General Pilot & Shows In Development Discussion

[Lugal]

On 7/28/2017 at 2:14 AM, paulvdb said:

My main issue with the premise of Confederate is that slavery would still exist in the South if it had become independant from the United States. It would have existed longer than it did in our real history, but slavery was abolished in all Western nations in the 19th century and I think slavery would have been abolished in the South eventually, even if only because of international pressure. That doesn't mean that I believe that black people in such an independant South would necessarily be equal to white people today. There could very well still be segregation, but not slavery.

I think that part of the premise is as unrealistic as a successful German invasion of the United States in WW2.

I disagree with the showrunners that Lee sacking Washington would have led to a Southern victory.  If anything that would have inspired more generals along Sherman's lines.  With the population difference of the North and South, the North would always put more men into the field than the South ever could.  I personally think that the Trent affair and bringing the UK and France into it would have forced the USA and CSA to the negotiating table and could have let the South go (I've been kicking around an AH story from that idea for years)

Slavery was legally abolished in 1865 but continued on for some time afterwards in a different form, thanks to the economic conditions of sharecropping and to the wording of the Thirteenth Amendment: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.  That bit allowed for the mass incarceration of black people in the South and could very easily be connected to incarceration policies to this day, so I could see a future where slavery survived in one form or another.

If they really wanted to, and if they handled it well, they could highlight a lot of modern day issues with this story, but no one trusts the showrunners to do it justice based on their history on GoT, which is IMO one of the reasons for all the backlash.

[BoogieBurns]

On 7/29/2017 at 8:04 PM, Lugal said:

That bit allowed for the mass incarceration of black people in the South and could very easily be connected to incarceration policies to this day, so I could see a future where slavery survived in one form or another.

It's not even fantasy. We are still enslaved this way. Slavery did continue. (I'm agreeing with you if my tone isn't clear)

[MissAlmond]

I side-eye producers/writers (yes, even you Spellman's!) whose new series alt-history imagination(s) apparently only stretched so far as "Gee, I wonder what would have happened if the South won and slavery continued to exist?" but not "Gee, I wonder what would have happened if, after they were freed, former slaves were given back wages and a seat at the table?" 

[Featherhat]

1 hour ago, MissAlmond said:

I side-eye producers/writers (yes, even you Spellman's!) whose new series alt-history imagination(s) apparently only stretched so far as "Gee, I wonder what would have happened if the South won and slavery continued to exist?" but not "Gee, I wonder what would have happened if, after they were freed, former slaves were given back wages and a seat at the table?" 

Ask and ye shall receive? Sort of?

http://deadline.com/2017/08/black-america-amazon-alt-history-drama-will-packer-aaron-mcgruder-envisions-post-reparations-america-1202139504/

A more interesting take on it than Confederate from the sounds of it anyway.

[MissAlmond]

25 minutes ago, Featherhat said:

Ask and ye shall receive? Sort of?

http://deadline.com/2017/08/black-america-amazon-alt-history-drama-will-packer-aaron-mcgruder-envisions-post-reparations-america-1202139504/

A more interesting take on it than Confederate from the sounds of it anyway.

OK, so I should have mentioned Will and I speak regularly and he asked me to give his new series a heads up plug on PTV <just kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!>.  

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, Featherhat said:

Ask and ye shall receive? Sort of?

http://deadline.com/2017/08/black-america-amazon-alt-history-drama-will-packer-aaron-mcgruder-envisions-post-reparations-america-1202139504/

A more interesting take on it than Confederate from the sounds of it anyway.

Sounds like something I might be able to get into:

Quote

…As for the tone of the hourlong series, it’s “a drama, but it wouldn’t be Aaron McGruder without traces of his trademark sardonic wit,” Packer said.…

[Joe]

15 hours ago, Featherhat said:

Ask and ye shall receive? Sort of?

http://deadline.com/2017/08/black-america-amazon-alt-history-drama-will-packer-aaron-mcgruder-envisions-post-reparations-america-1202139504/

A more interesting take on it than Confederate from the sounds of it anyway.

Yes, this sounds a lot more interesting than Confederate. No promises I'll watch, but I like the premise.

