ADD: …even though SAVING GRACE was one of the best risks any network ever took.)

(ALSO EDITED TO ADD: Um, no, we didn’t mean that the joke wouldn’t be unappreciated but that it should be about writers who are unappreciated. Sheesh!)

For Whovians Only

The most important thing you’ll read today:

Hands On With The Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver Universal Remote [Review]- by SEAN FALLON

Specifications: read article

Inspiration by Any Other Name is Still Something All Creators Need

Why do these otherwise helpful articles have to be so damn pompous:

Priming Your Creativity – by Michael Michalko

Your creative thinking performance can be primed with certain images and pictures. read article

The Hudsonian Sees BEN & KATE

Okay, so this is Kate & one of the kids. Ben’s kinda boring anyway.

Ben and Kate’s Debut Is Le Pew

 by Josh Hudson

This FOX comedy pilot originally aired on September 25, 2012 and is a new staple at 8:30 EST on FOX’s Tuesday comedy lineup. I’m with you. I don’t know why either. read article

Today’s TV Writing Deals Dept: 10/7/12

Old TV writing joke: “Know why TV writers brag about their deals? Cuz that’s all they have.” Think about it:

  • Tyler Perry (TYLER PERRY’s HOUSE OF PAYNE, MEET THE BROWNS) is writing and producing 2 new shows for OWN, in return for which he now has a very large ownership stake in the net. (Jeeze, nobody ever told us we had to buy our way into TV…and yet it definitely makes sense. Depressing sense, but sense.)
  • Douglas Segal (THREE KINGS) is writing a supernatural drama about a devil trying to save “compromised souls” for the CW. (Let that be a lesson to us all: No compromise! No surrender! Oh, that isn’t what it means?)
  • M. Night Shyamalan (THE SIXTH SENSE) & John Glenn (EAGLE EYE) are writing the pilot for LOST HORIZON for NBC. (Strangely, LOST HORIZON isn’t based on the book of the same name but on MOBY DICK. We figure somebody misread their high school reading list and still hasn’t been corrected.)
  • Ryan Murphy (GLEE, AMERICAN HORROR STORY, THE NEW NORMAL) is writing the pilot for MONTAUK, a conspiracy thriller, for Fox and an unnamed sitcom for NBC. (Yes, it’s true. We don’t even know this guy and we hate him. We really do. And if that isn’t the essence of showbiz, what is?)
  • Charley and Vlas Parlapanides (IMMORTALS) are writing THE CENTURIAN, about a Marine working with the angel of his best friend for CBS. (The way we hear it, the original pitch was about a Marine working with “the agent” of his best friend, but something got lost in the translation and who’s going to argue with a “Yes?”)
  • GIRLS creator Lena Dunham will be getting over $3,500,000 for her book of essays, Not That Kind of Girl, (because she’s got herself a very hot, in, and trendy series and why should she settle for less?)