Tag: Greg Garcia

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 11/11/14

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Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
by munchman

  • Peter Moffat (SILK) & Marty Scott (DROP DEAD DIVA) are adapting the aforementioned (love that word) U.K. series into an ABC drama. (Which in all likelihood will be of no interest at all even though the U.K. version has been critically acclaimed. Why would a man considered one of the best TV writers in England need to team up with, well, with anybody? C’mon, ABC, leave the dude alone and let him write!)
  • Caroline Williams (MISS GUIDED) is writing the pilot for THE GREATER GOOD, a “comedic X-FILES,” for ABC. (Hey you legal beagles out there, if a show’s logline straight out declares that it’s a ripoff of another show, does that mean that the inevitable plagiarism suit is going to be won by the plaintiff? If not, what WTF is wrong with our legal system anyway?)
  • Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan (30 Rock) are writing the pilot for “an untitled witch comedy…about a circle of friends who grow closer when one of them ‘comes out’…as a witch.” (Uh-oh, I’m sorry, gang, really, but the muncharello here is actually intrigued by this one. TMI? Yeah, thought so.)
  • Greg Garcia (THE MILLERS) has sold his 5th new comedy of the season, this one to ABC. He and Chris Case, who evidently is somebody we’re supposed to know, are teaming up to write something called MR. CHRIS about the oh-so-famous Mr. Chris’s life as a trust fund baby. (Wow. Just wow. Can you possible imagine anybody wanting to see a show about a trust fund baby, written by a trust fund baby? Except maybe another trust fund baby? Neither can I.)

That’s it for now. Write in and tell munchilito what you’ve sold today. TVWriter™ can’t wait to brag to all your friends. (And, more importantly, enemies. Hehehe….)

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!)

Sitcom Showrunners Expound on the Future

…And they sure as hell know a lot more than most TV execs!

The Future of Sitcoms According to the Creators of ‘Parks and Rec,’ ‘Enlightened,’ ‘Don’t Trust the B—’ and ‘Raising Hope’ – by Alison Willmore

Greg Garcia (the creator and executive producer of Fox’s “Raising Hope”), Nahnatchka Khan (the creator and executive producer of ABC’s “Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23”), Michael Schur (the co-creator of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation”) and Mike White (the co-creator, co-star and executive producer of HBO’s “Enlightened”) gathered in Manhattan this past weekend for a New Yorker Festival event entitled “The Future of Sitcoms.” While the panel did not, as jokingly promised by moderator Emily Nussbaum, the magazine’s TV critic, come up with a plan for the next stage of comedy during its 90-minute run, it did cover some very interesting ground about how sitcoms are evolving in a way that may be quieter but is no less significant than what’s happening with dramas. Here are some highlights from the event:

Storytelling is getting more sophisticated. When working on his 2004 Fox series “Cracking Up,” the single-camera aesthetic was “still in its infancy,” according to Mike White, and “networks were extremely prescriptive about how it should look and feel.” White said he feels it’s since changed and opened up considerably. That said, it doesn’t mean that everyone’s ready to come along for the ride — as Garcia pointed out, “the shows that get the biggest ratings aren’t doing anything new” and that the definition for success is “what will make the most money for networks in syndication.” But Khan was hopeful, saying that what’s important is that these ideas are “percolating” and that “change takes time” — “what’s considered a hit now” is different, she said.

Everyone’s in awe of “Louie.” Louis C.K.’s FX show was brought up several times as something to admire. “Among writers, that’s the number one thing we talk about,” said Schur, while Khan called out the episode “Dad,” in which a long sequence was dedicated to Louie running away from his father, as “fantastic to me” — “It’s so raw. I find it refreshing. For me, that’s hopefully where comedy is going.” But they admitted the show wasn’t for everyone, and that it wasn’t something everyone could pull off. Garcia acknowledged that “some members of the audience could find it offputting,” and Schur cautioned about claiming the show heralds a new era: “To do what he does, you have to be as funny as Louis C.K. — and that narrows the field down to one person… It’s hasty to say everything’s different because of Louis C.K.”

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