sf/f TV development news - 2013

[lennier1]

Maybe not technically sf/f, but close enuf. CBS comedy from the guy who did My Name Is Earl:

Garcia’s single-camera pilot Super Clyde centers on a meek, unassuming fast food worker who decides to become a super hero.

He already proved with Earl that he can turn a crazy idea into an entertaining show. Deserves a chance.

 

[JD]

^I loved Earl, and I love Raising Hope, so I'll definitely be checking that one out.

 

[Enterprise is Great]

Earl was great until they sent him to prison. Then it was pretty much downhill after that. Super Clyde could be good if it's more like pre prison Earl.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Happy MLK Jr Day and Obama Second Inaugural! Apres today, le deluge.

I'm too lazy to sort through the titles to find the genre shows but I'd expect sf/f shows and ones based on famous characters to do well based on this:

With the fall producing only three series that can qualify as hits, NBC’s Revolution, the CW’s Arrow and CBS’ Elementary, the networks are back to the drawing board and appear on track to order a number of pilots that will be on par with last year’s haul of 89

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Kind of a supernatural/Western/modern day series picked up to pilot at NBC:

Based on the Oni Press graphic novel, The Sixth Gun is the story of six mythical guns in the Old West. When the Sixth Gun, the most powerful and dangerous of the group, resurfaces in the hands of an innocent girl named Becky Montcrief, dark forces reawaken. Vile men thought long dead set their sights on retrieving the gun and killing Becky. Only Drake Sinclair, a self-serving gunfighter, stands in evil’s way.

I also noticed mention of The Strain at FX - can't recall if that one's been spotted before, but here's the description:

drama based on Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan's horror trilogy, about a vampiric virus that has infected New York and the battle of mammoth proportions that follows

So just an average day in the Big Apple.

EDIT: Two more genre pickups at FOX. I assume the second one is some kind of alt reality premise.

Described as a modern–day supernatural thriller based on The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow, it follows Ichabod Crane as he partners with Sleepy Hollow’s local female sheriff to solve the mysteries of a town ravaged by the battle between good and evil.

Based on the book by the same name, Delirium is about a young girl who falls in love in a society where love is seen as a defense.

 

[sojourner]

"A defense" against what?

 

[Greg Cox]

"A defense" against what?

I'm guessing that was supposed to be "disease."

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I thought that meant, psychological defense, but here's the description of the book it's based on:

They say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever. And I’ve always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed. Now, I’d rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.

Doesn't that belong on the CW?

Here's a longer descrption in much the same vein:

Lena Haloway is content in her safe, government-managed society. She feels (mostly) relaxed about the future in which her husband and career will be decided, and looks forward to turning 18, when she’ll be cured of deliria, a.k.a. love. She tries not to think about her mother’s suicide (her last words to Lena were a forbidden “I love you”) or the supposed “Invalid” community made up of the uncured just beyond her Portland, Maine, border. There’s no real point—she believes her government knows how to best protect its people, and should do so at any cost. But 95 days before her cure, Lena meets Alex, a confident and mysterious young man who makes her heart flutter and her skin turn red-hot. As their romance blossoms, Lena begins to doubt the intentions of those in power, and fears that her world will turn gray should she submit to the procedure. In this powerful and beautifully written novel, Lauren Oliver, the bestselling author of Before I Fall, throws readers into a tightly controlled society where options don’t exist, and shows not only the lengths one will go for a chance at freedom, but also the true meaning of sacrifice.

Might be interesting as a novel, but I can't see that working out on broadcast, particularly on male-skewing FOX. Anyway, moving on quickly...ABC pickup.

The Returned is based on the debut novel by Jason Mott, which is slated to be published next September by Mira Books...The drama explores what happens when the people you have mourned and buried suddenly appear on your doorstep as if not a day’s gone by? The lives of the people of Aurora are forever changed when their deceased loved ones, RETURN.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Described as a modern–day supernatural thriller based on The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow, it follows Ichabod Crane as he partners with Sleepy Hollow’s local female sheriff to solve the mysteries of a town ravaged by the battle between good and evil.

Another historical character in the modern world. Next up: A reboot of The West Wing starring Thomas Jefferson.

Based on the book by the same name, Delirium is about a young girl who falls in love in a society where love is seen as a defense.

Sounds like it could be an episode of the new Twilight Zone, but not an ongoing series.

 

[stj]

^^^Thomas Jefferson? Wiencek's new book, Master of the Mountain, shows us an historically accurate Jefferson series would have to be on cable. They could run it back to back with Game of Thrones.

 

[Christopher]

Another historical character in the modern world. Next up: A reboot of The West Wing starring Thomas Jefferson.

There's nothing new about transposing period literary figures into more modern eras. See all the King Arthur literature and films that put Arthur and Camelot in the Middle Ages, c. the 1400s, when the original legend -- and the real historical figure, if any, who was the basis for it -- was from a thousand years earlier, right after the end of Roman rule in Britain. And there are multiple works of Asian literature and cinema, including Dragonball Z, which are basically modernizations of the great Chinese literary classic Journey to the West.

 

[Greg Cox]

Another historical character in the modern world. Next up: A reboot of The West Wing starring Thomas Jefferson.

There's nothing new about transposing period literary figures into more modern eras. .