[methodwriter85]

I'm overthinking this but I remember watching a Youtube video where they talk about how unlikely it was that slavery would have continued all the way to present day even if the South had won. Mechanization would've have made slavery obsolete. Although maybe that would have been for the best, if it had slowly eked out until finally dying out for good around World War I.

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I'm overthinking this but I remember watching a Youtube video where they talk about how unlikely it was that slavery would have continued all the way to present day even if the South had won. Mechanization would've have made slavery obsolete. Although maybe that would have been for the best, if it had slowly eked out until finally dying out for good around World War I.

But just like war, industrial attrition would not have had the slave owners and their tacit approvers address the social injustice committed by everyone whose color gave them privilege. I wonder if Black America will address reconciliation beyond land or financial restitution. Probably not, just like apocalyptic shows never seem to demonstrate the spirit of generosity that is often observed IRL after tragic events. 
But, actually, it would probably be more productive if Confederate were to have a counterpoint character who is empathetic towards the enslaved — perhaps a white man who was himself released from wrongful imprisonment — since Confederate, IMO, is likely to attract a greater share of racially unenlightened viewers.

[supposebly]

Thinking that abolishing slavery was probably not a one-step-and-done kind of process, I googled "last country to abolish slavery" and Wikipedia came up with a timeline. I thought it interesting that there are different kinds of agreements and processes on what kind of slavery to be abolished in the world with the occasional mention on whether it actually was upheld in practice. 
Apparently, it was banned all over the world already in Medieval times but that really didn't take.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_abolition_of_slavery_and_serfdom#1950.E2.80.93present

What I find even more depressing is that the practice is alive and well. So, I'm not so sure that it would have been abandoned simply because of technological progress. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_slavery

[BoogieBurns]

1 hour ago, supposebly said:

I googled "last country to abolish slavery" and Wikipedia came up with a timeline.

I am now, and will remain in a wikipedia rabbit hole because of you!

[supposebly]

15 minutes ago, BoogieBurns said:

I am now, and will remain in a wikipedia rabbit hole because of you!

Sorry. You're welcome!  ;-)

I know very little about the history of slavery both in the US or anywhere else, so I just wanted to get a general picture of where the US stood/stands in comparison with the rest of the world. Well, and where my countries do (Germany and Canada).

[2727]

New Netflix series American Vandal parodies the true crime genre. Premieres September 15.

I watch a lot of this stuff and it cracked me up. The ball hairs!

Edited August 3, 2017 by 2727

[ratgirlagogo]

12 hours ago, supposebly said:

What I find even more depressing is that the practice is alive and well. So, I'm not so sure that it would have been abandoned simply because of technological progress. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_slavery

Yes.  It is amazing that chattel slavery was abolished in the UK and the USA - truly a New Idea Under The Sun, despite what all the people who keep trying to tell us that you Just Can't Fight City Hall may say.    An inspiring success, the result of a remarkably diverse (in every way - race, sex, class, religion, sexual preference) mass movement - and still, I think, impressive even with the later racism.  BUT.  That was only ONE form of slavery (there were, for example, other forms of slavery under the Spanish ruled areas (like the states west of the Missisippi that joined the US after the Mexican Cession),  and there are enslaved people right here in NYC and the rest of the United States, as well as the rest of the world , right now, as I type this.  Please take the time to go to https://www.antislavery.org/ and https://www.hrw.org/ (Human Rights Watch) and get involved - even just online participation is incredibly helpful.

Edited August 4, 2017 by ratgirlagogo

[Scarlett45]

On 8/3/2017 at 0:04 PM, 2727 said:

New Netflix series American Vandal parodies the true crime genre. Premieres September 15.

I watch a lot of this stuff and it cracked me up. The ball hairs!

 

This is going to be one of those "kick back, relax, and giggle Sunday afternoon" type series. I will be watching. 

[Guest]

They are taking another shot at putting another version of How I Met Your Dad Father into development.  Haven't even found writers yet.

I halfway want this to get far enough along to see if they push on publicity with a very strong, this is not written by the people who screwed up the ending of HIMYM.

[ratgirlagogo]

32 minutes ago, ParadoxLost said:

They are taking another shot at putting another version of How I Met Your Dad Father into development. 

Pass.

