FOX Nabs New Comedy Series from Ted Trio

Deadline is reporting that FOX has bought a new live-action comedy series, with a put pilot commitment, to be written/executive produced by Ted co-writers Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild and executive produced by Ted co-writer/director/star Seth MacFarlane.

Yes, the minds behind the biggest comedy hit of the summer ($408 million worldwide) are working up a series about two successful guys in their 30s who have their lives turned upside down when their nightmare dads unexpectedly move in with them.  MacFarlane, of course is most famous for creating and starring in FOX's Family Guy, where Sulkin and Wild have also written and produced for years.

Source : ign[dot]com

New Wonder Woman Series Being Developed for The CW

Wonder Woman is getting another chance at a TV series. It was just last year David E. Kelley made a semi-infamous Wonder Woman pilot for NBC, which was passed on by the network. Now however, Vulture reports that there is a brand new TV take on Princess Diana in the works at The CW.

Titled Amazon, this is a complete origin story – what Vulture describes as being about “a young, budding superhero, rather than a fully formed defender of liberty.” It seems that, like Smallville, Diana may not even be called Wonder Woman at this point or wear the Wonder Woman costume – which would explain not using that name in the title.

Amazon is being written by Allan Heinberg, whose TV credits include Grey’s Anatomy and The O.C., but who is known to comic book fans for creating and writing Young Avengers at Marvel.

Vulture notes there is no pilot ordered yet, just a script. It’s unclear how the development of Amazon affects progress on a potential new Wonder Woman movie, which Variety reported Michael Goldenberg (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) was writing – not to mention the character’s likely presence in the JLA movie. However, the potential TV series focusing on such a young version of Diana may make it possible for it to not be seen as a conflict with a different (and no doubt older) movie interpretation of the character.

While the 2011 NBC pilot starring Friday Night Lights' Adrianne Palicki was passed on, there's still plenty of nostalgic love for the 1970s Wonder Woman TV series, which starred Lynda Carter and helped elevate Wonder Woman into a much more well-known and popular character.

Source : ign[dot]com

American Only Fools and Horses Back On

“If at first you don’t succeed – try, try again.” That seems to be the motto of the heads at ABC who, following the failure of their first pilot of the American version of Only Fools and Horse, have green-lit a second pass at it.

The show – which will still revolve around the money-making schemes of brothers Del (John Leguizamo) and Rodney (Dustin Ybarra) – has changed its name however, and will now be called Kings of Van Nuys.

Deadline reports that writers Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley are staying on to pen mark two of the sitcom, while Ted Wass will again direct.

The pilot will apparently shoot on October 2, with Christopher Lloyd playing the grandfather character, and Bridesmaids’ Wendi McLendon-Covey and BJ Bales co-starring.

Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN and quite likes the idea of Doc Brown playing Grandad. His idle chit-chat can be found on both Twitter and MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Ben and Kate: "Pilot" Review

Advance Review: FOX's new single-camera comedy Ben and Kate doesn't officially premiere for another month, but since the pilot episode is currently available for viewing via Hulu (see below!), we're considering it fair game for review.

From creator Dana Fox (What Happens in Vegas) comes a sweet, but not too sweet, comedy about a pair of grown siblings who, long ago, formed a unique bond due to an unhappy home life while growing up. Kate (Dakota Johnson - daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith) wound up getting pregnant at an early age and is now the sort of typical young, quirky "trying to make ends meet" TV mom that we've all come to expect. Unlucky in love, but lucky when it comes to the simple, genuine things in life. Like her extremely precocious five year-old daughter, Maddie. So far, so what, right? Kate's a somewhat typical klutzy, "rom-com" leading lady. But then comes Ben.

Ben, played by Academy Award-winning screenwriter (he co-wrote The Descendents with Community's Jim Rash) Nat Faxon, is Kate's older brother. And whereas Kate "grew up too fast," Ben "never grew up at all." He's a big, doofy man-child who's constantly making Kate's life more complicated with his crazy, random antics and, honestly, your enjoyment of Ben and Kate is primarily going to depend on whether or not you find Ben annoying or endearing. I happen to be fall into the latter category on this one, although I can totally see people not enjoying Ben's juvenile mania. I understand if he gets under your skin. In fact, I've seen this pilot twice now and I think about the Bill Murray movie "What About Bob?" each time I see it. Because, drawing from that film, you either love Bob or you totally empathize with Richard Dreyfuss.

So, much in the same way that FOX presented us with Zooey Deschanel's quirky Jess last year when New Girl premiered, Ben's naive dreamer qualities will either excite or irritate you. I think Faxon does a wonderful job of playing a lovable idiot and there were more than a few scenes here that I found pretty damn funny. In this first episode, Ben discovers that his ex, the love of his life, is getting married and decides to come up with a last ditch effort to win her back. Of course, none of this gels with Kate's plan to finally go out on a normal date with her boyfriend George and, possibly, have "the sex" for the first time since her daughter was born.

And while I brought up "What About Bob?" earlier, my thoughts also shift into darker territory when I'm reminded of Laura Linney's character from Love Actually. Remember her? The woman who had to be at the beck and call of her mentally ill brother and couldn't maintain a normal relationship because of it? I probably think of that because A) I just recently watched that movie again, and B) Kate's total acceptance/surrendering to the fact that the comically-obtuse Ben will always be a giant, dominating chunk of her life.

