TV SALES
ABC has handed out a script commitment to an UNTITLED ALI WENTWORTH COMEDY. The semi-autobiographical, single-cam comedy will be written by Wentworth and Jackie Clarke, who also co-executive produces with Bill Lawrence and Jeff Ingold. The series is based on Wentworth’s family, including husband and ABC News/Good Morning America’s George Stephanopoulos and their two children.
ABC is developing an UNTITLED MARK GORDON DRAMA with producer Mark Gordon and Clifton Campbell. The project, which will be adapted from Ingrid Thoft’s Fina Ludlow book series, centers the black sheep of a high profile family who left Harvard Law School to find her voice as a brash and controversial legal investigator. Campbell will pen the project and executive proudce along with Gordon and Nick Pepper. ABC Studios and the Mark Gordon Company are producing.
ABC Family is developing THE PERFECTIONISTS. Based on the latest young-adult book series by Sara Shepard, the drama follows five girls plot the perfect revenge after their lives are ruined by a handsome womanizer. The show comes from Alloy Entertainment and Warner Horizon TV and is being executive produced by Marlene King.
ABC is teaming with Natascha McElhone to develop Louisa May Alcott’s novel LITTLE WOMEN. The network has given a script commitment to the project from ABC Signature, which centers on the lives of four sisters who are coming of age against the backdrop of a military scandal as their family loses both fortune and position. McElhone will star and executive produce the project, which is being written by Jordan Roberts.
CBS is developing AMERICAN GOTHIC from CBS Television Studios and Amblin Television. The murder mystery drama, written and executive produced by Corrine Brinkerhoff, follows a prominent family who are struggling with the realization that their recently deceased father may have been a serial killer.
CBS is developing JUSTIN AND ABBY AND OH YEA ZACK TOO with Tad Quill. The comedy project, written by Justin Noble, centers on two best friends – Justin and Abby – and Abby’s new boyfriend who feels like a third wheel. CBS Studios and the Tannenbaum Company will produce, with Quill, Eric and Kim Tannenbaum executive producing.
Endemol Studios is developing THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA for TV. The project, written by Tony Krantz and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, will be a drama full of love affairs, sex, murder, and mystery. It centers on a WWI fighter pilot with burns over half his body who finds himself at the center of a string of murders. Kranz and Jeunet will serve as executive producers along with Colin Callendar.
Fox is developing DIRTY DEEDS, a drama penned by Sheldon Turner and directed by Tommy Schlamme. The project, from Vendetta Productions and Sony TV, centers on a vigilant ATF agent and family man working undercover as a hitman, which exposes him to the dark side of the human soul. Turner, Klein and Schlamme will executive produce along with Julie DeJoie under her Shoe Money Productions banner. David Wolthoff and Larry Shuman also executive produce.
Fox is developing THE SYSTEM with Jason Winer. Written by Jon Caren for 20th Century Fox TV, the project centers on six twentysomethings with very different points of view on the criminal justice system whose high stakes jobs force them to make life or death decisions. Caren will executive produce with Winer and Renate Radford. Winer’s Small Dog Picture Company will produce.
Fox has given a script commitment to POTUS, a drama from Howard Gordon, Many Coto and Evan Katz. The project follows the American president who has become disillusioned with politics and decides to play by his own rules and eventually becomes corrupted by the power. Sam Chalsen and Nelson Greaves will write the script and executive produce the 20th Century Fox project. Gordon will executive produce under his Teakwood Lane banner, along with Coto and Katz.
Fox is developing an UNTITLED MARTIAL ARTS PROJECT from Robert Munic and Chris Morgan. The project centers on two estranged brothers, one a former Marine-turned-Shaolin master, the other a Chicago cop, who go home and form an unusual law enforcement partnership. Munic will pen the project and executive produce with Morgan under his Chris Morgan Productions banner. 20th Century Fox TV is also producing.
HBO is developing BROS, a comedy from Anthony Hemingway and Lena Waithe. The project, written by Ben Cory Jones, centers on three African American brothers – two straight and one gay – who navigate the murky waters of dating and relationships. Mark Taylor will executive produce under his Hemingway Taylor Productions banner with Hemingway, while Jones and Waithe will executive produce.
NBC is developing FAUST from Mark Burnett and Roma Downey via their LightWorkers Media. The drama, written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, is described as a faith-based medical procedural and a contemporary take on the popular tale about a scholar who sells his soul to the Devil for ultimate knowledge, which will explore questions of faith and the supernatural in a grounded, realistic way. Aguirre-Sacasa executive produces with Burnett and Downey.