[BetterButter]

Live-Action ‘The Jetsons’ Pilot Officially Ordered at ABC

[BetterButter]

‘L.A. Confidential’ Series in Development at CBS

[Just Here]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is getting a Netflix prequel --

From Deadline: Ryan Murphy’s Nurse Ratched Origin Series Starring Sarah Paulson Scores Big Netflix Order With Michael Douglas As EP

Quote

Ratched scored a two-season, 18-episode, straight-to-series order at Netflix.

...

The project was created by Evan Romansky who, fresh out of film school, penned the script on spec. It was slipped to Murphy by CAA agent Joe Cohen. Murphy took it in, attached one of his muses, Emmy-winning American Horror Story and American Crime Story star Sarah Paulson, to play the title character and spent a year securing the rights to the character and the participation of the Saul Zaentz estate and Douglas.

Ratched is an origins story, beginning in 1947, which will follow Ratched’s (Paulson) journey and evolution from nurse to full-fledged monster.

Edited September 7, 2017 by Just Here

[ratgirlagogo]

4 hours ago, Just Here said:

Ratched is an origins story, beginning in 1947

Wow, no.  Kee-rist I hate all these prequels.

[Lugal]

And its all about stuff that came out years ago.  The Jetsons was on in the 60's, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest came out in 1976 and L.A. Confidential came out in 1997.

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, BetterButter said:

‘L.A. Confidential’ Series in Development at CBS

No.  Just no.  The movie was perfect, and there's no one I can think of who could possibly play the characters anywhere near as well as the movie cast did.

[DearEvette]

18 hours ago, BetterButter said:

‘L.A. Confidential’ Series in Development at CBS

Sigh.  And CBS will most likely cast it with former NCIS or CSI cast offs or actors from their CW stable of shows who are currently not starring in anything. 

[biakbiak]

Is Sarah Paulson only allowed to be hired by Ryan Murphy?

[janie jones]

On 9/6/2017 at 4:19 PM, BetterButter said:

‘L.A. Confidential’ Series in Development at CBS

I saw some thing like 20 years ago where James Ellroy hadn't thought it would be possible to make L.A. Confidential into a movie, since there's too much story.  He thought at best they could do a miniseries.  He was pleasantly surprised that Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland were able to condense the story well.  I read the book before I saw the movie, and I was surprised at all they trimmed out, but in my opinion, they did it right; L.A. Confidential is one of my favorite movies. 

I think L.A. Confidential is a good example of a movie that is different enough from the book that you can't say that one is better than the other, or that the movie "ruined" the book or whatever.  It's apples and oranges.  If they're basing the series on the book, as that article says, and including all the characters (Preston Exley is still alive in the book, for example), I can see how it could be a series that is also so different from the movie that it's apples and oranges. 

[biakbiak]

Yeah I love LA Confidential, both the book and the movie, but would be interested on a series if done well.

[Chaos Theory]

7 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Is Sarah Paulson only allowed to be hired by Ryan Murphy?

She does the occasional movie but when you have a good thing going why ruin it?  

[biakbiak]

Just now, Chaos Theory said:

She does the occasional movie but when you have a good thing going why ruin it?  

It was a joke. I actually find her acting not my taste and most of his show's awful, the one exception for both being The People vs. OJ, so I am glad they keep themselves together makes it easier to avoid both.

[TaraS1]

18 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Is Sarah Paulson only allowed to be hired by Ryan Murphy?

I hope so, because I don't watch any Ryan Murphy shows.

[Chaos Theory]

11 hours ago, biakbiak said:

It was a joke. I actually find her acting not my taste and most of his show's awful, the one exception for both being The People vs. OJ, so I am glad they keep themselves together makes it easier to avoid both.

I guess I am the opposite because I think together they are magic.  There is just something about Ryan Murphy that just gets me.  The only thing I haven't liked of his was Glee.  And I always get a little giddy when I see Paulson in a movie.  She was had a small part in "Carol".  Different strokes I guess.  

