Skip to main content

Channel Surfing: "Stargate Atlantis" to End, Joel Silver Setting Up at HBO, "90210" Marathon, and More

Good morning one and all and welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing. (Yes, the weekend is just within our grasp.)

Stargate Atlantis will wrap its run on Sci Fi when the fifth season concludes in January, but the cabler has ordered an untitled two-hour telepic that will air sometime in 2009, following the series finale. An official press release from Sci Fi is said to be forthcoming. (Multichannel News)

Joel Silver is back in television news headlines again (he's said to be in discussions with creator Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell about a possible feature version of Veronica Mars): he's optioned Arthur T. Vanderbilt II's 1989 family history "Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt," about the famous clan's 20th century saga as they deal with "declining fortune, extravagances and social-climbing instincts." Silver plans to adapt the book into a possible series for pay cabler HBO; he and Jane Semel would executive produce the one-hour drama, with Jim Solomon (The Practice) writing and executive producing. (Variety)

ABC Studios has bought an autobiographical script from Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten "Kiwi" Smith (Legally Blonde, House Bunny) which it will develop with McCullah Lutz and Smith on board to write and executive produce, should the project get ordered to pilot. Deal came after a recent Los Angeles Times article detailed their work method, which can involve champagne and therapy, and pilot will revolve around their friendship, partnership, and adventures in Hollywood. (Hollywood Reporter)

Newsarama has sat down with Battlestar Galactica executive producer David Eick for a chat about what's to come for BSG and spin-off Caprica. And, yes, there will be more Battlestar webisodes. (Newsarama)

And, speaking of interviews, Joss talks Dollhouse, why the dolls' sleeping units shouldn't resemble coffins, and more. (Philadelphia Daily News)

Sophina Brown (Shark) has been cast as a series regular in CBS' crime procedural NUMB3RS, where she will play Nikki Betancourt, a street-savvy ex-LAPD officer with a law degree to boot who joins the team as their newest agent. (TV Guide)

And Battlestar Galactica's Mark Sheppard (whom you might also remember from Firefly) has confirmed that he will appear in several episodes of Dollhouse in early 2009. (SyFy Portal)

Cabler SOAPnet will be airing a 24-hour marathon of Beverly Hills 90210 starting at Midnight, Monday, September 1st, featuring 24 pivotal episodes of the series--including the pilot--in advance of the CW's launch of 90210 the following evening.

Lifetime has ordered six episodes of docuseries Blonde Charity Mafia, about three twenty-something socialities in Washington D.C. who are frequent faces on the fundraiser circuit. Series, produced by PB&J Television, is set to start production next month but the cabler has not issued an air date yet. (Variety)

Eddie Cibrian (Ugly Betty) has been cast in a three-episode arc on USA's The Starter Wife. Cibrian will play a detective investigating Molly (Debra Messing). No word on what this means about his role as Coach Diaz on Betty, though Cibrian was only secured to appear in four episodes this season... (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Finally, the New York Times has a fascinating article about diversity casting in television and how the Disney Channel and ABC (both owned by Disney) seem to be at the forefront of this trend. (New York Times)

Stay tuned.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Regarding the Joel Silver HBO project, I think the Vanderbilt story could be really interesting. Plus, since Rome ended, we could use another family saga filled with social-climbing, extravagance and togas. (Well, maybe not the togas.)

Popular posts from this blog

Katie Lee Packs Her Knives: Breaking News from Bravo's "Top Chef"

The android has left the building. Or the test kitchen, anyway. Top Chef 's robotic host Katie Lee Joel, the veritable "Uptown Girl" herself (pictured at left), will NOT be sticking around for a second course of Bravo's hit culinary competition. According to a well-placed insider, Joel will "not be returning" to the show. No reason for her departure was cited. Unfortunately, the perfect replacement for Joel, Top Chef judge and professional chef Tom Colicchio, will not be taking over as the reality series' host (damn!). Instead, the show's producers are currently scouring to find a replacement for Joel. Top Chef 's second season was announced by Bravo last month, but no return date has been set for the series' ten-episode sophomore season. Stay tuned as this story develops. UPDATE (6/27): Bravo has now confirmed the above story .

BuzzFeed: Meet The TV Successor To "Serial"

HBO's stranger-than-fiction true crime documentary The Jinx   — about real estate heir Robert Durst — brings the chills and thrills missing since Serial   wrapped up its first season. Serial   obsessives: HBO's latest documentary series is exactly what you've been waiting for.   The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst , like Sarah Koenig's beloved podcast, sifts through old documents, finds new leads from fresh interviews, and seeks to determine just what happened on a fateful day in which the most foul murder was committed. And, also like  Serial  before it,  The Jinx may also hold no ultimate answer to innocence or guilt. But that seems almost beside the point; such investigations often remain murky and unclear, and guilt is not so easy a thing to be judged. Instead, this upcoming six-part tantalizing murder mystery, from director Andrew Jarecki ( Capturing the Friedmans ), is a gripping true crime story that unfolds with all of the speed of a page-turner; it

BuzzFeed: "The Good Wife Is The Best Show On Television Right Now"

The CBS legal drama, now in its sixth season, continually shakes up its narrative foundations and proves itself fearless in the process. Spoilers ahead, if you’re not up to date on the show. At BuzzFeed, you can read my latest feature, " The Good Wife Is The Best Show On Television Right Now," in which I praise CBS' The Good Wife and, well, hail it as the best show currently on television. (Yes, you read that right.) There is no need to be delicate here: If you’re not watching The Good Wife, you are missing out on the best show on television. I won’t qualify that statement in the least — I’m not talking about the best show currently airing on broadcast television or outside of cable or on premium or however you want to sandbox this remarkable show. No, the legal drama is the best thing currently airing on any channel on television. That The Good Wife is this perfect in its sixth season is reason to truly celebrate. Few shows embrace complexity and risk-taking in t