ABC Family - pilot news

Richard Dower

It's around this time ABC Family ramps up it's production and pilot orders, usually through September - December. The Network views said pilots in January and then announce at the end of January which shows get picked up to series + what shows are renewed.

So, lets take a look at what ABCF has in development:

http://www.deadline.com/2011/08/abc-family-developing-music-comedy-from-glee-music-producer-and-rita-rocks-creators-to-star-christina-millian/

ABC Family has put in development Maid In Miami, a half-hour comedy project from Rita Rocks creators Stan Zimmerman and James Berg and Glee‘s executive music producer Adam Anders. Singer-actress Christina Millian is in negotiations to star in the project, about a young maid who is an aspiring singer. Zimmerman and Berg are writing the script and will executive produce with Anders, often dubbed Glee‘s music man. Millian has an existing relationship with ABC Family — she has starred in two holiday original movies for the channel, Snowglobe and last year’s Christmas Cupid. ABC Family has a successful track record segueing the stars of ABC Family movies to series — it recently did it with Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence, who took on their own comedy series, Melissa & Joey, after topping the 2009 ABC Family film My Fake Fiance. Berg and Zimmerman, whose credits also include Gilmore Girls and Roseanne, are with WME and 3 Arts. Millian, repped by WME and Greenlight, recently guest starred on CSI.


http://www.deadline.com/2011/08/abc-family-developing-us-version-of-mexican-drama-terminales/

What if Sex and the City‘s Carrie Bradshaw was dying of cancer? That in essence is the premise of the Mexican drama series Terminales, which is being adapted by ABC Family. Lionsgate TV and Kapital Entertainment are producing the U.S. version of the Televisa format created and produced by Miguel Angel Fox, which chronicles the life of young and successful publicist April Marquez, who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Writer/director/playwright Del Shores (Logo’s Sordid Lives) is writing the script for the project, which is being fast-tracked by ABC Family. Aaron Kaplan and Shores are executive producing; Paul Presburger is overseeing for Televisa. This marks the latest project based on source material for Kapital, whose three upcoming series — Fox’s Terra Nova, ABC’s Good Christina Belles and MTV’s The Inbetweeners – are all based on existing properties (short story for Terra Nova, book for GCB, and a British format for Inbetweeners). In addition to Terminales, the company also has a Miranda Lambert PI series in development at ABC Family.


http://www.deadline.com/2011/04/abc-family-to-team-with-country-star-miranda-lambert-for-family-pi-series/

Miranda Lambert is probably the hottest female country singer at the moment after winning four Academy of Country Music awards last night. Now I hear the 27-year-old is venturing into scripted series with an hourlong project at ABC Family based on her childhood, which is being executive produced by Kapital Entertainment.

Lambert, along with her younger brother, grew up in Lindale, TX. Her father, Richard Lee “Rick” Lambert, a retired police officer, became a private investigator in partnership with her mother, Beverly “Bev” June Lambert. Described as Hart to Hart with a family, the project for ABC Family will center on a Texas family where the kids help their PI parents in solving cases. Scott Kaufer (Memphis Beat) has been tapped to write and executive produce the drama, now in very early stages of development. Lambert is also executive producing along with her manager, Marion Kraft, and Aaron Kaplan. Bev Lambert will serve as a consultant.

WME-repped Lambert got her break on television, as a finalist on reality series Nashville Star in 2003. Last night, she won the most awards for a female country artist at the ACM awards, inclduing her second consecutive female vocalist award. In February, Lambert won her first Grammy for best female country vocal performance. Kaufer is with UTA.