Oscar winner David S. Ward (“The Sting”), three-time Oscar nominee Todd Field (“In the Bedroom,” “Little Children”)and Emmy Award winners Lawrence O’Donnell (“The West Wing”) and Todd Holland (“Malcolm in the Middle,” “The Larry Sanders Show”) are the latest impressive names to develop original scripted drama and comedy programming for EPIX, the multiplatform premium entertainment channel, video-on-demand and online service.
Ward, an Oscar-winning screenwriter for “The Sting,” who also wrote co-wrote “Sleepless in Seattle,” joins Jeffrey Fiskin and Emmy winner O’Donnell to develop THE SUPREMES, a one-hour epic drama about a supreme court clerk and the ripple effect of a single case that takes him through the shadowy inner workings of Washington’s halls of power. Field, the much-honored writer/director/producer, collaborates with writer Evan Bleiweiss on the one-hour drama PENTHOUSE, based on the true story of a moral young man who goes to work for Penthouse Magazine and Bob Guccione. Holland, who won Emmys for his directing work on both “Malcolm in the Middle” and “The Larry Sanders Show,” partners with writer Andrea Abbate on RANDOM ACTS, a half-hour single camera comedy about female hit men.
In addition, EPIX also announced: HUMAN RESOURCES from Imagine and Robert Borden; GONZO from Michael Oates Palmer and Ann Blanchard; MARGIN of ERROR from D.V. DeVincentis and Amy Rice, PULP BROMANCE from Michael Davis and Don Murphy. These, along with projects previously announced that include Academy Award-winner Oliver Stone’s STILL HOLDING, in his first foray into development of a scripted series, Emmy winner Larry Charles’s iCON add to a robust development slate for scripted original programming at EPIX.
Mark Greenberg, President and CEO of EPIX, said “We are thrilled that the creative community is bringing us their passion projects. Every single one of our creators has a strong point of view that captures an epic character journey whether comedy or drama.”
Original series and programming currently in development at EPIX:
SUPREMES – A one hour drama from Academy Award winning writer David S. Ward, Jeffrey Fiskin, and Marie-Louise White centering on a young, ambitious power broker of Capitol Hill. Starting as a Supreme Court clerk, the show follows a young man whose passion for a particular case takes him through the shadowy inner workings of Washington’s halls of power. Jim Lampley and Adam Fratto are also attached.
UNTITLED PENTHOUSE PROJECT – A one-hour drama, inspired by true events, from Todd Field, Fox 21, Producer Richard Bleiweiss, Executive Producers Marty Adelstein and Michael Thorn, and writer Evan Bleiweiss. In the 1980’s, Bleiweiss’ father worked as an art director for Penthouse magazine, under the tutelage of publisher Bob Guccione. The series tracks the story of a moral young man in a decade of excess and greed working for a provocative men’s magazine.
RANDOM ACTS – Half-hour single camera comedy from Emmy Award winning director Todd Holland, Fox 21 and writer Andrea Abbate. Show is an edgy action-comedy about two female hit men, looking for love in all the wrong places, while working for an eccentric and ruthless crime boss.
HUMAN RESOURCES – Half-hour single camera genre-bending comedy from Imagine, Fox 21 and Emmy-nominated writer Robert Borden (“Late Show with David Letterman,” “George Lopez”). This unique blend of thriller, suspense, and humor centers on a group of new hires at large software company who discover that they may not be management trainees after all.
GONZO – A one-hour drama from writer Michael Oates Palmer and Executive Producer Ann Blanchard, about thrill-seeking war journalists in the 1980s searching for a missing comrade in a Central American country rattled by corruption, greed, and political intrigue – a place that could blow apart any minute.
MARGIN OF ERROR – A one-hour dramedy from director Amy Rice (“By the People: The Election of Barack Obama”) and writer D.V. DeVincentis, inspired by Rice’s work on the 2008 campaign trail. The show centers on a workaholic campaign strategist who launches a new political campaign every season.
PULP BROMANCE – A one-hour action/dramedy from Michael Davis (Shoot Em’ Up), Don Murphy, Susan Montford, and Fox Television Studios based on a book series about a pulp bromance between two assassins who face the good, the bad, and the unknown in the most dangerous city in the world.
