Tag: Eric Lodal

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 9/28/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • NBC plans a miniseries based on the life of Johnny Carson, the man who kept our grandparents up way past their bedtime back in the day. (It’s based on the book Carson the Magnificent: An Intimate Portrait by Bill Zehme, but no writer has been named so call your agents and say TVWriter™ told you that nobody but you can do the job.)
  • Emily Fox (JANE BY DESIGN) has written HINDSIGHT a drama about a woman who gets the chance to go back in time and not commit what she remembers as her biggest mistake. (Which doesn’t mean much to us cuz we’re still, you know, under 30 and know damn well we’ll never make any big life mistakes. Ain’t the millenial demo grand?)
  • Katie Lovejoy (some version or other of DRACULA) is adapting the telenovela PURA SANGRE in TRUST, a serial about – surprise! – rich people in a dysfunctional family. (Which reminds us of the old saw that “movies about happy families were just jokes played by poor writers on their rich bosses.” Or something like that.)
  • Steven Bochco (he used to be Somebody) & Eric Lodal (LAWLESS) have gotten a 10 episode order from TNT for their drama series MURDER IN THE FIRST. (Which is being produced by – oh, really? who woulda thought? – TNT Originals. Which is how writers who used to be Somebody just barely manage to get deals these days even though they’re every bit as brilliant – like Mr. Bochco – as they ever were. Yeppers, we’re rooting for this baby.)
  • John Glenn & Andre Ovredal (you know them best for the huge hit TROLL HUNTER – oh, wait–) are writing NBC’s GHOST PROJEKT, based on a series of graphic novels by Joe Harris & Steve Rolston. (Hey, newbies, don’t just sit there. Turn all your specs into graphic novels and self-publish them. Not only is the future here – it works.)

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.