The ol’ girl may fly this fall after all: NBC has picked up the Wonder Woman pilot from David E. Kelley. Ironically, NBC was the final network to pass on bringing back the superhero over a week ago, but that was before the new regime was officially in place in light of the impending Comcast takeover. Robert Greenblatt is now spearheading primetime as chairman. (On Thursday, head of programming Angela Bromstad announced she was leaving).
The pilot’s cost may not be a concern to Greenblatt, the wunderkind who revitalized Showtime with critical faves like Dexter and Weeds. One factor that seemed to have sunk the Wonder Woman project the first time around was the price of rebooting the series, with the studio requiring a rich license fee to bring the iconic character back to life. But then, NBC has been down this road before: It rebooted Bionic Woman. Kelley’s take incorporated the superhero’s signature lasso, cuffs, and plane in the script, and insiders said it was a serious, non-campy take on the DC Comics character. For years, various writers and producers (including Joss Whedon) have tried to bring back Wonder Woman, but the character has proved difficult to resurrect.
Kelley is already executive producing Harry’s Law for NBC, the new drama starring Kathy Bates. The pilot, like all the others ordered by NBC during the current development season, will have to pass the final smell test this spring before its ordered to series in May.
In other business Friday, NBC also ordered a drama pilot from Michael Patrick King (Sex and the City), dubbed Mann’s World. It chronicles a celebrity hair stylist in Los Angeles.
Wonder Woman wasn’t able to lasso a new home.
Sources told Entertainment Weekly that all the major broadcasters have passed on the much-buzzed about project. Late Friday, NBC was the final network that declined to bring back the superhero.
Warner Bros. TV was actively shopping a script from David E. Kelley that updated the period tale about an Amazon princess who battled Nazis and other bad guys during World War II. One source close to the project said the Wonder Woman team won’t give up on the project, even though it’s “not moving forward at this time.”
One factor may have been the projected cost of rebooting the series, with the studio requiring a rich license fee to bring the iconic character back to life (in other words, nobody wanted it to be another Bionic Woman). The cost means that it’s unlikely a cable network could step up and foot the bill.
The character was last seen on the small screen in the 1970s series that starred Lynda Carter. Kelley’s take incorporated the superhero’s signature lasso, cuffs, and plane in the script, and insiders said it was a serious, non-campy take on the DC Comics character. For years, various writers and producers (including Joss Whedon) have tried to bring back Wonder Woman, but the character has proved difficult to resurrect.
Now that we don’t have Outlaw, My Generation, or The Whole Truth to pick on anymore, there is a whole new batch of shows that are about to battle for your attention on the broadcast networks.Will ABC’s new comedy starring Matthew Perry attract more viewers than Courteney Cox was luring with Cougar Town? Will David E. Kelley bring his A-game to Harry’s Law on NBC? Will the new judges — and new timeslot — boost ratings for American Idol?
Here are the start dates for new and returning shows on the Big Four. (The CW has yet to announce any changes to its midseason lineup.)
Jan. 3
The Bachelor (season premiere, ABC)
Jan. 4
V (season premiere, ABC)
Live to Dance (series premiere, CBS)
The Biggest Loser: Couples (season premiere, NBC)
Jan. 6
Wipeout (season premiere, ABC)
Jan. 9
The Cape (series premiere, NBC)
Bob’s Burgers (series premiere, Fox)
Jan. 12
Off the Map (series premiere, ABC)
Jan. 17
Harry’s Law (series premiere, NBC)
Jan. 19
American Idol (season premiere, Fox)
Jan. 20
Parks and Recreation (season premiere, NBC)
Perfect Couples (series premiere, NBC)
Feb. 7
The Chicago Code (series premiere, Fox)
Feb. 8
Mixed Signals (series premiere, Fox)
Feb. 9
Mr. Sunshine (series premiere, ABC)
Feb. 16
Survivor (season premiere, CBS)
Feb. 28
The Event (show returns from hiatus, NBC)
March 6
Celebrity Apprentice (season premiere, NBC)
March 16
The Marriage Ref (season premiere, NBC)
America’s Next Great Restaurant (series premiere, NBC)
March 29
Body of Proof (series premiere, ABC)
April 6
Breaking In (series premiere, Fox)
April 12
Happy Endings (series premiere, ABC)
Descriptions for new shows:The Chicago Code (formerly Ride-Along) is a new police drama from creator Shawn Ryan that stars Jason Clark (Brotherhood) and Jennifer Beals (Lie to Me).Bob’s Burgers is a new animated comedy about a man, his family, and a burger joint.Mixed Signals is a relationship comedy that stars David Denman (The Office), Nelson Franklin (I Love You, Man), and Kris Marshall (Human Target).Breaking In (working title) is a workplace comedy based at a high-tech security firm.
