In Development
The Studio. Showtime outbid all suitors with a “script commitment with a hefty penalty attached” (which means if they fail to greenlight the pilot, they’ll have to pay a penalty which is likely higher than the production cost of the pilot itself) for the previously announced George Clooney-produced project, the pilot episode of which will be written by Peter Tolan (Rescue Me) and directed by Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher, Capote). The series will be an hour-long dark comedy about the inner workings of a movie studio in the 1990s. According to the source of this update, “The two men running the show’s central studio are described as best friends who struggle to maintain their humanity while they stockpile power, fight off irrelevance, and mercilessly fuck over anyone who gets in their way — including each other.” (THR)
Upcoming Series
Lip Sync Battle. LL Cool J will host SpikeTV’s previously announced spinoff of the popular Jimmy Fallon segment which pits Fallon against a celebrity guest in a lip sync duel. Presumably, the show will match up two different celebrities or maybe a celebrity and a contestant rather than having Fallon on every episode. (EW)
American Crime Story. John Travolta returns to television as attorney Robert Shapiro in Ryan Murphy’s miniseries rehash of the OJ Simpson trial. I don’t know about you, but every fragment of news about this thing just makes me sleepy. Why do we need to pump OJ again? (TVLine)
Shannara. Ivana Baquero (Pan’s Labyrinth) will play Eretria in MTV’s series based on Terry Brooks’ book series about a magical family living thousands of years after the end of civilization. (EW)
American Beaver. National Geographic is going to be balls-deep in beaver. We’re talking about a 20-hour marathon special following the daily lives of an actual beaver colony. The special airs from 7 am February 2nd to 3 am February 3rd. (Wrap)
Continuing Series
Modern Family. Popular guest stars Elizabeth Banks (Mitch and Cam’s crazy friend Sal) and Nathan Lane (party-planner Pepper) will return in February for an episode of ABC’s long-running sitcom. The boys throw a baby shower for Sal and naturally hire Pepper to do the planning. (EW)
The Flash. Liam McIntyre (Spartacus) will appear in the 15th and 16th episodes of CW’s super hero show as “The Weather Wizard.” He’s in town for revenge on The Flash for the speedy super hero’s clash with the villain’s brother in a previous episode. (THR)
Hawaii Five-0. SNL’s Jon Lovitz will guest on the previously announced episode to be directed by Daniel Dae Kim. He’ll play Barry, a high-end fence who gets involved with the Five-0 when a client commits murder. (EW)
Returning Series
Justified. Jonathan Tucker (Kingdom) will appear in the last 5 episodes of the final series of FX’s Elmore Leonard series starring Timothy Olyphant. He’ll play hired gun Boon, an associate of previously announced baddies Sam Elliot and Garret Dillahunt (No Country for Old Men, Assassination of Jesse James). Justified returns January 20th.(THR)
Deadbeat. Zachary Levi (Chuck) will turn up in the second season of Hulu’s supernatural comedy as Abe Lincoln. Pac (Tyler Labine) mounts a production of Our American Cousin so the newly undead president can see the ending he missed when he was assassinated. (TVLine)
Renewals/Cancellations
Brickleberry. Daniel Tosh’s animated Comedy Central show about a dysfunctional band of park rangers will not live to see season 4. (Deadline)