With news yesterday that David Fincher was battling over an already $100 million budget on the original Netflix series "House of Cards," it now appears the rental/streaming company are interested in one of the most expensive shows already airing on television — "Terra Nova." Fox canceled the show earlier this week but Netflix are rumored to be in talks with the network over reviving the show in the same way they will with another canceled Fox property — "Arrested Development." The show reportedly performs well on DVR, so Netflix may represent the perfect new home for the sci-fi series.
This comes alongside news that Netflix are looking into the possibility of becoming a cable service. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who always seems to be talking about one plan or another, raised the possibility of having cable operators offer Netflix's streaming video service but "not in the short term." We'd be inclined to agree with Mr Hastings — this would make more sense in the long term when Netflix have more original content (providing that the original content they produce proves successful).
Remember the 2007 movie "You Kill Me"? No? It starred Ben Kingsley, Tea Leoni and Luke Wilson – ring any bells? Still no? It was about a hit man who messed up once too often and was forced to deal with his problems in AA. Still nothing? No, us either. The film failed to make back it's $4 million budget at the box office despite a decent critical reception (78% on Rotten Tomatoes), but something about it must still appeal to somebody because Showtime want to turn it into a drama series. The film's original writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely will write and exec produce the TV version, though we'd guess they'll be recasting this whole thing for the small screen.
After appearing in just about every sitcom going at one time or another, it should have come as no surprise when ABC handed Judy Greer her own pilot: "American Judy." Greer will star as a cosmopolitan woman who marries a town sheriff and becomes a fish out of water in the suburbs (how very ABC), but the good news is that her husband will be played by Ken Marino. Marino recently appeared in and co-wrote "Wanderlust," and is already best known for his frequent collaborations with David Wain and of course, the cult hit "Party Down." More Marino is always a good thing, especially if it's on a weekly basis.
And finally, Martin Lawrence's CBS sitcom – god help us all – has found a director and it's the prolific Fred Savage. After directing a significant amount of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "Party Down" episodes Savage has made a name for himself (again) and in the past year has helmed eps of "Happy Endings," "2 Broke Girls," "Modern Family" and "Whitney." Now tied into a deal with CBS, Savage will direct Lawrence's pilot about a widowed father who loses his job and goes to police academy at age 46. Hey, maybe it will be like "Blue Streak" — maybe it won't be so bad after all. [Deadline/Deadline/Deadline/THR/THR]
It looks like they are adding a lot of cancelled shows to their line-up. I switch to the Blockbuster@home service through DISH when the prices went up with Netflix. A co-worker at DISH convinced me to try it out since it is only ten bucks. I absolutely fell in love with it and I love that I only have to worry about one bill for all my entertainment choices. The best part is that I get new releases 28 days before Netflix does. I use to watch Terra Nova all the time, but it isnât worth switching over to Netflix for it.
'You Kill Me' is very funny and under appreciated.
Sorry, Ken Marino has done some great things, but he is still best known as Louie from The State.