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sf/f TV development news - 2013

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

CBS orders Stephen King adaptation, Under the Dome.

A big depature for CBS, if it goes to series. I wonder if their ratings drop this season has finally motivqted them to stop relying on their aging cop show audience. That can't last forever...

The show was originally being developed for Showtime.

In a departure from its signature drama procedurals, CBS has given a 13-episode straight-to-series order to Steven Spielberg and Stephen King’s Under the Dome, a drama based on King’s bestselling 2009 novel, which will be produced by Spielberg’s Amblin Television. The series will air next summer which will mark CBS’ biggest effort with original scripted fare in the off-season in years with Under The Dome and Unforgettable. Under the Dome tells the story of a small New England town that is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an enormous transparent dome. The town’s inhabitants must deal with surviving the post-apocalyptic conditions while searching for answers to what this barrier is, where it came from and if and when it will go away.

Its already been ordered straight to series. The real question is how will it do? Of course if this bombs over the summer, then it will further discourage CBS from future sci if productions.
 
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Yeah, this is a huge risk for CBS, they have high standards for ratings, and the premise is an odd one for their usual audience to buy into, but the way things are going, maybe their standards will deteriorate before this premieres? ;)

CW planning Wonder Woman series?

UPDATE: No reason for panic, Wonder Woman fans. While the warrior princess character is listed on the breakdown as Iris, not Diana, I’ve confirmed that, as writer Allan Heinberg hinted on Twitter after I posted the story, that is just a code name the producers used to avoid attention. So much for that…

...

On the breakdown I’ve obtained, her name is Iris (not Diana). “Iris comes from a remote, secluded country and until now has spent most of her life as a soldier and a leader on the battlefield. Because of relentless brutality of her life at home, Iris looks at our world with absolute awe and astonishment. She’s delighted *and just as often horrified * by the aspects of everyday life that we take for granted: skyscrapers, traffic, ice cream. It’s all new and fascinating and sometimes slightly troubling *to her. Iris is completely unschooled in our world, our culture, our customs. And she’s completely inexperienced at interpersonal relationships. She has no social filter, does not suffer fools, and tends to do and say exactly what’s on her mind at all times. She’s bluntly, refreshingly honest. She can tell when you’re lying to her. And she doesn’t have time or patience for politics or tact because she’s too busy trying to experience everything our world has to offer. There are too many sights to see *and things to learn *and people to care for. Hers is a true, noble, and generous heart. And she will fight and die for the people she loves. Iris is a fierce warrior with the innocent heart of a romantic *and she will fight to the death to make the world safe for innocents and true romantics everywhere.”

Avoid attention? Yeah right. It's WINO I tell ya! :D
 
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

ABC Orders Paranormal Investigation Drama Series ‘Weird Desk’ For Next
Summer


he network has given a
13-episode straight-to-series order to mystery supernatural/UFO drama Weird Desk for next summer. The show hails from Christina Jennings’ Canadian production company Shaftesbury, which has an U.S. division.

Written by Carl Binder (Stargate) and David Titcher (The Librarian), Weird Desk is in the vein of The X Files. Based on the alleged real-life mysteries from this world and beyond, it centers on the workings of a clandestine organization rumored to be named “Weird Desk.” Working above the levels of top secret and above the office of the President, the unit is the destination for mysterious intelligence rerouted from the CIA and NSA. Tasked with investigating and solving occurrences of the paranormal, supernatural and sometimes extra-terrestrial, “Weird Desk” is led by Morgan, an obstinate, socially inept and brilliant man who would now be dead if it weren’t for his special forces trained partner, Rosetta.
 
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

^^^ Good lord, have some writers/producers/network executives lost any sense of originality? Why don't they name the characters Murey and Stephine too?
 
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

^^^ Good lord, have some writers/producers/network executives lost any sense of originality?

Every story or format has been done before. Originality is in the execution -- in the characters, the style, the quality of the writing, etc.

That said, this tidbit isn't enough to get me interested in the show. But of course they're not going to reveal any details at this stage.
 
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

I saw that X-Files ripoff story and was too depressed to post it. :rommie:

Here's one that sounds no better:

EXCLUSIVE: E! has added another project to its scripted development slate: a high-concept romantic drama from feature writer-directors Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont (Can’t Hardly Wait). The project, from E! sibling Universal Cable Prods. and Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, centers on a young entertainment lawyer who dies but is determined to pursue a romance with a woman who’s still alive — while he exists in limbo in New York City, working for the department that judges the recently departed.

