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MUNSTERS

[TV Bites] NBC Resurrecting “Munsters” Again? “The Following” Promo and “Hannibal” When?

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Posted by MrDisgusting on January 07, 2013 @ 10:09am
Category: Movies / News

In a quick TV news roundup to kickstart the week, it has been just 10 days since NBC passed on its “Munsters” reboot “Mockingbird Lane,” which had been in the works at NBC for two years under two regimes. But the network is not closing the door to bringing the family of monsters from the classic sitcom back, reports Deadline. “I won’t say we won’t do another version of The Muensters again,” NBC chief Robert Greenblatt said after the network’s executive session at TCA. He addressed the reasons for the decision not to proceed with Bryan Fuller’s “Mockingbird Lane” despite the pilot, which carried a reported $10-million price tag, doing decent ratings business when it aired as a Halloween special in October. “We just decided that it didn’t hold together well enough to yield a series,” Greenblatt said. “It looked beautiful and original and creative, but it just all ultimately didn’t come together…, it just didn’t ultimately creatively all work.” The pilot featured a cast led by Jerry O’Connell as family patriarch Herman Munster, Portia de Rossi as his wife Lily, Eddie Izzard as Grandpa, and Charity Wakefield as cousin Marilyn. “We felt great about that cast,” Greenblatt said. “But we tried to make it not just a sitcom. We tried to make it an hour, which ultimately has more dramatic weight than a half-hour. It’s hard to calibrate how much weirdness vs. supernatural vs. family story. I just think we didn’t get the mix right.”

Greenblatt talked with TVGuide about “Hannibal,” the forthcoming small screen prequel to The Silence of the Lambs. Greenblatt said Hannibal could make it on the schedule before the end of the season if other midseason offerings fizzled. But he also said it could be held for summer, where it might be competitive against high-quality cable dramas. Added NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke: “It’s very unique. It’s like a procedural you’ve never seen before.” Mads Mikkelsen, Hugh Dancy and Laurence Fishburne star. The pilot is directed by 30 Days of Night‘s David Slade.

Lastly, below is a 3-minute long promo for Fox’s “The Following,” the terrifying new thriller from creator/executive producer Kevin Williamson (“The Vampire Diaries,” “Dawson’s Creek,” the Scream franchise) and director Marcos Siega (“The Vampire Diaries,” “Dexter”)! The series premieres January 21, 2013 on Fox. READ MORE

[TV] The Munsters Will NOT Move Into “Mockingbird Lane”

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on December 28, 2012 @ 9:35am
Category: Movies / News

“Mockingbird Lane“ proved to be a dead end.

TVLine reports that NBC has decided not to order to series the reboot of “The Munsters,” which had been shepherded by Bryan Fuller (“Hannibal,” “Dead Like Me,” “Pushing Daisies”) and directed by X-Men‘s Bryan Singer.

“I tweet with a heavy heart,” Fuller said on Thursday. “NBC not moving forward with #MockingbirdLane. From producers and cast, thank you all for enthusiasm and support.”

Says the site, the “Mockingbird Lane” pilot — which NBC aired as a pre-Halloween special — drew 5.4 million total viewers and a 1.5 rating, giving the network its best demo in the Fridays-at-8 time slot in two years.

The modernized Munster family featured Jerry O’Connell as Frankenstein-ish Herman, Portia de Rossi as his vampire wife Lily, Mason Cook as their budding werewolf son Eddie, Charity Wakefield as cousin Marilyn (aka the normal one) and The Riches‘ Eddie Izzard as the ravenous Grandpa.

[TV] “Munsters” Offshoot “Mockingbird Lane” Now To Be A Halloween Special

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on October 11, 2012 @ 9:34am
Category: Movies / News

Yesterday we hinted that this was coming. Bryan Fuller’s “Munsters” remake “Mockingbird Lane” has reportedly been floundering at NBC and now the netwrok brass has found a way to recoup on their investment.

Fuller denied earlier claims that the show is in trouble, but the report was somewhat damning. That the whole thing could be a TV Movie was a possibility yesterday. “NBC has a big decision to make regarding its high-profile reboot of “The Munsters”. After two years in development and a pilot that sources say cost a whopping $10 million, the network is said to be unhappy with Mockingbird Lane (named for the famed family’s 1313 address) and is on the verge of scrapping the whole project… Sources say the network could choose to air the completed pilot as a Halloween special (either this year or next), or it might decide to shoot extra footage and package it as a made-for-TV movie for international buyers.”

And now it’s real. Per THR it will be a Halloween special and will air on NBC Friday, Oct. 26 at 8 PM. No word yet on an eventual series if the pilot performs well.

[TV News Bites] Photos From Episode 5 Of “Dexter”, That $10 Million “Munsters” Inspired “Mockingbird Lane” Pilot Could Be A TV Movie, America To Get Its Own “Strange Calls” And Molly Shannon Joins “Hannibal”

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on October 10, 2012 @ 2:55pm
Category: Movies / News

First off we have 13 images from Episode 7.05 of “Dexter”, entitled “Swim Deep”, that’s set to air a few weeks from now. They include a few more looks at Yvonne Strahovski in character and a couple of skeletons. Those can be found below the jump.

