#Cartel
Network: History
Studio: A+E Networks, ABC Studios
Executive Producer(s): Chris Brancato
Writer(s): Chris Brancato
Logline: The series chronicles the rise of kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to power, taking a look inside the stranger-than-fiction world of drug cartels who use social media to maintain their image, recruit new members and threaten rivals. Unlike drug lords of decades past, El Chapo, who reigned over the Mexican drug trafficking cartel for 25 years, has fan followings, with relationships in the entertainment and music industry that stretch past the Mexican border and into the United States.
Details: Based on the true story of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
SSN Insight: History gave an initial script commitment on May 3.
Con Man
Network: Comic-Con HQ (online)
Executive Producer(s): Nathan Fillion, PJ Haarsma, Alan Tudyk, Adam Gentile, Jay Hamilton
Writer(s): Alan Tudyk
Logline: The show revolves around a science fiction show called “Spectrum” that was canceled in 2004 after airing only a handful of episodes. The web series follows the lives of Spectrum cast members after the show’s cancellation. One, Captain Jack Moore, went on to bigger and brighter things. Wray Nerely, not so much.
Details: Planned as a 12-episode series. (3/10/2015)
SSN Insight: Planned as a 12-episode series. The series will stream exclusively this summer on the soon-to-launch Comic-Con HQ, the ad-free subscription streaming VOD platform from Lionsgate and Comic-Con International.
Cosmo Life
Network: E! Networks
Production Company(s): Bunim/Murray Productions
Executive Producer(s): Gil Goldschein, Jeff Jenkins, Rob Bagshaw, Joanna Coles, Holly Whidden
Logline: Set in one of the most glamorous epicenters of pop culture, Cosmopolitan Magazine, the series follows the work-hard, play-hard lifestyles of a group of young tastemakers at the cutting edge of what’s hot in music, fashion, style, beauty, sex and celebrities, often opening up their own lives to millions of readers around the globe. These up-and-comers at the world’s best-selling women’s magazine juggle the temptations of New York’s hottest celebrity parties and VIP nightlife with the demands of their passionate and formidable Editor-in-Chief Joanna Coles.
SSN Insight: E! ordered the series during their Upfront presentation. Gil Goldschein is also the EP on Total Bellas and Mariah’s World, both given series orders by E!
Dawn
Network: Hulu
Production Company(s): MGM Television Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): Hank Steinberg, Ken Nolan
Logline: Follows a tribe of Neanderthals as they struggle to survive and hold on to their way of life after coming into contact with a family of Homo Sapiens. At the intersection of evolution and genocide, Dawn asks the fundamental question, what does it mean to be human?
SSN Insight: Hulu ordered the pilot. Robert Stromberg (Maleficent) will direct the pilot with a cast that includes Fola Evans-Akingbola, Temuera Morrison, Carl Shaaban, and Matthew Hopkinson in final negotiations to star.
Dear White People
Network: Netflix
Production Company(s): Lionsgate
Executive Producer(s): Justin Simien, Devon Shepard, Stephanie Allain, Julia Lebedev
Writer(s): Justin Simien
Logline: Set among a diverse group of students of color as they navigate a predominantly white Ivy League college where racial tensions are often swept under the rug, this series is a send up of “post-racial” America that also weaves a universal story about forging one’s own unique path.
Details: Based on the film “Dear White People” (2014), directed by Justin Simien.
SSN Insight: Netflix gave a series order of ten episodes. This is Lionsgate’s second original series for Netflix.
Designated Survivor
Network: ABC Entertainment Group
Studio: ABC Studios, Mark Gordon Company
Production Company(s): Management 360, Genre Films
Executive Producer(s): David Guggenheim, Kiefer Sutherland, Mark R. Gordon, Simon Kinberg, Suzan Bymel
Writer(s): David Guggenheim
Logline: A lower level United States Cabinet member is suddenly appointed President after a catastrophic attack during the State of the Union kills everyone above him in the Presidential line of succession.
SSN Insight: ABC gave a straight to series order in December and ordered 13 episodes on May 6.
Electric Dreams: The World of Philip K. Dick
Network: Channel 4
Studio: Sony Pictures Television
Production Company(s): Anonymous Content, Electric Shepherd Productions, LLC, Moonshot Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): Bryan Cranston, James Degus, Ron Moore, Michael Dinner, Isa Dick Hackett
Writer(s): Ron Moore, Michael Dinner
Logline: The series will illustrate Dick’s prophetic vision and celebrate the prized sci-fi novelist’s work. Each episode will be a standalone drama.
Details: Based on the works of Philip K. Dick.
