Who says TV programmers have run out of ideas?
Why, just in the last week, the trade papers have announced deals and casting for as many as 15 new
"Care Bears and Cousins." Fuzzy is the new black at Netflix, which is reviving the candy-colored kiddie cartoon series but adding some new characters. No, Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright are not going to have a threesome with one of them.
"Cheerleader Death Squad." The CW has ordered this series, from the showrunners behind "Desperate Housewives" and "Under the Dome" (that'd be Marc Cherry and Neal Baer, respectively) about an elite prep school where the pep squad is made up of spies-in-training. Dan Truly ("Blue Bloods") is co-producing and co-writing the pilot for the series, which was apparently pitched with the shorthand description, "'Heathers' meets 'Alias.'"
"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs: The Series." A prequel to the hit animated features will focus on the teen years of crackpot scientist Flint Lockwood. It's not clear whether Bill Hader would reprise his voice role as Flint or which channel would air the show.
"The Illusionist." The 2006 period thriller with Edward Norton as a Victorian-era magician was a modest cult hit, and "modest cult" is apparently enough to justify a TV reboot. Except that this one has different characters and a different storyline; only the period and the protagonist's prestidigitation skills are the same. "True Blood" show runner Mark Hudis is penning the pilot for the CW.
"In Good Company." Here's yet another film from about a decade ago that wasn't a huge box office draw but is nonetheless considered familiar enough to spawn a TV version. Remember the 2004 film, in which Dennis Quaid was humiliated to discover that his new boss (Topher Grace) was not only half his age but was also dating his daughter (Scarlett Johansson). Paul Weitz, who wrote and directed the film, is on board the CBS project. We hope Grace is, too, since we're wondering where he's been lately.
"The Kennedys -- After Camelot." Because we can never get enough of America's royals, here's a follow-up to the Reelz mini-series from a couple years ago that traced the family's history up through RFK's assassination in 1968. Katie Holmes will return as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the four-hour mini-series that picks up where the original left off.
Lego reality show. After the smash success of "The Lego Movie" and the anticipated success of its Batman spinoff, the toy company believes we'll want to watch a reality series about the "Master Builders," the Lego engineers who design the themed construction kits.
"Lost in Space." Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! The 1960s sci-fi series about a stranded family of astronauts is getting a reboot, courtesy of writers Matt Sazama and Buck Sharpless, the guys who rebooted a certain vampire last week with the movie "Dracula Untold." Presumably, we will all agree to forget the late-'90s film version starring
"Monster-in -Law." Not sure anyone really has any fond memories of the 2005 movie in which Jennifer Lopez tussled with her fiancee's meddling mom (Jane Fonda), but you do recognize the title, and that's all it takes to turn a familiar film property into a sitcom. Alas, J. Lo and J. Fo are probably not going to be involved.
"The Other Dead." Remember when Animal Planet was known for nature documentaries and shows with cute puppies? Those days are apparently long gone, given the development of this scripted drama (the channel's first) about a series of Katrina-like storms that bring about an animal zombie apocalypse. It's based on a graphic novel by Joshua Ortega and Digger Mesch, both of whom will be involved in the series. So watch out for zombie pets, zombie monkeys, and other walking-on-all-fours dead.
"Sin City Saints." In this sports comedy, already in production to stream on Yahoo, Las Vegas gets a new expansion basketball team, but the focus seems to be on the players behind the scenes. Andrew Santino ("Mixology") will play the team's Mark Cuban-like owner; Malin Akerman will play a league executive; and Tom Arnold will play a casino bigwig. Real-life hoopsters Rick Fox and Baron Davis will be on board as well.
"South of Hell." WE TV may be known for Lifetime-like movies about women in peril, but this scripted drama will feature one whose very soul is in peril. Developed by horror moguls Jason Blum and Eli Roth, this show will feature "American Horror Story" alumna Mena Suvari as a demon-hunting mercenary who has to battle against her own demon. That's not a metaphor; she's actually possessed herself.
"To Max and Paige." This would be Shonda Rhimes' first sitcom, assuming it beats the other Shondaland comedy projects under development into production. It'll be set entirely at a wedding rehearsal dinner, but with lots of flashbacks. "Scandal" love interest Scott Foley is starring and writing the pilot script for the potential ABC show.
"Uncle Buck." Neither writer/director John Hughes nor star John Candy is around to complain about the reboot of the 1989 film, but their families are protesting ABC's recent decision to go ahead with this one. Not that their objections carry any legal weight -- indeed, they failed to stop the original reboot, a 1990 series starring Kevin Meaney that lasted one season on CBS. But the grumbling of the original creators is sometimes enough to halt a series, as the makers of the proposed "Say Anything" update found out last week when Cameron Crowe and John Cusack unleashed a Twitter firestorm against the prospective series.
Untitled Bill Murray Christmas Special. Who doesn't love to hear Bill Murray croon, whether he's turning the "Star Wars" theme into a lounge standard, covering Roxy Music's "More Than This" karaoke-style in "Lost in Translation," or muttering the lyrics of Bob Dylan's "Shelter From the Storm" in the new film "St. Vincent"? "Translation" director Sofia Coppola is in charge of this one-shot holiday show, which she says she hopes will find Murray caroling her requests. Um, okay, though Bill Murray isn't the first guy you think of when you think "Christmas spirit" (Exhibit A: "Scrooged"), unless he'll play some rueful, sad-eyed codger whose family stands him up for the holidays. Murray suggests there will be a dramatic through-line. Maybe it'll involve ninja cheerleaders or zombie pets.
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