ER may be replaced with LAPD
NBC has had it pretty easy for the last fifteen years where Thursday nights at 10, 9 Central, are concerned. ER was locked in, and for the better part of that run was a dominant force. Now that the show is finally coming to an end, they need to start grooming a replacement. It looks like it could be a case of meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
ER executive producer, John Wells, has set up a new show, LAPD, at the network. It’s an ensemble show that will follow the lives of police officers in Los Angeles and will be written by Ann Biderman. That’s a solid choice as she won an Emmy for her work on NYPD Blue. The network has ordered a pilot and casting has begun. Another ER alum, Christopher Chulack, is on board to direct. Can it replace ER? Probably not completely. Remember, ER had a run as the number one show on television. That kind of success is hard to come by. Still, given the talent involved, it is something to look forward to.
[ via Cynopsis ]
Tim Minear gets a new deal
As Roger Daltry once sang, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” Tim Minear has signed a new seven figure deal that will keep him at 20th Century Fox TV for another two years. His job will continue to involve working on existing shows while developing new drama projects. He’s now been at 20th for over a decade, counting among his credits The X-Files, Strange World, Angel, Firefly, Wonderfalls, The Inside, and Drive. Currently he is working as a consulting producer on Joss Whedon’s upcoming Dollhouse.
That’s a really impressive list of shows, creatively at least. But it does stand out that five of them ended all too soon. On hearing that there was a new deal in place, I was surprised for that very reason. With the last four projects ending so quickly, I thought this might be where the two parted ways. The good news is that Minear’s bosses are saying the right things. 20th TV chairman Gary Newman was quoted as saying, “We truly believe that there is a hit show in him, and we weren’t prepared to let him go and do it somewhere else.” I couldn’t agree more. Tim Minear can make a hit show, and I’ll keep watching them, four episodes at a time if need be, until he finds it.
HBO biker series to star Donal Logue
Everybody wants Donal Logue. Just one month after NBC added him to the cast of NBC’s Life, as Charlie’s new boss, now comes news that HBO has booked Donal Logue as a biker in 1%. The new pilot casts Donal as a character named Misfit, a Silicon Valley member who’s sent to Carefree, Arizona, to get one of the toughest biker clubs in the west in line. Also joining Logue in the show are W. Earl Brown (Deadwood), Timm Sharp (Undeclared), Lucy Punch (hilarious in The Class as Holly Ellenbogen), Marisa Ryan (New York Undercover) and Sonny Barger. Barger is an actual biker and has been enlisted to no doubt add realism to the project.
The concept of one percenters, by the way, refers to the conceit that 99% of all motorcycle clubs are into riding their bikes and not looking for trouble. The other one-percent are, presumably, itching for a fight. Some clubs, however, rejected the clean-cut image and adopted the “one-percenter” moniker, even going so far as to create a diamond shaped 1% patch to wear on their vests as a badge of honor.
Since this pilot is called 1%, we can expect some conflict to say the least. And since HBO did once bring us Oz, could 1% be as raw as that show? We wonder, especially with Michael Tolkin as one of the executive producers. Tolkin has always been a provocative writer, including The Rapture, Changing Lanes and The Player, on his resume. Guymon Casady and Alexander Hertzberg with co-executive produce.
Interesting and entertaining are two things Donal Logue almost always brings to his roles. On TV, he starred in The Knights of Prosperity, an ABC sitcom that deserved a better fate than it received, as well as the underrated Grounded for Life, which ran for five years. I’ve always liked Donal Logue, so I’ll be curious enough to check out 1%. Ever since I saw him in The Tao of Steve, doing the same kind of schtick that Seth Rogan has done in Knocked Up (only better), I’ve been a Donal Logue fan.
[via PopCandy]
Jessica Biel Promotes Tolerance, Chuck and Larry
Jessica Biel Promotes Tolerance, Chuck and Larry
When she’s not frolicking around Western Europe with Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel makes movies. And in her latest film, “I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry,” Biel says there is a strong message of celebrating differences.
Of the film’s message, Biel said, “I want people to take away the message that you should celebrate people’s differences. That’s what’s so wonderful about so many different people in this world, that we are so different and no one has the right to choose or judge who you fall in love with and who you want to spend your life with.”
On July 20th, “Chuck and Larry” opens nationwide. Biel plays a lawyer that has been fooled into representing two straight single NYC firefighters who are pretending to be gay in order to receive domestic partner benefits.
Of course, there will probably be the normal “Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve” protests going on, but maybe Biel is on to something. Maybe loving others is more important than pointing out their differences.
And on a side note, Katharine McPhee is joining Anna Faris in an untitled comedy to be produced by Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions. Both were in attendance at the “Chuck and Larry” premiere (along with Emmanuelle Chriqui of Entourage) to support their new boss.
According to the latest reports, “the movie will star Faris as a Playboy bunny who gets evicted from the House of Hef and then stumbles into the job of a den mother to the lamest sorority on a nearby college campus. McPhee will play one of those sorority girls.”
To watch he trailer for “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” - !
Below are a few shots from the Chuck and Larry premiere (July 12). To see the entire gallery from the event - !