SSN Insight: Channel 4 has ordered 10 episodes of the anthology series with Bryan Cranston set to star in one of the episodes.
Famously Married
Network: E! Networks
Production Company(s): Studio Lambert, All3Media America
Executive Producer(s): Stephen Lambert, Greg Lipstone, Greg Goldman, Sara Quick
Logline: The series explores the women and relationships behind the “Hollywood trophy wife” label, following a group of young women who recently married or are currently planning to marry wealthy and successful older men. These women navigate the complications that come with being a second wife, including their husbands’ exes and children, as well as their entrance into elite Los Angeles society.
Details: Ordered to series. (5/4/2016)
SSN Insight: E! ordered the series and announced it during their Upfront presentation. Stephen Lambert is also the EP on The Arrangement, given a series order by E!
Feud
Network: FX Network
Studio: Fox 21 Television Studios
Production Company(s): Ryan Murphy Productions, Plan B Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): Ryan Murphy, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner
Logline: The series will explore famous feuds. The first installment tells the story of the legendary rivalry between two of the greatest movie stars of all time—Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, and how they came together in 1962 to collaborate on a picture each hoped would revive their careers. The result, the critically acclaimed and box office smash “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” ultimately received five Academy Awards nominations and became a cult classic. But for its leads, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, the real horror was working together.
Details: Based in part on the script, “Best Actress,” by Jaffe Cohen and Michael Zam, which was included on the 2009 Black List.
SSN Insight: Project was previously in development as a feature film. FX has ordered eight episodes.
Foreign Bodies
Network: TNT
Production Company(s): Entertainment One, Eleven Film
Executive Producer(s): Tom Basden, Jamie Campbell, Joel Wilson
Writer(s): James Wood, Tony Roche, Rob Delaney, Charlie Covell, Tim Key
Logline: The story of a motley gang of travellers embarking on a three-month trip around Asia. British lads Sean and Dylan meet American girls May and Ashley in Beijing and opt to undergo the first leg of their travels together. But they soon find that their journey takes them much further than any of them expected.
SSN Insight: TNT has given a series order of eight episodes. The series was originally commissioned by Channel 4 in January for a run on E4. Cast includes Anders Hayward, Ade Oyefeso, Brittney Wilson, Alice Lee and Tim Key.
Greatest Ever
Network: truTV
Production Company(s): Meetinghouse Productions
Logline: A countdown show that takes viewers through the “do’s” and “don’ts” of topics like weddings, animal videos, sports, politicians and unintentionally funny inventions, infomercials and products.
SSN Insight: truTV has given an order of six episodes, announced during their Upfront presentation.
Jon Glaser Loves Gear
Network: truTV
Production Company(s): PFFR
Executive Producer(s): Jon Glaser, Vernon Chatman, John Lee, Alyson Levy, Richard Korson
Logline: Jon Glaser explores his love of looking at gear, shopping for gear, wearing gear, and talking about gear.
SSN Insight: truTV has given an order of ten episodes, announced during their Upfront presentation.
Krypton
Network: Syfy
Studio: Warner Horizon Television
Production Company(s): Phantom Four, DC Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): David S. Goyer, Ian Goldberg, Damian Kindler
Writer(s): Damian Kindler, David S. Goyer
Logline: Superman’s grandfather works to bring hope and equality to Krypton, transforming a planet in chaos into one worthy of his grandson’s future glory as the greatest superhero ever known.
Details: Based on “Superman” characters and the universe created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and first featured in a comic book published by DC Comics in 1938.
SSN Insight: SyFy, which has been developing the project for over a year and a half has ordered a pilot.
Lifescaping
Network: truTV
Production Company(s): Redtail Media
Logline: A guide to all those real-life skills you’re expected to know but no one ever taught you – things like how to get a bartender’s attention, the best ways to go on a road trip and determining when lying is the right thing to do. Hosts Matthew Latkiewicz and Abbi Crutchfield mix sketches, expert advice and on-the-street interviews to help viewers get their life game on point.
SSN Insight: truTV has given an order of 13 episodes, announced during their Upfront presentation.
Locke & Key
Production Company(s): IDW Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): Joe Hill, Ted Adams, David Ozer, David Alpert, Rick Jacobs
Writer(s): Joe Hill
Logline: The three Locke children are still reeling from the brutal murder of their guidance counselor father by a deranged student when their mom, Nina Locke, moves the family to a small island off the coast of Maine and they discover a mystical doorway in their new home.
Details: Project is based on the graphic novel series beginning with “Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft,” written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez and published by IDW Publishing September 24, 2008.
