| | | | Netflix, which upended the TV business more than a decade ago with straight-to-series orders, is dipping its toe into the pilot development model with Little Sky, a single-camera comedy starring and executive produced by Samara Weaving (Steam VI). The streamer has ordered a pilot for the project from creator Rightor Doyle (Down Low), who is also set to direct. Sources caution that this does not signal a permanent development shift. Little Sky is currently the only pilot planned at Netflix, which has been employing a straight-to-series model exclusively since venturing into original programming 12 years ago. Deadline hears the decision was specific to Little Sky as executives were high on the concept but wanted to see a pilot to make sure the tone and the chemistry of the large ensemble were right, which could then set the project up for success. Nevertheless, Netflix’s willingness to try out the pilot model is significant. Pilots, a longtime staple of the network development process, are considered valuable proof of concept, especially in genres where cast chemistry, tone and comedic timing are key. For comedies, a solid pilot can only increase a property’s chances for success as a series. For Netflix, first seasons serve as de facto pilots, and the streamer has been criticized in the past for cutting shows at the end of the first run. >>>Another Tool In The Development Toolbox |
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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WGA Table Setting - The WGA and AMPTP may return to the negotiating table over the next fortnight. While sources on both sides still believe the strike is coming, the move is a positive sign given that the two parties were not supposed to recommence talks until April 17. >>>Breakthrough?
'Paddington' Bears Repeating - The third Paddington installment, Paddington in Peru, is on track to start production July 24, Deadline reported exclusively. It has been six years since the last outing in the franchise. >>>Collaborators Re-Teaming
Imagine The Possibilities - Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment has struck an exclusive multiyear first-look film deal with Amazon Studios. Imagine's deal had previously been with Apple but it now moves narrative features and documentaries to Prime Video. >>>Major Streaming Development
What's In A Line? - Michael Cieply's latest column ponders the death of the great throwaway line, "the kind that immediately transcends whatever picture gave it birth." >>>“You Had Me At Hello"
Doll's Killer Kiwi Locations - Deadline sat down with the producers of M3GAN to talk shooting in New Zealand and casting their killer doll, which has wowed the box office. >>>Horror Goes Down Under
'Yellowjackets' Pact - Yellowjackets showrunner Jonathan Lisco has struck an overall deal with Showtime and he will continue to serve as EP, writer and showrunner on the hit series. Fellow creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson locked up a similar deal last year. >>>Lisco Fever |
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QUOTABLE
"We say this to you with deepest regrets: the Oscar you received was given by mistake" - Oscar winner Sarah Polley reveals shock at daughter's hilarious April Fool's Prank |
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Exclusive Stranger Things star Jamie Campbell Bower will star for director Chuck Russell in a new version of 1980s fright franchise Witchboard. Pic is shooting in May in Montreal and New Orleans. Interview With the Vampire from AMC Networks is replacing Bailey Bass with Delainey Hayles, who takes on lead teenage vampire Claudia for Season 2. Exclusive CBS' The Young and the Restless is bringing back fan favorite Shermar Moore to reprize his Malcolm Winters role on Monday May 8. In the episode, Malcolm returns to town to connect with his daughter. |
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More News
🤠 Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, organizers confirmed, as part of a tribute to star Harrison Ford.
🔥 Production of The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power in the UK was interrupted briefly due to a fire in a warehouse at Bray Studios. It resumed after about an hour's delay.
👨💼 Members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party plan to meet this week with Bob Iger and Tim Cook, along with other studio execs. Chairman Mike Gallagher said conversations will be "productive" and he wants "to make sure that the power of the Chinese economy is not seducing certain companies into betraying American values.”
🦁 Lionsgate is moving forward with plans to separate its studio business from Starz and has submitted a draft registration with SEC. The studio said it expects the spin-off to be completed “on previously communicated timelines, subject to market and other conditions.”
🎭 A-listers Jodie Comer and Paul Mescal took home the top prizes at last night's Olivier Theater Awards in London for their roles in Prima Facie and A Streetcar Named Desire. Our Breaking Baz spotlighted the night.
🎥 UK-based exhibition giant Cineworld, owner of Regal Cinemas, has entered into a restructuring support agreement and a backstop commitment agreement with lenders. If those agreements are approved, the company will emerge from bankruptcy.
🎐 The Gone with the Wind book will now come with a trigger warning. Publisher Pan Macmillan has decided that readers could find depictions of the era "hurtful or indeed harmful" due to its focus on those affected by descriptions of 19th century slavery in the Deep South.
In Brief - The CMT Music Awards 2023 proved to be a big night for Jelly Roll who won three trophies... Marvel Studios released a new trailer for Secret Invasion during ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. |
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Trending  Endeavor, parent of the UFC, confirmed the mixed martial arts company is combining with WWE to form a $21 billion combat sports colossus.
🔻 Fox News lost its bid to have defamation claims against it over 2020 election reportinf dismissed, and the lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems will now head toward trial on April 17. |
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On the Radar
Mon - Disney annual shareholder meeting
Tue - Warner Bros. 100th annniversary; Trump to surrender in NY
Wed - Passover begins; Chris Pratt on Seth Meyers
Sun - Easter |
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Treasure Trove - Stans get ready. Warner Bros. Studios is celebrating its 100th anniversary by opening its top-secret archives to showcase collections from The Matrix, Superman and Batman. The costumes housed at the warehouse are kept intact for continuity just in case they are needed again and are cared for by a dedicated team of archivists who watch over the iconic relics. The Joker’s purple trench coat and pants still have the dirt detail embedded in the material, for example. |
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