‘Josep’ Comedy Pilot Not Going Forward, ABC Hopes To Redevelop Project Starring Jo Koy

EXCLUSIVE: Multi-hyphenate Jay Chandrasekhar (Easter Sunday) has signed with Cinetic Media for management across all media.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterFX has commissioned a comedy pilot from Brian Jordan Alvarez.The pilot is called “English Teacher.” Alvarez will star as Evan, a gay high school English teacher in Austin, TX, and his fellow teachers trying to balance the competing demands of the students and their parents in a world where the rules seem to change every day. Alvarez is writing the pilot and will also executive produce in addition to starring.

Star Wars fans got a treat Thursday. Harrison Ford made a surprise stop at the Star Wars Celebration at the Anaheim Convention Center to give an update on "Indiana Jones 5."  Thursday’s event marked the first in-person convention since 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic.  Harrison Ford made a surprise appearance at the Star Wars Celebration event in Anathema, Calif., Thursday.

to a report in the Wall Street Journal published on Wednesday, Warner Bros. Discovery Head David Zaslav, “deemed its estimated $75 million-plus budget too high and its return too limited for a made-for-streaming movie.”According to an insider with knowledge of the project, the film was never greenlit.“Riverdale” star KJ Apa and “1883” breakout Isabel May were previously set to star, as first reported TheWrap.The “Wonder Twins” centers on an alien sibling duo – Jayna and Zan – who can activate their superpowers by touching hands and saying their catchphrase, “Wonder twin power, activate!” Jayna can transform into any animal, and Zan can transform into water.

Kay Mellor has died at the age of 71. The Leeds-born scriptwriter passed away on Sunday her production company announced: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the untimely and sudden passing of our beloved friend, mentor and colleague Kay Mellor on Sunday 15th May 2022.

Two Hollywood heavy-hitters are headed back to “1932”.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHarrison Ford and Helen Mirren are set to star in Taylor Sheridan’s new “Yellowstone” prequel “1932” at Paramount+, Variety has learned.The show follows the Dutton family in the titular year, a time of Prohibition, the Great Depression, and westward expansion. “1932” is a followup to “1883,” the latter of which told the story of the Dutton family as they made their way to Montana to found what would become the Yellowstone Ranch in the mothership series. “1932” was ordered to series at Paramount+ back in February.

EXCLUSIVE: The single-camera teen comedy Wild Life from Imagine Kids+Family has received a pilot order at HBO Max with rising star Izabella Alvarez (Euphoria, The Casagrandes) set as the show’s lead.

LA Law not moving at ABC was one of the surprises of this pilot season.

The TV world has paid tribute to Kay Mellor, after the sad news of the screenwriter's death died at age 71. Kay was best known for her Bafta-nominated TV programme, Fat Friends, which stole the hearts of the nation in the early noughties.The drama was set in Kay's hometown, Leeds, and focused on the members of a slimming group. And as well as being a fantastic show in its own right, Fat Friends helped bring another British classic to our screens – Gavin and Stacey.

Michelle Hardwick has lead tributes to famous screenwriter Kay Mellor after her death at the age of 71. Announcing the heartbreaking news of her death, a spokesperson for her TV production company, Rollem Productions, said in a statement: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the untimely and sudden passing of our beloved friend, mentor and colleague Kay Mellor on Sunday 15th May 2022. “We have lost a phenomenal talent and a true luminary.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterABC has passed on placing series orders for the “LA Law” sequel and Jo Koy comedy “Josep” after both pilots were reviewed by the network, Variety has learned.The Disney-owned broadcaster is interested in potentially redeveloping the Koy project in the future, but “LA Law” will not be moving forward. On Friday, ABC picked up dramas “Alaska” and “The Rookie” spinoff “The Rookie: Feds” to series, as well as comedy “Not Dead Yet.” Four other drama pilots, “Will Trent,” “The Company You Keep,” the Untitled Kay Oyegun drama and an untitled National Park Service project, are all still in contention and will be up for consideration going into July.Starring returning cast members Blair Underwood and Corbin Bernsen reprising their original roles as Jonathan Rollins and Arnie Becker, the pilot for the new iteration of the Emmy-winning series “LA Law” features familiar characters working alongside new ones on the most hot button issues of the day.

ABC’s L.A. Law sequel has gone the way of the network’s NYPD Blue sequel. The network has passed on the pilot, headlined by Blair Underwood, reprising his role as attorney Jonathan Rollins in addition to executive producing.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCBS has ordered three new drama shows for the 2022-2023 broadcast season. According to sources, the network has decided not to move forward with any of its four comedy pilots.The network has picked up the police drama “East New York,” the firefighter drama “Fire Country” (formerly known as “Cal Fire”), and legal drama “So Help Me Todd.” The comedies “Rust Belt News,” “Unplanned in Akron,” “Sober Companion,” and “The Hug Machine” have been passed over.“East New York” follows Regina Haywood (Amanda Warren), the newly promoted deputy inspector of East New York, a working-class neighborhood at the edge of Brooklyn. She leads a diverse group of officers and detectives, some of whom are reluctant to deploy her creative methods of serving and protecting in the midst of social upheaval and the early seeds of gentrification.

Ariel Winter‘s show is no longer happening.

NBC is not moving forward with Hungry.

Selome Hailu NBC’s comedy pilot “Lopez vs. Lopez,” created by George Lopez and his daughter Mayan Lopez, has been ordered to series.The multi-cam stars both Lopezes and is described as a working-class family comedy about dysfunction, reconnection and all the pain and joy in between. In April, Variety learned exclusively that Selenis Leyva, Brice Gonzalez and Matt Shively would also star, with Laci Mosley and Kiran Deol in recurring roles.

Sarandon and Mullally will play two lifelong friends who are invited by an old college mate, played by Midler, to be bridesmaids at her wedding in Key West. Filming is currently scheduled to begin in Key West in September with Richard Barton Lewis producing through Southpaw Entertainment with Gabrielle Jerou-Tabak as executive producer.