Mr. Sunshine stars Matthew Perry as a self-absorbed manager of a San Diego sports arena.Happy Endings features Elisha Cuthbert (24) as a gal who breaks up with her fiancée (Zach Knighton of FlashForward) on their wedding day.Body of Proof stars Dana Delany as a neurosurgeon who’s forced to make a career change after a car accident prevents her from running to the emergency room.
Harry’s Law is a new legal drama starring Kathy Bates.America’s Next Great Restaurant is an elimination competition in which the winner will earn his or her own restaurant chain.The Cape is about a wrongly accused cop who dons a cape and mask to fight corruption.Perfect Couples has been described as depicting “the misadventures of three engaging couples as they struggle to find out what makes the ideal relationship — and how to maintain it through humorous trial-and-error.”
Live to Dance is Paula Abdul’s new competition show that awards $500,000 to the top hoofer.
Original Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter has ordered Megan Fox to stop "trashing" the superhero after the actress branded the character "lame".
TV bosses are planning to revive Wonder Woman, originally played by Carter in the 1970s, for a new small screen outing and Fox was said to be one of the actresses in contention for the role.
The Transformers beauty spoke out about the rumors, insisting she would never play such a part, telling Britain's FHM magazine, "She's lame. She flies around in an invisible jet, but she's not invisible. I don't get it."
And Carter admits she was annoyed by Fox's comments. She tells Fox news, "Megan Fox actually kind of trashed Wonder Woman. She said she thought it was dumb, like ‘What’s the big whoop making people tell the truth.’
"I like her, I just thought she shouldn’t trash Wonder Woman.”
But Carter is backing the idea of a new TV show, insisting Ally McBeal producer David E. Kelly is the ideal choice to develop the series.
She adds, "He’s great at the underlying comedy and character development. I spoke to him several weeks ago and he is perfect for it because he will really give the characters life. It’s not just going to be a cartoon or a comic book thing, which is really what I think we tried to do."
Wonder Woman is still heading to the screen, but instead of coming to a theater near you, the Amazon princess is returning to television.
Warner Bros. Television is developing a modern-day reboot of the classic DC comic book heroine and has lassoed an unlikely talent to potentially write and produce the superhero project: David E. Kelley, the showrunner behind legal dramas such as "Ally McBeal," "Boston Legal" and "The Practice."
The news comes after nearly a decade of attempts by Warner Bros. and producer Joel Silver to launch a big-screen version. Actresses ranging from Angelina Jolie to Beyonce Knowles to Megan Fox have thrown their hat in the ring for the starring role at one time or another.
In 2005, Warner Bros. announced Joss Whedon would write and direct the film adaptation. But Whedon said he never ended up being able to finish the draft, and two years later left the project.
"They just didn't like my take," Whedon said at the time. "It's pretty simple." (He is back in the superhero world, though, prepping "The Avengers" for a winter shoot).
Any new "Wonder Woman" won't likely have an easy road to the small screen either.
Though the 1975-79 TV series starring Lynda Carter remains the most memorable version of the character in pop culture, major networks have struggled to make female-driven action series work beyond NBC's "Heroes."
NBC's "Bionic Woman," which also is best known for its 1970s TV version, could haunt attempts to get a series launch, and Fox's "Dollhouse" struggled during its two seasons on Fox.
But if any place exists for a female-driven superhero series, it would be in TV land not film. While movies like "Daredevil" spin-off "Elektra," starring Jennifer Garner, bombed on the big screen, the small screen has been home to hits such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," a character which first failed as a movie, and "Alias," the spy series that starred Garner.
