Author: Lesley Goldberg, Kate Stanhope

October 14, 2016 9:00am PT by Lesley Goldberg, Kate Stanhope

Michael Kovac/Getty Images

Lorre

The series, which is in development, hails from Warner Bros. Television, where Lorre is under a rich overall deal.

Chuck Lorre is joining the reboot craze.

The prolific producer behind CBS’ The Big Bang Theory and Mom is teaming with Amazon to develop an event series based on Bonfire of the Vanities, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Sources say the project, which hails from Warner Bros. TV where Lorre is under a rich overall deal, is being eyed as an eight-episode series, though it is currently only in development. The drama, which has been in the works for months, was initially shopped to cable and streaming outlets. 

Margaret Nagle (Boardwalk Empire, Red Band Society) is set to pen the script and exec produce alongside Lorre. Author and political reporter David Corn will serve as a consultant. Amazon Studios, WBTV and Chuck Lorre Productions are the producers on it.

Like Tom Wolfe’s 1987 novel, the potential series is described as a drama about ambition, racism, social class, politics and greed in 1980s New York City. The tale is told through three main characters: WASP bond trader Sherman McCoy, Jewish assistant district attorney Larry Kramer and British journalist Peter Fallow. 

Bonfire of the Vanities was originally released in 27 different installments in Rolling Stone and went on to become one of the best-sellers and most acclaimed works of Wolfe’s storied career.

This isn’t the first stab at adapting the book. Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis and Melanie Griffith starred in the 1990 film of the same name, which was widely panned and earned just less than $16 million at the box office.

This project marks Lorre’s first foray into miniseries — a field that has become increasingly popular in recent years as the prospect of a limited number of episodes continues to draw name talent (and producers) to the small screen.

With the exception of a 2008 episode of CSI he penned, this would also be Lorre’s first dramatic project after decades of success on sitcoms including Roseanne, Cybill, Dharma & Greg and the recently departed Two and a Half Men and Mike & Molly. He currently has three shows in the works: CBS’ The Big Bang Theory and Mom as well as Netflix’s straight-to-series pot comedy Disjointed, starring Kathy Bates. Bonfire gives Lorre projects at two competing streaming outlets. He is repped by UTA.

Reboots continue to remain in high demand as broadcast, cable and streaming outlets look for proven IP in a bid to cut through a cluttered scripted landscape that is quickly approaching 500 original series. Key to the remakes is having the original producers involved in some capacity as more studios look to monetize their existing film libraries.

Already in the works this season are reboots of Dynasty (The CW), War of the Worlds (MTV), Magnum P.I. (ABC), The Lost Boys (CW), Varsity Blues (CMT), The Departed (Amazon), Let the Right One In (TNT) and L.A. Law, though the latter does not yet have a network attached.

August 10, 2016 9:15am PT by Lesley Goldberg, Kate Stanhope

James Wolk on ‘Zoo,’ left; ‘Big Brother’s’ Julie Chen  CBS (2)

Decisions on summer scripted series ‘BrainDead’ and ‘American Gothic’ are still to be determined.

CBS is solidifying its summer.

The network used its time in front of the press Wednesday to announce that it has handed out a two-season renewal for summer staple Big Brother as well as pick up scripted drama Zoo for a third season. Decisions on fellow summer scripted series BrainDead and American Gothic have not yet been determined.

Zoo, based on the best-seller by author and exec producer James Patterson, is a global thriller about a wave of violent animal attacks against humans. The series is produced in-house by CBS Television Studios and stars James Wolk.

While not an out-of-the-box ratings hit, the series has averaged 4 million viewers and a 1.1 among adults under 50, with both metrics growing about 35 percent and 53 percent, respectively, with three days of delayed viewing.

The series is the longest-running original summer scripted drama on the network that originally made waves a few years ago by rolling out pricey scripted dramas in the typically low-rated summer. Key to those deals was securing SVOD windows on Netflix and Amazon, which Zoo has with the former. Amazon has BrainDead, produced by The Good Wife‘s Robert and Michelle King, while American Gothic did not have a streaming deal to help off-set its costs. (None of CBS’ summer dramas have been out-of-the-gate hits the way Under the Dome originally opened, which helped to pave the way for expensive scripted fare in the summer on the network.)

For its part, Big Brother’s two-season renewal is no surprise given the reality competition series’ continued ratings success in its 18th season across the three nights a week that the show airs. CBS gave the stalwart a similar two-season pickup back in September 2014.

Wednesday’s renewal will take Big Brother into its landmark 20th season on the air. Seasons 19 and 20 will air in summer 2017 and 2018, respectively. Season 19 of Big Brother is not to be confused with the new digital edition of the series, which will premiere on CBS All Access in the fall. It’s unclear how else the new digital edition, which will also be hosted by Julie Chen, will differentiate itself from the original series.

The new digital edition will be CBS All Access’ first original series as it prepares to launch Bryan Fuller’s Star Trek: Discovery and The Good Wife spinoff headlined by Christine Baranski in 2017.

Big Brother is produced by Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan produce for Fly on the Wall Entertainment, in association with Endemol Shine North America.

Big Brother is one of several long-running competition series on CBS’ unscripted slate, joining Survivor and The Amazing Race, both which continue to air two cycles per TV season. This fall will see CBS delve into true crime with the docuseries The Case of JonBenet Ramsey, centered on the unsolved 1996 murder case. CBS also has docuseries Undercover Boss.

TCA | Television Critics Association Big Brother CBS

March 17, 2016 9:15am PT by Lesley Goldberg , Kate Stanhope

 Courtesy of IMDB

Isabella Gomez will play Elena, the lead character’s teenage daughter.

Netflix’s One Day at a Time remake has cast another pivotal role.

Isabella Gomez (Matador) has joined the Latino reboot of the hit Norman Lear sitcom, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The new multicamera iteration will center on three generations of a Cuban-American family living under one roof. Gomez has landed the series regular role of Elena, the radical teenage daughter of single mom Penelope. Elena is described as a 14-year-old girl who is in the throes of becoming a woman. A proud nerd, idealist and social justice warrior, Elena is opinionated and not afraid to speak her mind. But while she is Internet-wise, she is more foolish when it comes to the real world. She is particularly confounding to her more old-school grandmother, Abuelita Lydia.

Gomez joins Six Feet Under‘s Justina Machado, who will play Penelope, and Rita Moreno, who will play Lydia.

In the original ’70s series, Bonnie Franklin’s single mom had two daughters, played by Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli. This time, Elena will be joined by a younger brother, Alex, who has yet to be cast.

The all-Latino One Day at a Time reboot finally got the Netflix pickup in February after prolonged talks. Lear is attached as an executive producer, along with How I Met Your Mother alum Gloria Calderon Kellett and Men of a Certain Age‘s Mike Royce, who are set to co-write and serve as co-showrunners. Michael Garcia will also exec produce, with Brent Miller onboard as a co-exec producer. The comedy is produced by Act III Productions, Snowpants Productions and Small Fish Studios in association with Sony Pictures Television.

Gomez, whose other credits include Modern Family, is repped by Brevard Talent Group and manager Doyle Rice.

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