TV News

A Little Less Fringe for Joshua Jackson

Fringe
star Joshua Jackson has claimed that he will play a reduced role in the
upcoming fourth season of the show. Jackson, who portrays Peter Bishop,
told IGN that he will appear in “less” episodes than usual in a
continuation of the story laid out by the third season’s finale.

Jackson
said, “Our show is not a star-driven show, it’s a character-driven
show. I know [the producers] want me to be a part of Fringe, but I know
they also want to tell the story in the best possible way.” Jackson also
described Peter’s decreased role in the Fox sci-fi drama as “ballsy.”
“It’s so unusual to take one of the three leads… and to break them out
of the show,” he said. “Particularly on network television where a lot
of it really is personality-driven. There’s a lot of nervousness about
upsetting the apple cart.”

Comedy Central Releases Fall Schedule

Comedy
Central announced their fall lineup of shows and stand-up specials
Tuesday, as well as the highly publicized roast of Charlie Sheen. In
addition to its original series, the network has picked up the
syndication rights to the NBC comedy, 30 Rock;
which will be making its premier on cable television. All air times
are Eastern Standard Time(EST).

Breaking Bad Renewed For Sixteen Episode Final Season

After tense talks between Sony and AMC,
an agreement was reached for Breaking Bad’s fifth and final
season. Consisting of 16 episodes, it is unknown at this time if the
season will air as a whole or be split into two shorter installments
like many other cable series. Production for all episodes will begin
in early 2012, with premier dates still to be determined.

The official announcement was made by
the president of AMC, Charlie Collier, who said; “While it is sad
to even contemplate the end of this series, we are so happy to have
had the chance to go on this ride, and truly look forward to
presenting the rest of this amazing story.”

Syfy’s Haven Launches Fully Integrated Twitter Storyline

On August 10, Syfy announced via a press release that its series Haven
has created a storyline that flows seamlessly between the show itself
and Twitter. The storyline started on Friday, August 12, with the
episode “Roots,” which is the beginning of a special seven-episode arc.

According
to the press release, “In the story, Vince (Richard Donat) and Dave
(John Dunsworth), who run the newspaper in Haven, join Twitter as
newcomers to the medium. Viewers who follow their characters
(@VinceHaven, @DaveHaven) will see them interact with a mysterious
Twitter user (@ColdInHaven) who knows more about Haven – and Vince and
Dave – than anyone should.”

ABC Still Developing Hulk and Jessica Jones Series

At
the San Diego Comic-Con last month and at the TCA (Television Critics
Association) press tour last week, executives from Marvel TV and ABC
discussed Marvel Comics projects under development at the network.

Speaking
at the TCA, ABC Entertainment Group president Paul Lee said, “We’re
extremely excited by having Marvel in the fold. We’ve developing
aggressively both AKA Jessica Jones and The Hulk. Hopefully we’ll have two very good choices to look at around the pilot season next year.”

Animated Star Trek Series in the Works

Producer/screenwriter duo Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have revealed that they are keen to produce a new Star Trek animated series. The pair, who co-wrote and executive produced the 2009 reboot of the Star Trek franchise, discussed the project on radio show My Geek Time. Commenting on the notion of a TV show Orci said: “We have asked about [an animated Star Trek series].
We have asked what the rights are and who owns it and what are the
possibilities. It is a very early idea and we are waiting to hear back.
But we would love to do it.”

Syfy President Talks Video Games and More BSG Spinoffs

President of Syfy, David Howe, recently
gave an exclusive interview with THR, in which he expressed the
efforts to merge video games with the network, and also the
likelihood of more projects set in the Battlestar Galactica
universe. Recognizing
the link between fans of the network and fans of gaming,
Syfy is looking to create more programming-inspired games, as well as
more game-inspired programming.

Howe
spoke on the partnerships between Syfy and game companies, THQ and
Trion Worlds, and the projects he sees developing as a result;
“We’re very excited about games and we see it as a big growth
opportunity for us over the next five to ten years.” Already
releasing a made-for-TV movie based on the THQ title, Red
Faction: Armageddon, the network
is now working on a project with Trion to create a game that ties in
directly with one of their original series. Defiance
will be a massively multiplayer online game, that releases along with
a new live-action series on Syfy.

The Walking Dead: Details of Frank Darbont’s Departure Emerge

THR is reporting that a source closely
involved with The Walking Dead has confirmed that showrunner,
Frank Darabont, was fired by AMC from the hit series he helped
create. His termination was a shock to both the cast and crew; who
other insiders are claiming have been ordered by AMC to not discuss
the incident with the press. Darabont was originally reported to be
leaving the show just three days after his appearance at Comic-Con
2011.

Though an exact reason for his firing
has not been given -with both AMC execs and Darabont himself refusing
to talk to press- it is most likely due to the tightened budget and
shooting restrictions AMC was forcing on the show. Darabont was
vocal in his opposition to AMC’s plans, saying that it would have
affect the show creatively. In addition to slashing production
values, AMC submitted several “suggestions” on how to change
production; such as shooting half of each episode indoors and
reducing the number of onscreen zombies.

Terra Nova May Have Extended First Season!

Terra Nova’s executive producer Brannon Braga has claimed that the show’s first season may be extended beyond its initial run. The sci-fi drama is expected to run for 13 episodes, but Braga told Blastr that additional episodes are a possibility if the series proves successful once it begins to air on Fox this fall.

“If they tell us they want nine more, it’ll be incredible,” he said. “We’re up to the challenge, [though] I might have a nervous breakdown!” Braga explained that Terra Nova is a “massive production” with “a lot of special needs”. “No other show in history has really had [this] scope and [these] visuals and the kind of visual effects we’re doing,” he said. “We’ve managed to pull it off. We’re nearly done, certainly, writing the first season, and we’re about over halfway done filming.”

The Lincoln Lawyer Headed to TV

ABC is reportedly developing a new TV series based on the 2011 thriller film The Lincoln Lawyer.
The film followed the story of Mickey Haller, a criminal defense
attorney in LA who is chauffeured around in a Lincoln town car.

The
film’s protagonist has thus far appeared in five novels by writer
Michael Connelly, giving scope to feasibly turn the film into a show.
Connelly is reportedly co-writing a pilot script with The Lincoln Lawyer’s screenwriter John Romano, according to Variety.
Matthew McConaughey played Haller in the 2011 film but is not expected
to reprise his role in the television adaptation; as of now there is no
word as to who may replace him if the series goes ahead.