TV SALES
PGS Entertainment and OuiDO! Productions are set to develop a new animated series based on the smiley face emoticon. The children’s project will be tailored to children age 4 to 7.
Universal Cable Productions is teaming up with Warren Ellis to develop an UNTITLED WARREN ELLIS SERIES. Ellis will write, and Gale Anne Hurd will produce through Valhalla Entertainment.
IDW Entertainment and Universal Cable Productions are developing a series based on the horror comic NIGHT MARY, which follows a girl trained as a lucid dreamer who ends up trapped within the nightmares of a serial killer. John Pogue will write and direct the pilot, which he will executive produce alongside Rick Jacobs. Ted Adams and David Ozer from IDW and David Alpert from Circle of Confusion will produce. Pogue is repped by Resolution and Circle of Confusion.
Universal Cable Productions is developing a series based on the comic FIVE GHOSTS. The pilot will be written and executive produced Evan Daugherty. Chris Bender and Jake Weiner from BenderSpink will also executive produce, alongside Matt Pizzolo and Brett Gurewitz. Jake Wagner will produce. Daugherty is repped by BenderSpink.
Sony TV has optioned Jenny Mollen’s memoir I LIKE YOU JUST THE WAY I AM. The book chronicles Mollen’s career as an actress and author. Mollen’s herself will adapt and star in the series. She’s repped by Gersh and Brillstein Entertainment.
TV RENEWALS
BBC has announced that it has renewed drama series CALL THE MIDWIFE for a fourth season. The series centers on a young nurse and a group of her fellow midwives in East London in the 1950s.
FX has ordered FARGO for a sophomore season and also renewed LOUIE for its fifth. “Fargo” will come back for another 10-episode season, while “Louie” has been ordered for only 7.
TV CANCELLATIONS
The CW has pulled freshman comedies SEED and BACKPACKERS from its schedule, after both received very poor ratings in their first two weeks. “Seed” starred Adam Korson, while “Backpackers” was led by Noah Reid, Meghan Heffern, and Dillon Casey.
TV ATTACHMENTS
Aimee Garcia and Mircea Monroe will join Michael Rosenbaum in TV Land’s IMPASTOR. The dark comedy follows a man who escapes his gambling debts by posing as a small town’s gay pastor, and is written by Christopher Vane and directed by Robert Greenberg. Garcia plays the main characters’ fed-up girlfriend, while Monroe plays the Head Trustee of the church. Garcia is repped by Paradigm and Mosaic. Monroe is repped by Gersh and LINK.
Matt Piedmont has signed on to direct AMC comedy pilot WE HATE PAUL REVERE. The pilot, written, executive produced, and starring Ethan Sandler and Adrian Wenner, centers on two brothers who struggle to find the recognition they feel they deserve after being overshadowed by Paul Revere during the Revolution. Piedmont is repped by CAA and Rumble Media.
Regina King will direct the sixteenth episode of the fourth season of SCANDAL. The thriller follows political fixer Olivia Pope, who finds herself getting caught up in some of the same scandals she’s trying to push under the rug. King is repped by ICM Partners and John Carrabino Management.
Rina Mimoun has joined RED BAND SOCIETY as writer and executive producer. Mimoun is known for her work on “Mistresses” and “Hart of Dixie.” The series follows the daily lives of sick teenagers living in a hospital who form unlikely friendships with each other and the staff. Mimoun is repped by UTA.
Jessica Biel will guest star in the season four premiere of NEW GIRL. She’ll be playing a scientist competing with Zooey Deschanel’s character for the attentions of a man. Biel is repped by CAA.
Murray Miller has assembled an exceptional cast to star in his professional tennis mockumentary 7 DAYS IN HELL. Attached to star are Andy Samberg, Kit Harrington, Fred Armisen, Lena Dunham, Will Forte, Karen Gillan, Howie Mandel, Michael Sheen, Mary Steenburgen, June Squibb and Soledad O’Brien. Miller writes for and Co-EPs HBO Comedy “Girls.” He’s repped by UTA.
TV GREENLIGHTS
MTV has given a straight to series order to SHANNARA, an adaptation of the novel written by Terry Brooks. Set a thousand years after the destruction of our civilization, the series centers on the Shannara family, whose descendents are empowered with ancient magic. The series is being written by Al Gough and Miles Millar, who will also executive produce, alongside Dan Farah, Jonathan Liebesman, Jon Favreau and Terry Brooks.
Canada’s OUTtv has ordered transgender comedy series THE SWITCH, starring Julie Vu, a transgender woman. The series centers on an upwardly mobile IT manager who loses her job and apartment after coming out of the closet, enabling her to re-build her life in Vancouver’s gay underground with the help of five transgender friends.
Amazon Studios added two new projects to its latest pilot slate. THE MAN IN HIGH CASTLE, based on Phillip K. Dick’s award-winning novel, imagine a world in which the Axis powers won the second World War, and now compete among each other for dominance over the United States. The project is written by Frank Spotnitz, directed by David Semel, and produced by Scott Free, all of whom are repped by WME. JUST ADD MAGIC is the family-friendly tale of three pre-teens who discover a recipe book that enables them to cast magic spells. It’s written by Joanna Lewis, Joanna Songco and Nancy Cohen, and directed by Joe Nussbaum, who’s repped by WME and Principato Young.
TV DEALS
Rene Echevarria has inked a two script development deal with Legendary TV. The showrunner is known for “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” Fox’s “Terra Nova,” and MTV’s “Teen Wolf.” He also co-created “The 4400” and worked on “Medium” and “Castle.” Echevarria is repped by WME.
Taylor Elmore has signed a two-year overall deal with CBS Television Studios, under which he will supervise and develop new projects. Elmore currently executive produces and writes for FX’s “Justified”; previously, he wrote for CBS’s “Cold Case.” He is repped by UTA.