Next, via THR, is a more in-depth look at situation at NBC wherein Bryan Fuller’s “Munsters” remake “Mockingbird Lane” has reportedly been floundering. It’s important to remember that Fuller has denied claims that the show is in trouble, but the report is somewhat damning. The whole thing could be a TV Movie, or scrapped. “NBC has a big decision to make regarding its high-profile reboot of “The Munsters”. After two years in development and a pilot that sources say cost a whopping $10 million, the network is said to be unhappy with Mockingbird Lane (named for the famed family’s 1313 address) and is on the verge of scrapping the whole project… Sources say the network could choose to air the completed pilot as a Halloween special (either this year or next), or it might decide to shoot extra footage and package it as a made-for-TV movie for international buyers.” Click here for the full report.

America will get its own “Strange Calls” The half-hour comedy from writer Donick Cary (“New Girl”), director Ruben Fleisher (Zombieland) and producer Aaron Kaplan (“The Neighbors”), has landed at ABC. Based on an Australian series, it “centers on good-hearted, bumbling Boston cop Toby Banks, who is exiled to night duty on Nantucket island, where strange, unexplainable occurrences become the norm nine months out of the year.”

Last but not least, SNL alum Molly Shannon (Superstar) has joined Bryan Fuller’s “Hannibal”, though the nature of her role is being kept under wraps. All can’t be bad between NBC and Fuller as that project seems to be pretty healthy.

Boom! Head inside for those “Dexter” pics!

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on June 05, 2012 @ 2:27pm
Category: Movies / News

Mariana Klaveno might be playing Lily Munster in NBC’s “Munsters” reboot, “Mockingbird Lane“, if she can get out of her contract with “Devious Maids”

Per Deadline, “Mariana Klaveno has been cast as Lily Munster in NBC’s Munsters reboot Mockingbird Lane. However, Klaveno’s deal for Mockingbird Lane is contingent on her being released from a pilot she had a regular role on, ABC’s Devious Maids. Klaveno is not one of the leads on Devious Maids and has just a few lines in the pilot. But, in light of the project’s possible move to Lifetime, in an act of gamesmanship or a mix of both, Devious Maids producer ABC Studios has so far refused to release the actress. I hear that, in a major departure from precedent, NBC is even willing to let Klaveno recur on Devious Maids in exchange for securing her in first position to Mockingbird Lane where she would play the female lead.”

She would join Jerry O’Connell (announced yesterday as Herman Munster) and Eddie Izzard, who will play the powerful and quick-witted vampire in a role that was originated by Al Lewis. Mason Cook will play Herman and Lily’s werewolf son, Eddie. Bryan Singer will executive produce and direct the pilot. NBC initially eyed the reboot, from “Pushing Daisies” creator Bryan Fuller, for this development season but pushed the project to summer.

The newer version of the show is said to be an edgier and slightly darker take exploring origins of Herman and Lily Munster (originally played by Gwynne and Yvonne De Carlo) and how they arrived at the famed 1313 Mockingbird Lane address. READ MORE

TV: Scouts Honor, NBC Casts Eddie Munster For ‘Mockingbird Lane’

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on May 23, 2012 @ 5:38pm
Category: Movies / News

It’s been so long since they started casting I completely forgot this project was even happening, but NBC has another moving into “Mockingbird Lane.”

Deadline reports that young actor Mason Cook (pictured inside; Spy Kids In 4D) is set to co-star opposite Eddie Izzard and Charity Wakefield in NBC’s “Munsters” reboot “Mockingbird Lane.”

The pilot, written by Bryan Fuller and to be directed by Bryan Singer, is described as a reinvention of the 1960s sitcom about The Munsters, a family of “monsters” — vampires, werewolves and Frankenstein, and their “plain” cousin (Wakefield) — that will feature striking visuals in the vein of Fuller’s ABC dramedy “Pushing Daisies.”

Cook will play Eddie Munster, Lily and Herman’s only child, an earnest boy scout and budding werewolf. Horrified to learn the truth about himself, he refuses to eat meat and faces off against Grandpa (Izzard) at dinner. READ MORE

TV: CBS Close to Greenlighting ‘Munsters’ Revival?

Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on November 08, 2011 @ 6:02pm
Category: Movies / News

Within the article detailing CBS’s potential new “Hannibal” series, it was revealed that NBC may pull the trigger on a series order as early as this week for the new “Munsters” as a potential summer or event series.

Deadline got the scoop on the breakdown, reporting that the project features striking visuals mixed with all the classic “Munsters” archetypes. Grandpa Sam Dracula is essentially Dracula who assembled Herman because no man was good enough for his daughter Lily, a sexy vamp. Lily’s niece Marilyn the freak is actually normal and Lily and Herman’s only child, Eddie, has his werewolf tendencies surface in puberty, forcing the family to relocate to their famous 1313 Mockingbird Lane address.

The revival series comes from “Pushing Daisies” and “Dead Like Me” creator Bryan Fuller. READ MORE