The spotlight might be on Faxon's Ben, but it's Johnson's Kate who does the heavy lifting. She's the other main reason why I feel this show works. If she were just the "straight man" put-upon sister, this would fall apart. These two have a goofy connection and by the end of the episode you feel as though they actually compliment one another. Ben, despite his life-disrupting ways, is protective of Kate a way that has no equal. Which comes in handy since Kate herself winds up in screwball situations of her own.

The rest of the players here - Lucy Punch's full-of-advice bimbo BJ, Echo Kellum's Kate-obsessed Tommy - are fine. Young Maddie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones), when not spouting wisdom beyond her years, makes a great, doe-eyed sounding board for Ben's lunacy. Again, depending on your personality there's a chance that Ben might frustrate you, but I think Ben and Kate is one of the most promising new comedies of the season.

The Ben and Kate pilot can be seen on Hulu. The series premieres on Tuesday, September 25th on FOX.

Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and IGN. WARNING: No Nudity!

Source : ign[dot]com

Joss Whedon Talks S.H.I.E.L.D. and His Overall Marvel Deal

On the heels of the big news that Joss Whedon is co-writing, producing and possibly directing a S.H.I.E.L.D. TV pilot for ABC, Whedon spoke to Vulture a bit about the project, along with his new role with Marvel – a three-year contract tying him to them exclusively when it comes to TV and film, which not only includes writing and directing Avengers 2, but advising on all the Marvel Cinematic Universe projects.

Mid-summer, Whedon expressed some hesitation about returning for Avengers 2, saying he might want to do a self-generated project first. Explaining what made him not only sign on, but sign on in a big way, he remarked that it was the size of the role that drew him in. Said Whedon, “It was part of what made it attractive to me. I loved the idea of being a consigliere. Every writer loves the idea of being able to go in and fix a problem and then leave without obligation. It's fun! I also love these characters and the Marvel universe, and I grew up reading the books, and I've been going back and reading the old books and realizing that they shaped my storytelling way more than I give them credit for. Now I'm starting up a TV show, which is something I really wanted to do, but I thought it wasn't going to be a part of my life for the next several years. It's like a tapas menus of projects that excite me, in addition to the Avengers sequel, which I'm excited for because I'm incredibly excited about the next story that I'm going to tell. For me, it's a huge win.”

Whedon adds, “It is unbelievably daunting, especially because I don't want to lose sight of all the other things I have on my docket and in my heart. So, it's going to be an insane few years, but I feel ready for that. It's an unholy amount of productivity, but as long as I give it all I can, it's a good thing. What's great is that the deal with Marvel is nonspecific, so I will give all I can, but the moment I can't, I just walk away. The moment I say, ‘You know, I'd like to help more on this project, but I need this time for The Avengers,’ there's no obligation. It's not like, ‘You must spend this amount of time on this movie.’ It's as much as it needs to be.”

S.H.I.E.L.D.: What We Might See in Joss Whedon’s TV Series

When it comes to S.H.I.E.L.D., Whedon didn’t offer any specifics on the character and storyline. But Vulture -- referring to some of his infamous situations on previous TV series like Firefly and Dollhouse --  asked, “How does it feel to finally be working on a project that may very well get the biggest promotional push of any TV show ever and will most likely not air on a Friday?”

Whedon replied with a laugh, “You know, I can't guarantee that any of that will happen! But so far, it feels just fine. The important thing to me is that we know what the show is. We love what it is. It came together very organically, so when we went in to pitch [to Marvel], it wasn't like, We're trying to find this because you want a TV show, it was, Check this out. And that's a good way to walk in a room.”

That being said, Whedon remarked, “Good support is wonderful, but it's not a hill of beans, because they may give us all this support and then decide, ‘Eh. Yeah, it's Friday.’ They might give us all the support and then not do that, but then audiences might go, ‘Yeahhh … no.’ You just can't be sure. What I do know is that it's the show it should be, and we've got some really dope notions. It's going to work very well for people who either love the Marvel universe or for people who've never dipped a toe in the Marvel universe.”

You can read more of Whedon's conversation over at Vulture.

Source : ign[dot]com

M. Night Shyamalan Turns to TV with New Syfy Pilot, Proof

Syfy has given movie filmmaker M. Night Syhamalan a put-pilot commitment to a new project called Proof, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The story centers on the son of a billionaire tech genius who offers up a substantial reward to anyone who can find proof of life after death following the untimely death of his parents. Shyamalan will direct the project for Universal Cable Productions, with former Buffy the Vampire Slayer executive producer Marti Noxon signed on to produce and co-write the pilot alongside Shyamalan.

Meanwhile, Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls) and Robert Halmi Sr. are working with the network on a pilot of their own called High Noon, based on John Christopher’s cult 1969 young-adult sci-fi novel The Lotus Caves.

According to Deadline, Reunion Pictures will produce the 90-minute pilot, with production set to begin this fall in Vancouver. The site describes the story, which "creates a future where the countries of Earth have established colonies to mine the Moon's resources. When a new life form is discovered, chaos erupts as various factions race to uncover and exploit its powerful secrets."

It's a busy year for Fuller, who has Hannibal coming in the spring to NBC and also wrote and executive produced the pilot for The Munsters reboot at NBC, Mockingbird Lane.

Source : ign[dot]com