NBC has given a pilot order to an UNTITLED JERROD CARMICHAEL COMEDY. The project, based on the life and stand up comedy of Jerrod Carmichael, will be penned by Carmichael and Nick Stoller for Universal TV. Stoller, Carmichael and Ravi Nandan will executive produce.
Netflix is adapting A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS to series. Narrated by Lemony Snicket, the 13-book series follows the fates orphaned children Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire at the hands of the villainous Count Olaf, as they face trials and tribulations, misfortunes and an evil uncle in search of their fortune, all in their quest to uncover the secret of their parents’ deaths. Netflix is producing with Paramount TV.
Nickelodeon is developing THE DROP from Nick Cannon, via his Ncredible Entertainment. The show is described as a half-hour musical comedy set at a diplomatic boarding school that caters to kids from all over the world. The series will follow 3 girls who soon discover that they share a love for the K Pop vibe. Tommy Lynch, Steve DeNure, Tracey Jardine, and Jim Corston are co-producing.
Jon Lovett has sold ANTHEM to Showtime. The political drama follows what happens when our political system collapses due to mistrust and partisan division. The pilot begins on a normal presidential election day but ends with the country on the brink of a civil war. Brian Koppelman and David Levien will executive produce the project.
TNT has given a pilot order to BREED, a drama from writer John Scott Shepherd, director Scott Winant, and producer Nicky Weinstock. The project centers on a series of brutal murders and the mysterious race of creatures who appear to be committing them. Shepherd, Weinstock, and Winant will executive produce. TNT bought the project on spec last spring.
TV RENEWALS
Period medical drama CALL THE MIDWIFE has been renewed for a fifth season. The BBC One series, which airs on PBS in the States, centers on a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the 1950s. The series stars Miranda Hart, Helen George, and Jessica Raine.
CHASING LIFE has gotten a renewal for a second season. The ABC Family drama follows a young woman’s life after she is diagnosed with cancer. The series stars Italia Ricci and Mary Page Keller.
DOWNTON ABBEY has been renewed for a sixth season. The BBC period drama chronicles the lives of the Crawley family and their servants, beginning in the years leading up to World War I.
ROYAL PAINS has been renewed for two more 8-episode seasons. The USA dramedy follows an unfairly discredited but brilliant diagnostic surgeon winds up working with his cheesy brother in the Hamptons as a concierge doctor to the uber-rich and ultra-elite. The series stars Mark Feuerstein.
TV CANCELLATIONS
Lifetimehas chosen not to renew WITCHES OF EAST END. The supernatural drama will end after its second season. The series starred Julia Ormond, Rachel Boston, Jenna Dewan Tatum and Madchen Amick as a family of witches who live in a quiet New England town.
NBC has cancelled both BAD JUDGE and A TO Z. Bad Judge stars Kate Walsh as a wild child judge who spends her time off the bench partying, while A to Z is a romantic comedy starring Ben Feldman and Cristin Milioti.
TV ATTACHMENTS
Bill Martin and Mike Schiff have signed on as showrunners for the upcoming fourth season of THE SOUL MAN. The duo replace former showrunner Ric Swartzlander. The series stars Cedric the Entertainer as a singer-turned-minister.
TV GREENLIGHTS
MTV has given a 10-episode order to SHANNARA. Based on the books by Terry Brooks, the series is set in our world, thousands of years after the destruction of our civilization. It is a world divided into what is known as the Four Lands, whose inhabitants are a mix of races including Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, Gnomes, and Humans. The story focuses on the Shannara family, whose descendants are empowered with ancient magic, and whose adventures continuously reshape the future of the world. Jonathan Liebesman has signed on to direct the first two hours of the series and Jon Favreau is on board as executive producer with Liebesman, Brooks, Dan Farah, Stewart Till and Gene Stein.
TV DEALS
Chris Levinson has signed a two-year overall deal with 20th Century Fox TV and Fox 21. Under the deal, Levinson will develop cable series through Fox 21 and broadcast projects through 20th TV. She is currently developing an hourlong show for Fox 21. Levinson is repped by WME and Magnolia Entertainment.
Ty Burrell has inked a year-long development deal with 20th Century Fox TV. Under the deal, Burrell will write, co-create and develop original comedy projects and help develop other projects for the studio. Burrell is repped by ICM.
