Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
Mark Friedman (BELIEVE) has left the upcoming NBC show, which he co-created with Alfonso Cuaron. (We’d tell you to get our agents hustling for you to take over Mark’s showrunner gig, but we have a feeling it isn’t a job anybody should want. No, we can’t say anything more, but it’ll come out soon enough. Sorry.)
Jon Bokenkamp THE BLACKLIST creator) has signed an overall deal with Sony TV. He’ll be writing, producing, all those wonderful things you/we want to do. (Damn you, Jon Bokenkamp! We’re sooo jealous.)
Manny Coto (DEXTER) will be sequeing over to a showrunner gig 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY as part of a new overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television (Inasmuch as Manny wrote some of the best episodes of the original 24, this is great news for fans…as well as writers who’ve already made friends with him. Hehehe.)
Stephen Falk (WEEDS) has sold YOU’RE THE WORST, a sitcom pilot, to FX. The show is about what happens when two self-destructive people fall in love. (Just between us, this sounds like every relationship ever between people in showbiz, so if it isn’t the most realistic, brilliantly written comedy ever, something will have gone terribly wrong.)
This is more about love than money, we thinks, making it big writing news indeed. Humanitas Prize Finalists have been announced, and the TV writing nominees are: 90 Minute Category Abducted: The Carlina White Story Written by Elizabeth Hunter Betty & Coretta Written by Shem Bitterman and Ron Hutchinson Firelight Written by Ligiah Villalobos 60 Minute Bones, “The Patriot in Purgatory” Written by Stephen Nathan House, “Everybody Dies” Written by David Shore, Eli Attie & Peter Blake Monday Mornings, “Truth or Consequences” Written by Karen Struck & David E. Kelley 30 Minute Modern Family, “Party Crasher” Written by Danny Zuker & Christopher Lloyd Nurse Jackie, “Disneyland Sucks” Written by Liz Brixius The New Normal, “The Godparent Trap” Written by Mike Scully
Three Humanitas Winners have also been made public: Children’s Live Action Let It Shine Written by Eric Daniel & Don D. Scott The David & Lynn Angell Fellowship in Comedy Writing
Jason Romaine Fellowship in Dramatic Writing
Taylor MartinCongrats from TVWriter™!
They’re everywhere! With everybody! (Okay, almost everybody. We don’t see our names below…dammit.)
Thinking of making this the permanent image for our deal announcements. That work for you?
Ricky Gervais’s new series, DEREK, will be a Netflix production, and we think it’s safe to predict that it will be much better/more successful than Netflix’s opening salvo in its attempts to become a kind of faux network, LILLYHAMMER. (Unless it’s set in, you know, Iceland.)
Ron Moore (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) is adapting A KNIGHT’S TALE for ABC on the theory that jousting is cool. Well, maybe it is. (And maybe not.)
Esteemed feature director Alfonso Cuaron (HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN)will be directing a J.J. Abrams-Mark Friedman script for an unnamed spiritual world type pilot about a girl who is developing super powers and the tough guy who’s released from prison to protect her.Whatever.
Garry Marshall (HAPPY DAYS, LAVERNE & SHIRLEY, et al) is co-writing GOLDEN GUYS, a sitcom about a down on his luck rich guy with his son, Scott Marshall (um, son of the writer/producer of HAPPY DAYS, LAVERNE & SHIRLEY, et al). Does this mean ole Gar’s down on his (feature film) luck now too?
Ilene Chaiken (THE L WORD) is writing a crime drama pilot, SOLVE FOR X, for CBS, about a game developer who consults with the San Franciso PD. Cuz, you know, San Francisco is so hip the cops actually think gaming is, um, for smart people. Or something like that. Oh, the edginess of it all!
