News

ABC is lining up some comedy powerhouses for next season.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Alec Baldwin and Kelsey Grammer are joining forces for a comedy series with Modern Family co-creator Chris Lloyd and Vali Chandrasekaran.

The project "revolves around three guys who were roommates in their 20s until their warring egos drove them apart who reunite decades later for one more run at the lives they’ve always wanted."

Lloyd previously worked with Grammer on Frasier as well as Back to You, while Baldwin worked with Chandrasekaran on 30 Rock.

Baldwin and Grammer will exec produce alongside Lloyd, Chandrasekaran, Jason Schrift, Matt DelPiano, Tom Russo, Adam Griffin, and Jeff Morton.

Lloyd is best known for being one of the creative forces behind Modern Family, and was recently eyeing spinoffs of the recently wrapped comedy series.

Baldwin is also attached to the cast of Peacock limited series Dr. Death, and...

ABC has made a range of decisions on its remaining pilots this season, which were all shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Firstly, the network is scrapping its pilots for the dramas “The Brides” and “Thirtysomething(else)” and the comedy “Valley Trash.” The news is surprising for “The Brides” — a female-led vampire soap opera with “Riverdale’s” Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa writing — and “Thirtysometing(else) — a sequel series to the classic dramedy “Thirtysomething” with the original creators and multiple original cast members returnin. Both shows were pegged as early frontrunners for series pickups prior to the pandemic. According to sources, both shows were on the pricier side to produce, which may have contributed to ABC cutting them loose.

Elsewhere on the slate, ABC will be picking up actor options with intent to shoot the following pilots once production can safely begin: drama “Rebel” starring Katey Sagal and based on the life of Erin Brockovich; “Harlem’s Kitchen,...

ABC is beginning to make decisions about its pilot slate as the network looks ahead to resuming production in the coming months.

Five pilots will begin shooting “once production can safely begin,” the network said Monday. ABC will extend actor options for the dramas “Rebel” and “Harlem’s Kitchen,” as well as the comedies “Bossy,” “Home Economics” and “Work Wife.”

TheWrap has also learned that three pilots are not moving forward, including “Riverdale” creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s sexy Dracula pilot “The Brides” and the “Thirtysomething” sequel series featuring the original cast. The Jason Lee-led comedy “Valley Trash” is also being scrapped.

Also Read: 'Langdon,' 'Night School' Among 5 NBC Pilots to Shoot Later This Year

Three other pilots — “Adopted,” “National Parks Service” and “Triage” — will be rolled over into a second cycle. Decisions about the survival drama “Wreckage,” the comedic western “Prospect” and the new teen comedy...

ABC intends to shoot five pilots once production can safely resume and is rolling three projects to its next pilot cycle.

The network is picking up the cast options for the five projects that it has committed to producing this year through to September 30.

This includes dramas Rebel, starring Katey Sagal and Andy Garcia and Delroy Lindo’s Harlem’s Kitchen, as well as comedies Bossy, which was formerly known as Kids Matter Now, Topher Grace’s Home Economics and Work Wife.

Rolled over into its ‘second cycle’ development are Adopted, National Parks Service, which was formerly known as Isb and Triage.

That leaves Prospect, Wreckage and the Untitled Kapnek/Holland Project, which was formerly known as Wild Child.

This comes as it has also decided not to move forward with the reboot of Thirtysomething, Valley Trash and Brides.

Last month, it picked up two new projects, straight-to-series, David E. Kelley...

A trio of ABC pilots received bad news on Monday: thirtysomething(else), Brides and Valley Trash will not be moving forward at the network, TVLine has learned.

thirtysomething(else) would have served as a sequel to the Alphabet Net’s 1987 drama thirtysomething, with original series creators Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick back to write and direct. With a cast that included Supergirl alumni Chris Wood and Odette Annable, Outcast‘s Patrick Fugit and This Is Us‘ Auden Thornton — as well as several stars of the original show — the potential series planned to follow adult versions of the thirtysomething children.

More...

Tagline: "Breathe. Think. Survive." Wreckage is a thriller from director Marco Ristori (Eaters: Rise of the Dead). Developed from a screenplay by Luca Boni and A.J. Ferrara, this feature is being developed by U.S. and Canadian based production house Double Dutch International. In the film, a man trapped under rubble, in a collapsed building. A terrorist attack has just taken place and Tony (Cam Gigandet) has no memory of the tragic events. Wreckage also stars Emilie de Ravin ("Lost"). And, the film's first concept poster is hosted here. The first poster for Wreckage shows Tony. Trapped in rubble, the graphic also reveals bullet holes. Has Tony been directly targeted? The tagline: "Breathe. Think. Survive" reminds the protagonist to be in the moment. Survival might be impossible in these tight confines. The official synopsis also mentions that the central character has a cellular phone. Similar to other films, Tony has...

