Showing posts with label hbo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hbo. Show all posts

Friday, August 14, 2009

Spotnitz Exploring New, Futuristic Worlds for HBO

Writer and executive producer Frank Spotnitz, best known for his work on The X-Files, is going to be a busy man in the near future.  Spotnitz has been tapped by both HBO and FX to develop a total of three television series.

The writer will develop two futuristic drama series for HBO.  The first, Humanitas, is a medical thriller "set in a time when major advances . . . have created dilemmas for doctors and fanned fears that a devastating pandemic is imminent."  Spotnitz will co-executive produce the series.

He will also exec produce a series based on Robert Silverberg's sci-fi novel The World Inside, a dystopian novel "where overpopulation has run amok, and people live in carefully controlled urban centers where frustration and anger are eliminated, sex is rampant and fertility is the most prized human attribute."  Yup, that sounds like it's right up HBO's alley.

Spotnitz told Variety that his pilot for FX, Arc, is "sort of about what would happen if Jason Bourne decided to leave the spy game and try to fit into normal life."  The premise is taken from the life of a real person who is part of the covert operations world.  Spotnitz describes the show as character-based, as opposed to action-based. [Variety]
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Monday, August 3, 2009

TV News: Tennant, Stewart "To Be" on PBS; Galactica Takes Home Top Award

- David Tennant of Doctor Who fame will bring his critically acclaimed portrayal of Hamlet to American television as part of PBS' Great Performances series. Set to air in 2010, the cast will also include Patrick Stewart. I can't be the only one geeking out over this news . . . David Tennant, Patrick Stewart, Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet.  There's just no way to lose with this! [Associated Press via MSN]


- Fox has confirmed that Kara DioGuardi will return next year as a judge on the network's ratings juggernaut American Idol. [Associated Press via Yahoo! News]

- The Television Critics Association (TCA) Award winners were announced on Saturday and Battlestar Galactica took top honors as "Program of the Year." HBO's True Blood won three awards, the most of any show this year.  For a full list of TCA Awards and winners, click here. [Hollywood Reporter]

- A remake of The Rockford Files is on tap for NBC, who has asked House creator David Shore to head up the project. The original series ran from 1974–80 and starred James Garner as "an ex-convict private eye who worked cases out of his trailer in Malibu." [TV Guide]

- USA Network has renewed three of its original series – Burn Notice, In Plain Sight and Royal Pains. [Hollywood Reporter]

- The voice cast of the resurrected cartoon comedy Futurama, including John DiMaggio, Billy West and Katey Sagal, have signed new contracts and will return to the show after a contentious negotiation process. [Variety]

- Congrats to Heroes' Ali Larter who tied the knot with fiancé Hayes MacArthur on Saturday! [E! Online]
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Wednesday, May 27, 2009

TV News: HBO Hung Up on New Comedy

HBO has announced that its new comedy series Hung will debut on June 28 at 10:00PM with the vampire drama True Blood as its lead-in.

Hung stars Thomas Jane (The Punisher) as "a well-endowed man who looks to cash in on his assets." The half-hour show co-stars Jane Adams and Anne Heche. [Variety]
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Tuesday, May 26, 2009

TV News: Pacino Tapped to Play Kervorkian

Al Pacino will star in a new HBO cable movie about right-to-die advocate Dr. Jack Kervorkian.

The telepic will focus on the doctor's construction of his infamous "Mercy Machine" for assisted suicides, Kervorkian's first assisted suicide in the 1990s and the controversy that followed.

Barry Levinson will direct and co-executive produce the small screen movie for HBO. [Variety]
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