Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.
Hulk smash... TV?
The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd and Brys Kit are reporting that ABC and Marvel are developing a television series based on comic "The Incredible Hulk," which was previously a 1978-82 television series that starred Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno.
Hulk is one of two projects, along with
Cloak and Dagger (which is said to be in development at ABC Family), that Marvel Studios has in development, though the company is also said to be looking at other properties to develop as series, including
Heroes for Hire, The Eternals, Agents of Atlas, Alter Ego, Moon Knight, The Hood, Ka-Zar, Daughters of the Dragon, and
The Punisher, the latter of which is said to also be high on Marvel's radar, possibly as a cable series. [Editor: The story, however, fails to discern between several properties, which it has erroneously merged into single entities.] (
Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)
Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that former
Prison Break star Wentworth Miller is rumored to be interested in replacing Andy Whitfield as the lead in Starz's gladiator drama
Spartacus. Whitfield has dropped out of the project due to the recurrence of his cancer and the need for medical treatment. "But is Miller right for the part?" asks Ausiello. "Since his Fox series wrapped, he’s been largely out of the limelight. And when he has been spotted, he hasn’t quite been the picture of buffness that the sand-and-sandals epic demands. Of course, that’s nothing a month or two with a personal trainer couldn’t fix." (
Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)
Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that HBO is weighing a pilot order for fashion-based comedy
Spring/Fall, which would star Tea Leoni (who will also executive produce) as "half of a dysfunctional partnership between two women with different approaches to career, family, and friendship," set against the New York fashion world. Project, written by Kate Robin, would be executive produced by Leoni, Robin, Jimmy Miller, and RJ Cutler (
The September Issue). (
Deadline)
TVGuide.com's Mickey O'Connor has an interview with
Weeds star Alexander Gould, who plays teenager/murderer/croquet star Shane Botwin. "He was as normal as could be, given the circumstances," said Gould when asked about initially playing Shane at the start of the first season. "When he learned about his mother's operation, he became sort of like the family's moral compass. I remember early on I had to say the F-word and I was really hesitant about it. Over time, Shane just got more confident and odd. I felt like Shane really was just [slowly] going crazy. He put that craziness away and it manifested itself in a funny way. He always seemed a little out of it." (
TVGuide.com)
SPOILER!Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello as a first look at an upcoming scene from NBC's The Event featuring some, uh, surprising transformations for the survivors of Avias Air Flight 514. “They’re [undergoing] a transformation that could eventually lead to death,” creator Nick Wauters told Ausiello. Wauters also indicated that Thomas will “use them as leverage to try and get the president to free his people.” (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)
Don't expect remakes of The Rockford Files or Prime Suspect to turn up on NBC this midseason, according to Entertainment Weekly's Lynette Rice. [Editor: I wasn't as it's widely known that both in deep development.] Both projects are back in development following a disastrous pilot for Rockford and the lack of a lead for Prime Suspect, both of which will now be overseen by Peter Berg. Should Rockford move ahead, look for someone to replace Dermot Mulroney as Jim Rockford. (Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider)
Casting roundup: John Heard and Evan Handler have joined the cast of Curtis Hanson's HBO telepic Too Big to Fail, while Kathy Baker has joined the cast of Lifetime pilot Against the Wall, where she will play the mother of Rachael Carpani's Abby. (Deadline)
ABC ordered four more scripts for family drama No Ordinary Family, while the CW ordered two more scripts for Life Unexpected, while ABC also gave additional script orders to Brothers and Sisters and Off the Map as well. Brothers and Sisters received an order for four additional scripts, while Map got one more. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin, Variety)
Deadline's Nellie Andreeva is reporting that Secret Millionaire is going to get the plum Sunday at 8 pm timeslot currently occupied by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for a six-episode run starting March 6th. "That is the Sunday after the Academy Awards, with ABC planning to heavily promote Secret Millionaire during the awards broadcast," writes Andreeva. "For ABC, which has no football, the Oscars are the most-watched telecast of the year and the biggest possible promotional platform for its shows. Additionally, ABC has asked Secret Millionaire producer Zodiak USA to begin casting on a new cycle, an indication that the network is looking to order more episodes beyond the original 6." (Deadline)
Danny Cohen is the new controller at BBC One, making the move from BBC Three effective immediately. (Variety)
Stay tuned.
Winter is coming...
