Just as sister cabler TNT disclosed its own plan to pump up the volume of original content, TBS unveiled its own development slate. Among the series to one day join the ranks of My Boys, The Bill Engvall Show and Frank TV:• A sitcom based on Jane Ganahl's memoir Naked on the Page; The Misadventures of My Unmarried Midlife. Betty Thomas (Dream On) will direct.• A series penned by Dave Caplan (The Drew Carey Show), about a jilted single mom with two kids and a struggling lumberyard. (Note to TV execs: Enough with the shows set at a lumberyard!!)• A domestic comedy about a low-level judge and her prosecutor hubby.TBS has also ordered pilots for a Match Game reboot (previously reported on here) and Stay Tuned, in which animated couch potatoes channel-surf through animated offerings.Late-night shows in development include a sketch series fronted by Robert Townsend and one puppet-ulated by The Jim Henson Company.
read more
Betty Thomas, the director who delivered two tongue-in-cheek Brady Bunch movies to the cineplex, is in talks to seize the reins of the big-screen Dallas remake, which at this oft, oft-delayed point still has John Travolta attached to play J.R. Ewing. Screenwriter Pam Brady (Hot Rod, and perhaps related to Cousin Oliver?) is taking a fresh, fresher crack at the script.Over the course of the assorted delays, such once-eyed stars as Jennifer Lopez (as Sue Ellen), Luke Wilson (Bobby) and Shirley MacLaine (Miss Ellie) have bailed on the adaptation. Meg Ryan was the latest name bandied about to tackle Sue Ellen. A January 2008 start date is now being targeted.
read more