Edited September 8, 2017 by Chaos Theory

[BetterButter]

‘The Greatest American Hero’ Reboot With Female Lead Gets Big ABC Commitment

[BetterButter]

‘True Lies’ Movie Rebooted As TV Series By Fox With McG, Marc Guggenheim & James Cameron Producing

[CoderLady]

On 9/15/2017 at 3:43 PM, BetterButter said:

‘True Lies’ Movie Rebooted As TV Series By Fox With McG, Marc Guggenheim & James Cameron Producing

I couldn't have expressed myself better than this commenter on the article did:

Quote

mgt • on Sep 15, 2017 2:59 pm

I’m all for rebooting or expanding universes on things, but in all honesty True Lies is a pretty tropey premise and the only reason the film worked as well as it did was Cameron + casting. I think we all know t.v. casting and time lines will never allow for this show to even scratch at the surface of the film ability to resonate with an audience. This is pretty clearly an attempt to create a faceless product and slap a big name on it to suck a few dollars out of thin air.

[paulvdb]

Sabrina the Teenage Witch ‘Riverdale’ Companion Series In Works At the CW

 

Quote

A dark drama in the horror genre, The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina is worlds away from the bubbly 1996 Sabrina, the Teenage Witch comedy series starring Melissa Joan Hart. The new project reimagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and, of course, witchcraft. Tonally in the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, this adaptation finds Sabrina wrestling to reconcile her dual nature — half-witch, half-mortal — while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family and the daylight world humans inhabit.

[Just Here]

NBC is working on a drama series adaptation of the 2002 film Blue Crush (Wikipedia), per The Hollywood Reporter. 

Quote

The drama, which is in development, is being written by Hannah Schneider (Reign), who will executive produce the Universal Television drama alongside Imagine's Brian Grazer and Francie Calfo. Jillian Kugler will oversee for Imagine.

The film was co-written by Lizzy Weiss (creator of Freeform's Switched at Birth), who does not appear to be involved with this project.

NBC kind of seems like an odd fit, as the premise seems more suited for Freeform or the CW since the premise easily translates into a soapy drama that is ripe for the 18-34 demo:  Hot twenty-something single women who are down on their luck (they're hotel resort maids with an absent/deadbeat mom) in a tropical beach locale (Hawaii), but things get better (the lead meets a hot NFL Pro Bowl quarterback)!  -- Though unless Honolulu has an NFL team in this adaptation, I suspect the wealthy romantic interest would be something along the lines of the resort owner's hot son who's freshly back from earning a Stanford MBA.

[shapeshifter]

"Sean Penn To Star In Beau Willimon’s ‘The First’ TV Series For Hulu & Channel 4" (http://deadline.com/2017/09/sean-penn-beau-willimon-the-first-hulu-channel-4-1202173343/):

Quote

In his first major TV role, two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn has been tapped as the male lead of The First, House of Cards creator Beau Willimon’s straight-to-series drama, slated to premiere on Hulu and Channel 4 in 2018.

Written by Willimon, The First follows the first human mission to Mars, exploring the challenges of taking the first steps toward interplanetary colonization. The story focuses not only on the astronauts, but also on their families and loved ones, as well as the ground team on Earth.

I like the premise and the casting, but for purposes of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) (i.e., Google), I hope they change the title.

And hopefully it doesn't get too soapy. The Battlestar Galactica "reimagining" avoided that by giving equal time to issues of civil rights, politics, and ethics, but in today's world, maybe most viewers want to escape from those topics.

Edited October 13, 2017 by shapeshifter
hyperlink didn't hyperlink

[Lugal]

Amazon is developing a Snow Crash pilot, even though it may not be out until 2019.

http://deadline.com/2017/09/ringworld-lazarus-snow-crash-amazon-genre-drama-series-push-1202179073/

I hope they can translate the book well (not an easy task).

[Chas411]

http://www.justjared.com/2017/10/14/jennifer-lopezs-legal-dramedy-rosarito-beach-picked-up-by-cbs/

[shapeshifter]

I always thought this would happen (Roswell reboot): http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/roswell-reboot-works-at-cw-1047911

[Chas411]

Ugh ugh ugh - can nobody think of anything original anymore? It's so lazy 

[shantown]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I always thought this would happen (Roswell reboot): http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/roswell-reboot-works-at-cw-1047911

I just rewatched the original recently and it was peak early-2000s WB cheesiness. I loved it. 