Indeed. Holmes and Watson were transposed into the modern era at least as early as the old 1940s films with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. (Remember Holmes tracking down Nazi spies?) And, of course, there's the assorted variations on The Seven Samurai, set during the wild west, in outer space, etc.

Heck, The Fugitive tv show was basically Les Miserables transposed to contemporary America, complete with a thinly-disguised version of Inspector Javert (renamed "Gerard").

The more things change . . . .

 

[Temis the Vorta]

And Elementary being one of the few actual broadcast hits this year, that will raise the odds on more shows with literary characters in modern settings.

 

[Christopher]

Heck, The Fugitive tv show was basically Les Miserables transposed to contemporary America, complete with a thinly-disguised version of Inspector Javert (renamed "Gerard").

Except Gerard turned out to be a much nicer guy than Javert.

The Bill Bixby Incredible Hulk, which is often seen as a Fugitive knockoff, was actually intended by its developer as a cross between Les Miserables and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Which makes for a nice segue into a reference to Sherlock producer Steven Moffat's previous modernization of a 19th-century literary protagonist, Jekyll, a miniseries from 2007 about a modern descendant of the original Dr. Jekyll. Which is also getting an American counterpart of sorts this season, NBC's Do No Harm, which premieres next Thursday. Except in this version, the protagonist is named Jason Cole (J. Cole = Jekyll, I guess), and his "Hyde" persona is named Ian Price. So it's more an "inspired by" sort of deal than a direct updating, or a sequel like Moffat's.

 

[Greg Cox]

As I recall, the Invisible Man and the Scarlet Pimpernal also ended up fighting Nazis back in the 1940s . . . .

 

[Temis the Vorta]

CW's The Selection (holdover from last year) finally gets the go-ahead.

The CW brass has been high on the concept for the Hunger Games-esque The Selection since the project was pitched in 2011. The network first ordered a pilot for the adaptation of the book by Kiera Cass last year. The project, written by Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain, didn’t make the cut to series, but the network kept it in redevelopment, ordering a new script from Craft and Fain. CW president Mark Pedowitz recently said that the network is quite happy with the duo’s new treatment, which is now getting a pilot green light. Set 300 years in the future, The Selection is described as an epic romance centering on a working class young woman chosen by lottery to participate in a competition with 25 other women for the Royal Prince’s hand to become the nation’s next queen. Balancing her loyalty to family, true love, and kingdom, she must attempt to remain true to herself as she navigates the cutthroat competition and palace intrigue, all while a budding rebellion threatens to topple the crown.

 

[DarthTom]

^^^ That show sounds like Prince Harry's idea on how to find a great wife. LOL

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Nah, he'd hold a Call of Duty Xbox tournament and marry the winner. Hey waitaminute...awesome idea for a reality series! So You Want To Marry an Immature Warmongering Big-Mouthed Dunce of a Prince.

 

[JD]

I thought that meant, psychological defense, but here's the description of the book it's based on:

They say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever. And I’ve always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed. Now, I’d rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.

Doesn't that belong on the CW?

Here's a longer descrption in much the same vein:

Lena Haloway is content in her safe, government-managed society. She feels (mostly) relaxed about the future in which her husband and career will be decided, and looks forward to turning 18, when she’ll be cured of deliria, a.k.a. love. She tries not to think about her mother’s suicide (her last words to Lena were a forbidden “I love you”) or the supposed “Invalid” community made up of the uncured just beyond her Portland, Maine, border. There’s no real point—she believes her government knows how to best protect its people, and should do so at any cost. But 95 days before her cure, Lena meets Alex, a confident and mysterious young man who makes her heart flutter and her skin turn red-hot. As their romance blossoms, Lena begins to doubt the intentions of those in power, and fears that her world will turn gray should she submit to the procedure. In this powerful and beautifully written novel, Lauren Oliver, the bestselling author of Before I Fall, throws readers into a tightly controlled society where options don’t exist, and shows not only the lengths one will go for a chance at freedom, but also the true meaning of sacrifice.

Might be interesting as a novel, but I can't see that working out on broadcast, particularly on male-skewing FOX. Anyway, moving on quickly...ABC pickup.

Yeah, that definitely doesn't seem like the usual Fox stuff. It sounds like it could be kinda interesting though.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I found another description that makes it sound more thriller-like and focused on the external threat to the character:

The series is set in a world where love is deemed illegal and is able to be eradicated with a special procedure. With 95 days to go until her scheduled treatment, Lena Holoway does the unthinkable: she falls in love.

So that sets up a ticking clock scenario that could cover the first season, and after she somehow evades the procedure, they can move on to something else...or maybe she doesn't evade it and S2 is about reversing it?

EDIT: Amazon looking at half hour comedy series based on Zombieland.

It would mark the first original scripted series for the streaming service and the first Amazon original offering from a major studio. The company had been ramping up original production through its own Amazon Studios, the original film and series production arm of Amazon.com, which is behind six recently greenlighted comedy pilots.

I hear original Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are onboard for the series as writers/co-executive producers, as is the movie’s producer Gavin Polone, who would executive produce. Sony TV, Reese, Wernick and Polone previously set up a Zombieland comedy series project at Fox last season. The deal with Amazon would fulfill the trio’s original vision for Zombieland as a TV series, which was first developed for CBS in 2005 before the rise of alternative digital distributors of original series like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. After CBS passed and Syfy couldn’t make a deal for the show, the project was turned into the Ruben Fleischer-directed feature starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, which became a sleeper hit.