Tag: TV writing deals

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 8/15/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • Sylvia Day’s romance novel series Crossfire has been optioned by Lionsgate for a TV series. So if that’s your kind of thing, time to have your agent get to working for you. (And don’t forget to tell us when you get the development gig so we can go viral by breaking the news.)
  • Chris Alberghini & Mike Chessler (90210 reboot) are the new showrunners of MTV’s AWKWARD, which was renewed last week. (Hmm, if we’d posted this news then would we have been a viral sensation? Guess that would depend on whether anybody cares about MTV anymore.)
  • Speaking of AWKWARD, creator and ex-showrunner Lauren Iumgerich has made a deal with Warner Brothers TV to develop a new comedy series for the studio. (Nothing is set up at a network yet, but from what we’ve heard about Lauren’s relationship with MTV we’re pretty darn sure that she’s happy as a clam to be in a new home.)
  • Karl Gajdusek & Shawn Ryan (LAST RESORT) are developing FREEDOM, an ABC drama pilot about a group of genius rebels out to save the U.S. (This sounds so ’70s to us that we don’t know whether to look forward to the show or just…cringe.)
  • Kevin Wade (BLUEBLOODS) has a new overall deal with CBS TV Studios, where he’ll continue to run BLUEBLOODS and develop new primetime drama. (We’ve been sitting for half an hour trying to think of something funny to say about this deal but we ain’t got nuthin’. Damn BLUEBLOODS is just too dull to even make fun of.)
  • Dana Calvo (MADE IN JERSEY) is writing an untitled ABC drama pilot about an eccentric detective and his “methodical female Partner” who work cases in Miami. (Actually, the announcement notes that “they solve cases that only seem to happen in the neon wilds of  one of America’s most eclectic and vibrant cities,” which made us think, “Oh, MIAMI VICE.” Which in turn pushed that ’70s button again so excuse us while we slip into cringe mode early, just to be safe.)

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 8/9/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • Cindy Chupack (SEX AND THE CITY) is writing the pilot for THE LONGEST DATE, a Fox Network sitcom based on her upcoming memoir The Longest Date: Life as a Wife. (Hey, LB, if they’re going as far back as SATC for writer type people, maybe they’ll get to you and your generation soon!)
  • David Magee (LIFE OF PI) has written the pilot for an ABC drama series to be called TRAVELERS, about – what else? – a family that travels through time. (We confess that we’re looking forward to this one, but primarily because we want to see what a Magee script is like without CGI tigers et al.)
  • Further news on the David Magee (LIFE OF PI) front: Turns out he’s also adapting LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN for Fox and a comedy called AMERICAN GIRLS ON VACATION for Showtime.  (In case you’ve been wondering why, amid the plethora of networks that can give us gigs most of us never get one. It’s because of dudes like David, not because we suck or have been blacklisted. Whew.)
  • Janine Sherman Barrois (CRIMINAL MINDS) has a fresh new overall deal with ABC Studios, under which she’ll continue as E.P. of CRIMINAL MINDS while developing other bone-chilling stuff. (Wait, she also writes comedy, having working on THE JAMIE FOXX SHOW. Don’tcha hate when other people are way multi-faceted?)

Top TVWriter™ Posts for the Week Ending 7/12/13

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Here they are, the most viewed TVWriter™ posts for the past week:

Who is Herbie J Pilato? read article

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 6/21/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • Nick Zano (newbie writer, experienced comedy actor on COUGAR TOWN) is creating NICKY, a sitcom project based on his life for Warner Brothers TV. (Because Warners likes making deals with actors, especially when they have best friends like Channing Tatum, who’ll be producing this show if it ever gets made.)
  • Mike Reiss (THE SIMPSONS, THE CRITIC) is adapting his children’s book, How Murray Saved Christmas into a Christmas special for NBC. And it already has an airdate in December of 2014. (Probably because Mike isn’t an actor and really knows this writing stuff.)
  • Simon Rich (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE) adapting his book, The Last Girlfriend on Earth into a comedy premise/pilot for FX. (Because he’s only 28 and if the series goes he’ll get to be one of the youngest series creeators ever, which is eminently cool so we’re all for it. Although we admit that if we were much older than 28 we might not be.)
  • Claudia Lonow (HOW TO LIVE WITH YOUR PARENTS) has joined the writing staff of NBC’s upcoming sitcom SEAN SAVES THE WORLD. (And she also has a new overall deal with Universal Television cuz that’s how this works.)

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 6/14/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • Jeff Astrof (GROUNDED FOR LIFE) is the new showrunner of TBS’ upcoming sitcom GROUND FLOOR, described as “a workplace comedy with a romantic twist.” (And Jeff also has signed a development deal with Warner TV, so if you know him you’ll be doing yourself a favor by making nice.)
  • Mark Goffman (WHITE COLLAR) has been hired to rewrite his NBC drama pilot I AM VICTOR, changing the focus from the title character’s HOUSE-like personal life to his cases. (Which, considering that the star is John Stamos doesn’t seem to us to move the needle on the “Can this possibly be interesting?” meter one whit to the plus side. But that’s probably just us, right?)
  • Bridget Carpenter (FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS) has made a deal to be the showrunner of Sundance Channel’s drama series THE DESCENDANTS, a “hard-hitting drama” about a sheriff and the forces that, well, we’d say they stress him out, y’know? (We don’t know anybody who can tell us much about Bridget, which means that she must be quite a powerhouse. Why do we say that? Cuz if she had any weaknesses everybody, and we mean everybody, would be falling all over themselves trying to expose them. Our hats are off to you, Bridget. All our best.)
  • Sam Katlin (BREAKING BAD) has re-upped on his Sony TV development deal and will continue as an EP on Fox’s upcoming drama RAKE.  (Another guy to keep making nice to, baby writers cuz that’s the name of the game.)
  • Diallo Riddle & Bashir Salahuddin (LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON) just got a production green light from HBO for their sitcom pilot about “a couple of rep;orters trying to make it big in the burgeoning black mecca of contemporary Atlanta.” (Yes, the press release said “black mecca,” not “Black mecca” or “African-American mecca.” Is that a genuine and current retro cool usage, or is HBO just hopelessly fucked up? Can someone let us know?)