SSN Insight: The series was originally developed at Fox during the 2010-11 season by DreamWorks TV, Alex Kurtzman & Bob Orci’s company. Fox ordered the pilot but it did not make it to series. IDW Entertainment will maintain worldwide rights for the new version. The project is being developed internally with Circle of Confusion.
The Abbey Diaries
Network: E! Networks
Production Company(s): Banijay Group
Executive Producer(s): David Goldberg, Caroline Baumgard, Ray Giuliani, David Cooley
Logline: The series goes inside the lives of the employees at the world-famous gay hot spot, The Abbey Food & Bar, in the heart of West Hollywood. The staffers wrangle VIP guests and celebrities while dealing with relationship drama, diverse sexuality and the pursuit of their individual Hollywood dreams, all set in an exciting backdrop that is quintessentially Los Angeles.
SSN Insight: E! gave a series order on May 4, and announced it during their Upfront presentation.
The Birth Of The Pill
Production Company(s): Sonar Entertainment
Executive Producer(s): Denise DiNovi, R.J. Cutler, Audrey Wells, Alison Greenspan
Writer(s): Audrey Wells
Logline: Revolves around four flawed, rebellious, larger than life characters racing against time, politics and ethics. They include feminist and social reformer Margaret Sanger, who opened the first birth control clinic in the United States; philanthropist and suffragist Katharine McCormick, who used her family fortune to fund the research that led to the development of the pill; visionary biologist and researcher Gregory Goodwin Pincus, co-inventor of the first oral contraceptive; and John Rock, the Catholic obstetrician and gynecologist who fought to win public approval for the new drug.
Details: Based on the book “The Birth Of The Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution,” written by Jonathan Eig and published by W.W. Norton & Company in 2014.
SSN Insight: R.J. Cutler is set to direct. The project is planned as an event series.
Ultimate Beastmaster
Network: Hulu
Production Company(s): 25/7 Productions
Executive Producer(s): Sylvester Stallone, David Broome
Logline: Top tier competitors and athletes from several countries around the world will compete in a new action-packed global competition series. The first international competition series of its kind with six customized local versions featuring local languages, competitors and hosts from each competing country. Contestants and hosts From U.S., Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Germany and Japan will come together in a thrilling faceoff.
SSN Insight: Netflix has given a series order of ten episodes. Ultimate Beastmaster is the first international competition series of its kind with six customized local versions featuring local languages, competitors and hosts from each competing country. The series will also feature Sylvester Stallone, in addition to his producing role.
Untitled Joe and Anthony Russo Pot Comedy
Network: Showtime Networks
Production Company(s): Getaway Productions
Executive Producer(s): Moshe Kasher, Zach Cregger, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo
Writer(s): Moshe Kasher, Zach Cregger
Logline: The world of a larcenous family of pot dealers is turned upside down when their illegal enterprise suddenly becomes legal in their home state. As the family struggles to adapt to the strange new world of legitimate business, they are forced to depend upon the business acumen of their son, whose straight and narrow leanings have always made him a black sheep in this clan of reprobates.
Details:
SSN Insight: The Russo brother’s past TV producing-directing credits include Happy Endings and Community. The brothers are also directing Avengers: Infinity War – Part I and II.
Untitled Seth MacFarlane Sci-Fi Comedic Drama
Network: Fox Broadcasting Company
Studio: 20th Century Fox Television
Production Company(s): Fuzzy Door Productions
Executive Producer(s): Seth MacFarlane
Writer(s): Seth MacFarlane
Logline: Set 300 years in the future, the series follows the adventures of a motley crew of space explorers facing cosmic challenges from without and within. Their ship, the Orville, is a not-so-top-of-the-line exploratory ship in Earth’s interstellar Fleet.
SSN Insight: Fox has given a straight to series order of 13 episodes.
WAGS: Miami
Network: E! Networks
Production Company(s): Machete Productions
Executive Producer(s): Amber Mazzola, Lori Gordon
Logline: The series documents the lavish lifestyles and real-life drama of eight Miami WAGS, giving viewers a voyeuristic peek inside the exclusive world of superstar athletes through the perspective of the women who stand by their side. The WAGS of Miami live life unapologetically, and are bound together by a strict hierarchy of unspoken rules with no boundaries, no filters and the veritable candy shop of Miami as their playground. These ambitious, strong women are spicing things up and bringing the heat as they work to make their own dreams a reality, while playing the most competitive game of all: getting and keeping that pro-athlete man.
Details: Project is a spin-off of E!’s “WAGS.”
SSN Insight: E! gave a series order on May 4, and announced it during their Upfront presentation.