Greg Berlanti by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Greg Berlanti has three shows on the air, but he's already planning a television Return.The brains behind Brothers & Sisters, Dirty Sexy Money and Eli Stone is adding a fourth show to his extensive resume with The Return, a sci-fi project in development with ABC, according to Variety.Berlanti is collaborating with sci-fi connoisseur Rene Echevarria (Star Trek, The 4400) on the series, which will examine the impact of an alien landing on the world.The Return will be Berlanti's first stab at science fiction. — Joyce Eng
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Kate Walsh by Michael Desmond/ABC
If you get deja view looking at ABC’s not-so-new fall lineup, there’s a reason for that. Much of the schedule is a redo from last fall, with a number of promising shows returning that were cut short by the writers’ strike—most notably the Wednesday lineup of Pushing Daisies, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.“Our Wednesday night was to us an unbelievable success and we’re very excited to get back to that,” ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson said during a session with critics at the TCA press tour Wednesday morning. “We have kind of the advantage going in that we felt we had a dominant fall and a real strong core schedule and we didn’t need that much new programming.”In recent seasons, ABC has tended to single out just a few new shows for massive fall promotion, and this season it's planning to embrace a few old favorites. “We can actually prioritize returning shows,” says McPherson. One in particular: Desperate...
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Katie Holmes by Jean-Paul Aussenard/ WireImage.com
Ah, the joys of stunt casting. In an effort to draw buzz and new eyeballs to ABC's little critical darling that could, Eli Stone, producers have brought Katie Holmes on board for at least one episode of the show's sophomore season. The gig will be a reunion of Holmes and Stone's executive producer Greg Berlanti from their days on Dawson's Creek. ABC Entertainment prez Steve McPherson let it slip that Holmes will even sing and dance in the episode.So, do you have "faith" in Mrs. Cruise? — Adam Bryant
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Sally Field and Calista Flockhart by Michael Desmond/ABC
Sources confirm that Mark Perry has quietly exited his post as Brothers & Sisters' day-to-day show-runner. Perry, an alum of One Tree Hill, joined the drama this season to fill the void left by executive producer Greg Berlanti and series creator Jon Robin Baitz. Berlanti scaled back his B&S duties to focus on Dirty Sexy Money and Eli Stone, while Baitz left over creative differences. Or something like that. Although a successor has yet to be officially named, I'm hearing that Berlanti — who is expected to take a more active role in the series — will promote from within, which should make for a seamless transition. This is the second behind-the-scenes shake-up at an ABC Studios drama in as many days. Yesterday it was announced that Dexter's Daniel Cerone was replacing Josh Reims at the helm of Dirty Sexy Money. Reims had planned to move on after the first year to focus on developing his own projects.
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Greg Berlanti by Craig Sjodin/ABC
Brothers & Sisters executive producer (and Everwood alum) Greg Berlanti has inked a deal to cowrite and direct a live-action big-screen adaptation of the DC Comics superhero Green Lantern. "To me, this was the last great comic-book movie that hasn't been made," Berlanti tells Reuters. "It [has] a real mythology that you would see in a lot of space operas and sci-fi books."Berlanti's version for Warner Bros. will focus on the Green Lantern embodied by Hal Jordon, a test pilot who uncovers a downed alien spacecraft and in turn a ring that recruits him onto an interstellar police force.
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Glenn Fitzgerald, Dirty Sexy Money
Question: I am really enjoying Dirty Sexy Money. I think the cast is amazing, and I love anything and everything that Greg Berlanti is attached to (I still miss Everwood). My one complaint is the storyline about how Brian treats his son, which I find cringeworthy and not funny in the least. I know this show is over-the-top and I appreciate that, but his behavior toward this boy is borderline verbally abusive. I actually fast-forward my TiVo through their scenes together. Is it just me needing to find my sense of humor, or is this actually a disturbing part of an otherwise fun show?
Answer: I'm liking Dirty Sexy Money, too, as I've recently noted. The problem with this subplot for me isn't so much that it's disturbing and cruel as that it's just so moronic for Brian to make his bastard child pretend to be an orphan. This show continuously walks a line between the sophisticated and the silly, and in this case, it goes too far over the top. That said, Glenn Fitzgerald's performance as
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George Michael by IML Image Group/WireImage.com
ABC's gotta have faith, faith, faith in George Michael. The network has inked a deal with the '80s pop icon turned courtroom staple to appear in two additional episodes of its buzzworthy midseason entry Eli Stone. The spiritually-\ tinged legal drama revolves around an attorney (played by Jonny Lee Miller) who, after a string of bizarre hallucinations, thinks he might be a prophet. In the pilot, Eli keeps hearing the sound of "Faith" in his head, and at one point has a vision of George Michael performing the song in his office. For his return engagement, GM will show off more than just his singing chops."Having George and his music in the pilot was great because it really set the tone for the entire show," says executive producer Marc Guggenheim, who cocreated Eli with Greg Berlanti. "But if there's anything better, it's having him in the series for two episodes singing and acting. He's such a talented and smart guy and amazingly collaborative."Eli's guardian angel will pop up again...
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Peter Krause, Dirty Sexy Money
Peter Krause is ready to get dirty. Not dirt as in a funeral plot, but as in scandals of the rich and famous. On ABC's Dirty Sexy Money, premiering tonight at 10 pm/ET, the Six Feet Under and Sports Night alum plays Nick George, a high-powered legal eagle who, begrudgingly, inherits his suspiciously passed-on father's role as consigliere to the Darlings of New York City. Headed up by Donald Sutherland and Jill Clayburgh, the ultra-affluent clan is littered by all manner of bad-seed offspring (and parents), giving Nick plenty to manage, spin-control and nip in the bud. Krause shared a sneak peek at the good 'n' dirty 'n' sexy times ahead.
TVGuide.com: This is a r
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Treat Williams, Heartland
Good ol’ Dr. Andy Brown is still putting people back together, only these days Treat Williams is specializing in cutting-edge transplants as Nathaniel Grant on TNT’s brand-new Heartland (Mondays at 10 pm/ET). TVGuide.com invited Williams to preview what’s ahead for his new surgeon, as well as reflect on Everwood’s unfortunate fate.
TVGuide.com: First off, let’s talk to the Everwood fans out there. What will they find familiar about your new doc, and what will they find different?Treat Williams: Hmm, that’s a good question. Not too much familiar, a lot different. This is the guy that Andy Brown probably was in New York, five years before he came to Everwood — very caught up in a very high-stress environmen
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Question: Before the current TV season began, two of the most talked-about shows were Studio 60 and Brothers & Sisters, both shows with all-star casts and great teams of producers and writers. Studio 60 was expected to do well and was a preseason favorite, while Brothers & Sisters was getting bashed before it began because of on-set problems and reshoots. Now it seems like the tables have turned, with Brothers & Sisters getting all the praise while Studio 60 has yet to live up to its potential. Why do you think two shows with so many great people working on them have taken such divergent paths? What has Brothers & Sisters done right that Studio 60 hasn't?
Answer: What great timing for this fascinating question, given that Studio 60 just slinked away into early hiatus while Brothers & Sisters currently graces the cover of TV Guide (on stands now, everybody). Just goes to show you how unpredictable the TV business is. I do not apologize for gushing over Studio 60's dazzling pilot while
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