ABC closing in on 'Charlie's Angels'

[Zoneboy]

Network close to deal on pilot order

ABC is close to giving a pilot order to a modern version of the classic 1970s TV actioner "Charlie’s Angels."
Josh Friedman, who recently adapted the "Terminator" franchise for his Fox series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," is onboard to write and exec produce the new "Angels."

Also involved are original "Charlie’s Angels" producer Leonard Goldberg, who launched the series with Aaron Spelling in 1976, as well as Drew Barrymore, who starred in and produced the 2000 film version and its sequel. Sony Pictures TV is the studio.

Insiders said that ABC Entertainment Group topper Steve McPherson is particularly high on this project.

Networks of late have found that it’s frequently a challenge to take on iconic franchises — and several recent reboots, such as "Knight Rider," "Melrose Place" and "The Bionic Woman" have fallen short.

But ABC is riding high this fall with its adaptation of another such property, "V." That show bowed to boffo numbers, although it took a hit in week two.

Sony is also busy adapting another 1970s Spelling (and Goldberg-produced) property, "Fantasy Island" — but as a reality show, along with Mark Burnett. No U.S. network is attached as of yet to that project, which was announced last month at the Mipcom TV confab.

The original "Charlie’s Angels" ran from 1976-81 and was back in the news this summer following the death of original star Farrah Fawcett.

Spelling attempted a revival in 1988, sealing a deal to produce a version called "Angels 88" for Fox. That show never got off the ground, but it eventually led to Spelling’s deal to produce the original "Beverly Hills 90210" (now also enjoying a revival, via the CW).

The franchise then lay dormant until 2000, when the McG-helmed "Charlie’s Angels" feature, starring Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz, was a box office hit. Movie spawned a second edition, "Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle."

It also led to an earlier attempt at a TV series revival, in 2004. That version was written for ABC (again, through Sony) by a pre-"Lost" Carlton Cuse and John Wirth and given a script-plus-penalty order but ultimately didn’t go to pilot.

This time around, a pilot is expected to be greenlit. Friedman, Goldberg and Barrymore will exec produce with Nancy Juvonen.

Friedman’s other credits include co-writing the features "War of the Worlds" and "The Black Dahlia."

Beyond "Angels" and "Fantasy Island," Goldberg was an exec producer on "Starsky and Hutch," "Hart to Hart" and "Family."

The new "Charlie’s Angels" is expected to be geared toward a new generation while paying homage to the past.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=14&cs=1

[Zoneboy]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

[Mr. Television]

Not an original idea in Hollywood anymore. hno:

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Zoneboy

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Double NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

[Marvo301]

Wht can't they leave the classics alone and do something original instead!!!!!

[Jude The Obscure]

Remakes, lame revivals.........for every good attempt like "V" we have a 1001 turkeys like "Bionic Woman" and "Knight Rider".

[TeeVeeCloset]

Remember though there is an upside to remakes if succcessful like perhaps a release of season 5 and renewed interest in the original!

[McGillicuddy]

Originally Posted by TeeVeeCloset

Remember though there is an upside to remakes if succcessful like perhaps a release of season 5 and renewed interest in the original!

We already know whats going to happen. It will get on the schedule, last 13 episodes, get cancelled, and get a dvd complete series release. Then it will be a novelty to have this with the 70's original series and the recent theatrical releases.

[TMC]

I just hope that they don't follow Drew Barrymore's ignorant "the Angels can't use guns" mandate from the movies.

[Retro4Life]

Sigh.

There WAS a show named "Charlie's Angels" once, and it was good. Just as there were shows called "Battlestar: Galactica", "V", "The Prisoner", and tons of others, and they were all (mostly) good. These shows had their own characters and writers and plot scenarios and they are forever etched in our collective memories.

These shows, despite their names, are something quite different than their namesakes. They are simply cashing in on the names of their progenitors. Honestly, I have no interest in any of these 'reboots'. Starbuck is not a woman, the Cylons are not "hot", Charlie's Angels DID use guns, not cell phones, etc. I'm sure the creators of these shows have many compelling stories to tell but for the life of me I can't understand why more of them don't try to craft something original that doesn't prompt inevitable comparisons with something 20 or 30 years ago.

To Hollywood: PLEASE stop trashing/diluting/cashing in on/bastardizing my pop culture memory. If I am going to watch "V", I want to find out what happened after the end of the TV series, what Ham Tyler ended up doing after heading for Chicago, if Diana ever met her Waterloo, etc. I simply don't care about these clones.

[TV Knowledge Fan]

...long ago, there was a great "escapist" series called "FANTASY ISLAND" (1978-'84). It was perfect, and never pretended to be other than what it was: pure corn and camp, presided over by Ricardo Montalban and Herve Villechaize (the first six seasons with him): another "perfect" series from Aaron Spelling and his partner Leonard Goldberg. However, ABC made the mistake of "reviving" it for a "hipper audience" in 1998, with Barry Sonnenfeld and his partner Barry Josephson producing it for SONY/Columbia. They proceeded to "revamp" it in the style they later used for "PUSHING DAISIES"- with too many characters, and too much irony. And MALCOM McDOWELL as "Mr. Roarke"? Only ONE TV critic gave it a rave review (and he loathed the original version): David Bianculli of the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS [this was because he's a BIG McDowall fan]. He was the kind of audience ABC had hoped would make it a hit all over again. But the majority of TV viewers aren't "David Bianculli" {who'd WANT to be?}, and the "new and improved" version of "FANTASY ISLAND" ended after just 13 weeks, in January 1999.

And now Mark Burnett wants to revive it AGAIN ...as a reality show???

[Pavan]

Jacyln Smith doesn't mind. She tweeted that it is a great idea. It's not even picked-up as a series yet. It's just a pilot order.

[TMC]

If the show is going to be in the same continuity as the movies:
Dedee Pfieffer as Natalie (the Cameron Diaz role) - Even though Dedee (Michelle's younger sister) might be a bit too old for the part.

Azura Skye as Dylan (the Drew Barrymore role)

Holly Marie Combs as Alex (the Lucy Liu role)

I'm basing this more on physical resemblance to the actresses than performance.

[Dr. Thong]

It's bad enough we had to go through the ditzy updated version in the movies, but now this??

Hollywood is creatively dead -- they should have a funeral for it, because all they can do is try to cash in on the name of a show that was big thirty years ago.

Lame.

[TMC]

http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/11/14/ch...eboot-cast-it/

The challenges facing the team are many: Though we all seem to get excited about action shows centered on ass-kicking woman, Nielsen families don’t. Fox canned Terminator and now Dollhouse, NBC made Chuck earn its renewal in Subway sandwiches. As we’ve seen (hello, Knight Rider), nostalgia will get you buzz, but it alone won’t keep viewers coming back week after week. Then there’s casting, which will set the tone for the show. Here’s hoping they’ll be looking for women in their late 20s or 30s (as the original did). It’s so much more appealing, for me at least, to think about watching women play detective rather than girls.

My colleague Michael Slezak was quick to offer his dream cast: Dirty Sexy Money’s Natalie Zea, who played Karen Darling; Alias‘ Merrin Dungey, who played Francie; and Secret Diary of a Call Girl’s leading lady Billie Piper. I’d keep Zea, and add Terminator Salvation’s Moon Bloodgood, and, in the Kate Jackson role, Claire Danes. Word was she was being courted last pilot season.