[ratgirlagogo]

On 10/13/2017 at 1:17 AM, Just Here said:

NBC kind of seems like an odd fit, as the premise seems more suited for Freeform or the CW since the premise easily translates into a soapy drama that is ripe for the 18-34 demo:  Hot twenty-something single women who are down on their luck (they're hotel resort maids with an absent/deadbeat mom) in a tropical beach locale (Hawaii), but things get better (the lead meets a hot NFL Pro Bowl quarterback)!  -- Though unless Honolulu has an NFL team in this adaptation, I suspect the wealthy romantic interest would be something along the lines of the resort owner's hot son who's freshly back from earning a Stanford MBA.

It seems odder to me since the premise of the movie (and the magazine piece it was based on) was that the girls were not down on their luck but  fanatical surfers, i.e. jocks, who were deliberately working menial jobs that allowed them to go surfing every single morning in one of the greatest places to surf on the planet, the place where surfing was basically invented.  Although taking the female athletics part of it seriously would probably  doom it to the same fate as Pitch.:(

Edited October 14, 2017 by ratgirlagogo

[Just Here]

There's a new attempt at a Nancy Drew project...  This time at NBC, with the same creative team as the failed CBS project.  Via Deadline:

Quote

In NBC’s Nancy Drew, written by the duo, when the author of the most famous female teen detective book series is thrust into a real-life murder mystery, who does she turn to for help? Her two best friends from childhood, who were the inspiration for all those books and the women who have a real ax to grind about the way their supposed best friend chose to portray them all those years ago.

As a result, “She found fame but in the process lost her best friends,” Phelan said.

The series is about Nancy getting back together with her girlfriends as they all are now women of a certain age, in their 40s or 50s. Overcoming the inevitable bad blood, they pull on their strength, which is their knack for solving mysteries together.

Their age “we think is their superpower;  no one notices them when they walk in. It’s a way for them to fly under the radar,”  Rater said. “They talk about how they feel unseen.”

[Guest]

Tremors pilot started filming this month.

I know TV doesn't carry the stigma it once did, but something about Kevin Bacon starring in a Tremors TV show on SyFy makes me feel sad for him.  

[shapeshifter]

7 minutes ago, ParadoxLost said:

Tremors pilot started filming this month.

I know TV doesn't carry the stigma it once did, but something about Kevin Bacon starring in a Tremors TV show on SyFy makes me feel sad for him.  

Assuming it's still comedic in tone, he might just be doing it for fun. Maybe it's a pallet cleanser after The Following.

[ratgirlagogo]

Anything would be an improvement over The Following.  That's one of the worst TV shows I've seen in my whole life - worse than My Mother the Car, worse than Homeboys in Space, or any of the other constant buzzfeed list entries. I felt really bad for all the actors on it.  

[BetterButter]

‘Lord of the Rings’: Amazon, Warner Bros. in Talks for Series Adaptation

[Joe]

1 hour ago, BetterButter said:

‘Lord of the Rings’: Amazon, Warner Bros. in Talks for Series Adaptation

Please no. The previous attempts have not been good, I have absolutely no faith in this one. Unless they intend to put Tom Bombadil back in. That would be... interesting.

[SVNBob]

2 hours ago, Joe said:

Please no. The previous attempts have not been good, I have absolutely no faith in this one. Unless they intend to put Tom Bombadil back in. That would be... interesting.

That would help distinguish it from the movies.

The only way I see LotR working as a series would be to closely follow each book of the trilogy, extending each one into at least 2 seasons.  For example:

• Season 1 would be the 4 hobbits going from the Shire to Rivendell, with the Fellowship forming in the finale.  Bombadil's appearance would be in an episode (or two) here.
• Season 2 would be the journey to and through Moria, ending with the breaking of the Fellowship.  Or it could end at the stairs in Moria, and Season 3 would deal with the aftermath of that up to the Breaking.
• The next couple seasons would cover the intertwined stories of the Two Towers.  Each episode could be about a different sub-group of the Fellowship, so it'd switch between the 3 stories: the Riders, the Ents, and the Ring.
• Then the final 2 seasons would cover the final War of the Ring and the Return of the King.  And the final episode would be the 4 hobbit heroes returning to the restore the Shire.