I don't care what Jane says, this has gotta hurt. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Sci Fi has pulled the plug on Painkiller Jane, which is currently wrapping production on its original 22-episode order and will air its first season as planned, with the finale screening Sept. 21.... Elsewhere, 24 producers Joel Surnow and Manny Coto's The 1/2 Hour News Hour has been declared yesterday's news by Fox News Channel, which canceled the parody after a 15-episode run.
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• Tim Robbins will write, exec-produce and direct Possible Side Effects for Showtime, a drama pilot about a dysfunctional family tied to the big-bucks pharmaceutical industry, says Variety.• Sources tell the New York Post's Page Six that Star Jones, who just recently booked an SVU gig (detailed below), has inked a deal to host her own Court TV show later this year. UPDATE: Court TV announced Wednesday that Star will front a show about criminal justice issues that intersect with the pop culture world. • Filmmaker Curtis Hanson (8 Mile, L.A. Confidential) has inked a multiyear deal to create, develop and produce programming for CBS Paramount Network Television.• Lifetime has ordered 13 episodes of Side Order of Life, starring Marisa Coughlan as a photographer who rethinks her life after a pal gets cancer, with Jason Priestley playing her fiancé. A July premiere is slated.• Fox News is in talks to pick up 24 creator Joel Surnow's 1/2 Hour News Hour, which ...
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