Disney Television Studios on Friday morning announced that it will be suspending production on limited series Genius: Aretha for at least three weeks. Additionally, the studio, comprised of 20th Century Fox, ABC Studios and Genius producer Fox 21, is postponing start of production on all of its in-cycle pilots as well as the straight-to-series The Big Sky. That includes co-productions with other studios, like The Brides (with Wbtv) and Rebel (with Sony TV).

The news follows the announcement Thursday night that the ABC Studios-produced medical drama Grey’s Anatomy is shutting down. It also will stay dark for at least three weeks. There are several Disney TV Studios current series that remain in production while evaluating the situation, I hear there likely will be more shutdowns coming.

More from DeadlineCoronavirus: U.S. Death Toll At 41 As Cases Top 1,600; Global Deaths Near 5,000 - UpdateCoronavirus: TV Shows That Have Halted Or Delayed Production...

Gina Torres is returning to the small screen for her next TV role, and it may be one of her best yet. 

The Suits alum has been attached to lead the cast of ABC's soapy drama The Brides. 

Torres is on board as Cleo Phillips, the leader of the three brides, who some would call a queen. 

Cleo was actually a queen in her former life after being turned by Dracula following the untimely death of her husband. 

However, times change, and when the series picks up, Cleo will be a successful New York City real estate tycoon who finds herself challenged professionally by a newcomer who upends her life. 

There will be tense family drama thanks to the other two brides, but the series is a "sexy contemporary reimagining" of the Dracula story. 

It's certainly a unique concept, and ABC will probably be the best home for it when...

A decade after Best Coast released their indie-pop breakthrough “Sun Was High (and So Was I),” the band has cleaned up its act. Four years have passed since its last LP, California Nights, and frontwoman Bethany Cosentino has sobered up and turned her life around. It’s a commendable feat, but since she is the type of songwriter who sticks to what she knows, her struggles to maintain her new drug-and-alcohol-free mindset also preoccupy almost all of the songs on Always Tomorrow. It quickly becomes a same-y blur, especially when...

Exclusive: In a competitive situation involving multiple bidders, Hulu has landed The Holdout, a legal thriller drama from Oscar-winning writer Graham Moore (The Imitation Game) based on his latest novel, which is published today. The project, from ABC Signature and Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly’s ABC Studios-based Timberman-Beverly Productions (Unbelievable), has been put in development with sizable penalty attached.

Created and written by Moore based on his book, The Holdout centers on Maya Seale. Ten years ago, she served on a jury in the decade’s most sensational murder trial. Now, having become a lawyer, she reunites with the other jurors for a true crime docuseries about the crime…and when one of her fellow jurors is murdered, Maya must prove her own innocence by getting to the bottom of a case that’s far from closed.

Moore executive produces with Timberman and Beverly of Timberman-Beverly.

Released today by Random House,...

ABC has ordered a drama pilot based on the book “Wreckage” by Emily Bleeker.

In the project, Lillian Linden looks like a brave survivor of a plane crash on the surface. But she’s been lying to her family, her friends, and the whole world since rescue helicopters scooped her and her fellow survivor, Dave Hall, off a deserted island in the South Pacific. Missing for almost four years, the castaways are thrust into the spotlight after their rescue, becoming media darlings overnight. But they can’t tell the real story, so they lie.

Jacquie Walters will adapt the book for the pilot and serve as co-executive producer. Marc Webb is attached to direct and executive produce under his Dark Lamb banner. Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly will also executive produce along with Mark Martin of Black Lamb and Keith Samples. Bleeker will serve as consultant. ABC Studios will produce.

ABC is looking for its next Lost.

The network on Thursday handed out a pilot order to Wreckage, a drama based on the book of the same name by Emily Bleeker.

The novel, first published in 2015, revolves around Lillian Linden, who, on the surface, looks like a brave survivor of a plane crash. But she's been lying to her family, her friends and the world since rescue helicopters scooped her and her fellow survivor, Dave Hall, off a deserted island in the South Pacific. Missing for almost four years, the castaways are thrust into the spotlight after their rescue, becoming ...