TV SALES
BET has ordered a pilot for WHAT WOULD DYLAN DO, a comedy series starring Kelly Rowland, Gabrielle Dennis, Brandon Scott and Melanie Liburd. The show follows Dylan, an LA blogger (Rowland) who lives with her best friend (Dennis) and divorced roommate (Liburd), with Scott playing Dylan’s neighbor and boyfriend. Warren Hutcherson (“The Bernie Mac Show”, “Reed Between the Lines”) will executive produce the show with writer and co-executive producer Julian Breece. Rowland is repped by The Collective; Dennis is repped by Pantheon Talent and JC Robbins Management; Liburd is repped by Talent Works; and Scott is repped by Innovative Artists and Sweeney Entertainment.
NBC has bought a single-camera comedy from Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Warner Bros. Television called THE B-SIDE, which revolves around a recently divorced woman who reconnects with her best friends from high school. Sheri Elwood will write the script and exec produce with Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman. KristieAnne Reed is set to co-exec produce. Elwood created the Canadian comedy series “Call Me Fitz” and worked as a writer and producer on ABC’s “Defying Gravity”. She is repped by CAA and Madhouse Entertainment.
TV RENEWALS
ABC Family has renewed BABY DADDY, MELISSA & JOEY and SWITCHED AT BIRTH for an additional season. In addition, BUNHEADS is getting a back-order pickup for additional episodes to air in the winter.
– “Baby Daddy” centers on Ben (Jean-Luc Bilodeau), whose bachelor life is put on hold when his ex-girlfriend leaves a baby on his doorstep and he decides to raise it with the help of his friends (Derek Theler, Tahj Mowry), next door neighbor (Chelsea Kane) and overbearing mother (Melissa Peterman). Dan Berendsen (“The Nine Lives of Chloe King”, “Sabrina the Teenage Witch) created and executive produces the multi-camera comedy.
– “Melissa & Joey” follows Mel (Melissa Joan Hart), a councilwoman in Toledo, who must look after her sister’s kids after a financial scheme puts her in prison. Desperate for a job, bankrupt commodities trader Joe (Joey Lawrence) accepts the position of the family nanny. One of the most popular cable programs in its time slot, “Melissa & Joey” is executive-produced by Hart and Lawrence, Bob Young, David Kendall, Paula Hart and John Ziffren.
– “Switched at Birth” follows two families whose lives are irrevocably changed when they find out their daughters (Katie Leclerc, Vanessa Marano) were switched at birth. The series is executive-produced by Lizzy Weiss, Paul Stupin, Becky Hartman Edwards and John Ziffren.
– “Bunheads” stars Tony Award-winning actor Sutton Foster as a Las Vegas showgirl who moves to a small town with her new husband and becomes a teacher at her mother-in-law’s dance school. Amy Sherman-Palladino (“Gilmore Girls”) executive produces and co-created the show with Lamar Damon. Kaitlyn Jenkins, Julia Goldani Telles, Bailey Buntain and Kelly Bishop also star in the comedy-drama.
TNT has ordered a second season for the crime-drama PERCEPTION, which stars Eric McCormack as schizophrenic professor who helps the FBI solve complex cases. The ABC Studios-produced series currently ranks as the second-highest rated new scripted series of the year. The new episodes are scheduled to air in 2013. Ken Biller and Mike Sussman created the series and serve as executive producer and co-executive producer, respectively. McCormack also serves as executive producer.
TV CANCELLATIONS
The ABC Family series JANE BY DESIGN has been officially cancelled after one season. The show starred as Erica Dasher as a high school student who found herself working in the world of high fashion after a case of mistaken identity. April Blair created the series and served as executive producer with Gavin Polone and John Ziffren.
TV ATTACHMENTS
Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia are stepping up as the new showrunners for THE FAMILY TOOLS, the American adaptation of British sitcom “White Van Man”. Bobby Bowman adapted the series and wrote the pilot but stepped down as showrunner because ABC and ABC Studios wanted a showrunner with more experience. It is rumored that ICM repped-Bowman was offered a chance to stay on staff, but he stepped aside in order to give the new showrunners a fresh start. Bowman previously wrote for “Yes, Dear”, “My Name Is Earl” and “Raising Hope”, all three of which were created by Greg Garcia. Sternin and Ventimiglia served as executive producers for “That ’70s Show” and co-executive producers for “Kitchen Confidential”.
TV GREENLIGHTS
ABC has given script orders for three drama projects: FINN & SAWYER, THE OUTSIDERS and GOTHICA.
– “Finn & Sawyer” will be a contemporary version of Mark Twain’s classic novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, where Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn meet up again in their twenties and launch an investigative firm in New Orleans. The project comes from ABC Studios and Temple Hill Entertainment, with Jason Richman (“Detroit 1-8-7”) and David Zabel (“ER”) set to write and exec produce. Richman and Zabel are repped by WME.
– “The Outsiders” revolves around a woman who moves from Atlanta to New York for a new life and ends up looking out for nine underprivileged children. Inspired by a true story, the series comes from Ken Biller (“Smallville”), who will write and exec produce for ABC Studios.
– “Gothica” is a supernatural mystery drama which follows a woman as she searches for her identity in San Francisco, all the while being guided by a mysterious ladies man named Dorian Gray. Matt Lopez (“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, “Race to Witch Mountain”) will write and exec produce the project with Mark Gordon and Nicholas Pepper. Lopez is repped by ICM.