To cheer myself up, here's a long article on 2013 development that includes info on the steampunk minitrend, which has probably already been mentioned in this thread, but to summarize:

Some ideas defy categorization, or at least don't merit us giving them their own section. Like, for example, the micro-trend this season of steampunk themes: There are actually three different projects playing off said movement. There's NBC's Edison, in which Young Thomas helps the NYPD solve crimes with his crazy new discoveries. ABC also hopes to electrify its schedule with Gaslight (rival electricity dynasties square off against each other in the steampunk world) and Finn & Sawyer (our heroes are now private eyes in a steampunk New Orleans!).
 
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

The BBC are doing an adaptation of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

The BBC has announced an ambitious fantasy adaptation of Susanna Clarke's magnificent Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell...
BBC One has announced it's to make a six-part adaptation of the magnificent Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, directed by Doctor Who & Sherlock alumni Toby Haynes.
For those unfamiliar with the book, it's a sweeping fantasy novel set during the Napoleonic Wars where two magicians have emerged in Britain. As well as telling the story of their rivalry, it also details an amazing alternate history where the North of England was the dominion of a magical overlord known as the Raven King, and pulls in many notable historical characters.
If you've never read it, now's the perfect time as it's a real winter reader - you'll easily get lost in the amazing world Susanna Clarke creates.
Rumoured as a film adaptation for years, the sheer scale of the novel and number of effects needed may be somewhat daunting, but Toby Haynes has a strong track record at succeeding with ambitious material, having been responsible for Doctor Who's The Pandorica Opens/Big Bang two-parter, and the Sherlock series two finale The Reichenbach Fall. Adapting Clarke's book will be writer Peter Harness, who penned the third series of Wallander.
 
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Yes, that sounds like it could be very good. The Thomas Edison and Tom Sawyer Steampunk ideas sound good, too; they've been listed in this thread before.

^^^ Good lord, have some writers/producers/network executives lost any sense of originality? Why don't they name the characters Murey and Stephine too?
They should name them Holmes and Watson; everybody else is doing it. :rommie:
 
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Of the three steampunk ideas, I like the sound of Gaslight the most as it sounds like the only one that's not a dressed up procedural by another name.
 
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Another historical sf/f show. Space Nazis are back! (Cuz of course the aliens will be guilty of starting WWII and Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito are all alien quislings or possibly shapeshifters.)

Set during the height of World War II, Horizon centers on a secretary at the FBI who discovers that her husband might have been killed in a battle with a spaceship in the South Pacific. Obsessed with learning the truth, she becomes the only person standing between Earth and an alien invasion.

On the USA Network - a real departure from their usual type of show.
 
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

OOoo, I love USA's stuff. I'll be very curious to see their take on a historical/sci-fi series, because I don't think they've done either during their current batch of shows (Monk, Pysch, Burn Notice, ect.)
The steampunk stuff sounds cool. The X-Files ripoff sounds a little to blatant of a ripoff for me at this point.
 
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Another robot-cop show, but on Starz, it will be crazier and sexier than anything broadcat can offer...

The premium cable network is set to develop drama effort, Human Error, set in the near future where artificial humans known as “synthetics" are being phased into the civilian sector. A veteran human detective is paired with one such synth and is tasked with a seemingly simple case that ultimately leads to a larger conspiracy.

If this sounds familiar, compare it with FOX's untitled series in development:

drama set in the near future, when all LAPD officers are partnered with highly evolved human-like androids
 
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Which goes at least as far back as Asimov's Robot novels. One or both of those could still be good, but a little more info would be nice.
 
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Me, too. A Google search doesn't help. Mulder and Scully would have been a better choice of names.
 
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Which goes at least as far back as Asimov's Robot novels. One or both of those could still be good, but a little more info would be nice.

JJ Abrams is behind it, so of course details are scant and when they start rolling in, we'll be arguing whether the robot partner is Gary Mitchell or Khan (and he'll turn out to be Lord Garth). ;)
 
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

ABC’s ‘Weird Desk’ Summer Series Shelved

That was quick — a week after ABC gave a 13-episode straight-to-series order to paranormal investigation drama Weird Desk, the network has put the project on hold. It will no longer be produced for summer as planned, and its status will be revisited after pilot season. While ABC brass had liked the Weird Desk concept and script for awhile, by the time the project got a green light, it proved hard to get production up and running fast enough for a summer launch while keeping the cost low, an important factor for a summer original series. Additionally, I hear there was concern, at Marvel and internally at ABC, that Weird Desk may be similar to Joss Whedon’s high-profile ABC pilot S.H.I.E.L.D., an offshoot of blockbuster vengers franchise. There is speculation about objections from Marvel, one of Disney Co.’s most prized possessions, to the new project. As a result, the network decided to put a pin in Weird Desk. ABC still has soap Mistresses on tap for summer.
 
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