Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
- Aaron Stockard (GONE, BABY, GONE) is writing the ABC drama pilot CONVICTION, about a woman convicted of murder who, it appears, refuses to accept that and, um, “sees no alternative but to take matters into her own hands.” (And if that slim description doesn’t capture the tone of the U.S. today – for better or for worse – we don’t know what does.)
- Paul Downs Colaizzo (TV/film newbie) is writing the drama pilot JUST REWARDS, about a bankrupt divorcee and her millennial neighbors who make ends meet by solving crimes and collecting the rewards, for ABC. (Sounds cool, but we gotta warn you: It comes from Shonda Rimes’ company, which could mean – soap! So we suggest lowering the ole expectations a tad.)
- Roman Coppola (THE DARJEELING LIMITED) & Jason Schwartzman (MOONRISE KINGDOM) & Alex Timbers (PETER AND THE STARCATCHER) have sold the comedy MOZART IN THE JUNGLE to Amazon Studios. (Is this a good thing or a bad one? Discuss.)
- Jeremy Garelick (THE BREAKUP) & Jon Weinbach (sorry, we don’t know which of the many famous Jon Weinbachs this is) have also sold a comedy to Amazon, the not-so-originally titled, THE OUTLAWS. (Good thing? Bad? We really want to hear from you on where you think Amazon will take, you know, TV.)
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Brad Garrett (yeppers, that Brad Garrett) & Chuck Tatham (ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT) are adapting Brad’s upcoming bestseller, When The Balls Drop into an ABC comedy series about surviving middle age. (It would’ve been about surviving old age, of course, but Brad’s still insisting he’s 35.)
- Brian Bradley & Steven Cragg (HAPPY ENDINGS) are writing the pilot for WINNERS, a comedy about three “overly ambitious” siblings who crater their lives, for Fox. (We’d like to point out that the announcement emphasizes that the sibs are “millennials” – as does the JUST REWARDS announcement above – cuz, hey, being under 30 is, you know, hot. Um, we millennials are under 30 still, right? Please?)
- The self-same duo of Bradley & Cragg is also writing an NBC comedy. It’s called THE BRIGHT SIDE is about a man whose wife leaves him with their young son and a business that was her dream, not his. (So the lead here definitely isn’t a millennial cuz everybody knows that our generation’s distinctive trait is our utter selfishness and sense of entitlement, and the guy here is sorely lacking. C’mon, NBC, give us a hero we can all related to, willya?)