Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 12/19/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • Wayne Beach (MURDER AT 1600) is writing the pilot for WGN America’s suspense drama, AMERICAN DREAM about a homicide cop trying to nail a mega-zillionaire CEO. (Sounds like a cool series…if only we knew who/what WGN America was. Anybody wanna google it and tell us?)
  • Kurt Sutter (a little thing called BREAKING BAD) is developing THE BASTARD EXECUTIONER as a series for Netflix. (Cuz he’s Kurt Sutter and he can damn well develop anything he wants to – and get paid. Yes, okay, we’re definitely eating our heart out here.)
  • Patrick Macmanus (MARCO POLO) is writing THE INN, a supernatural drama pilot for NBC. (A classic ghost story complete with a group of strangers gathered together in a weird hotel? Execution will be everything. Wait. Did we say “execution?” Maybe Kurt Sutter will join the process with his bastard?)
  • Matthew Perry (Yeah, that guy) is writing a new version of Neil Simon’s THE ODD COUPLE with Danny Jacobson (MAD ABOUT YOU). (Cuz God forbid Neil Simon should be allowed to put his stamp on his own creation. His style has been the basis for TV comedy for almost 50 years, but, you know, enough is enough.)
  • Chas Smith is adapting his book, Welcome to Paradise, Now To to Hell into a Fox 21 Productions cable series about crime/murder/adrenalin and – did you guess it? – surfing. (This one might be a little iffy, cuz you know what happened to the last big surfing series on cable. No? Google JOHN FROM CINCINATTI and you’ll sadly see.)

Recent Series Pilot Deals

We saved them up this time for a gangbang clusterfuck one Acme Mountain O’ Writerly Praise:

  • Adam F. Goldberg, creator of BREAKING IN, has a pilot production commitment from ABC for HOW THE F—am I NORMAL?, a sitcom set in the ’80s.
  • Ben Ripley, writer of SOURCE CODE, has a pilot script deal with NBC for VANISHING POINT, a legal drama starring Angela Bassett.Danny Jacobson, co-creator of MAD ABOUT YOU, has a pilot script order from Fox Network for LOVELAND, a sitcom about a Las Vegas wedding chapel.
  • Howard Gordon, co-developer of HOMELAND, is co-writing the pilot, LEGENDS, with Jeffrey Nachmanoff and Mark Bomback for TNT.
  • Shonda Rhimes, creator of GREY’S ANATOMY among others, is co-writing an FBI drama, UNDER THE GUN, with Peter Nowalk for NBC.