Mike White Enlightened

Mike White Is Enlightened and Helen Mirren Is Still Hot

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (37)

I can’t even begin to give a shit about trade news this morning. We’re heading toward a long weekend, and as this is being posted, I should be on a flight to the West Coast. That also means that I’m working here with last night’s trade news, by which I mean: Nada. Bupkus. Ass. Zippo. Zilch.

We’re talking the table scraps of a malnourished third-world Ndugu at a Sally Struthers potluck dinner.

All the same, here’s some TV News: There are two series in development of note this morning. The first is the British series, “Prime Suspect,” which is being developed for NBC by Hank Steinberg, the man behind “Without a Trace.” The original iTV series featured Helen Mirren in a star-making turn as no-nonsense Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison. It ran for five years, concluding in 2006. And it was apparently very well received over there.

Can our British friends give us any indication as to its quality? I’m actually on a British series kick at the moment. I recently wrapped “Torchwood” and “Dr. Who,” and before that, “The Thick Of It,” and now I’m in the midst of both “Being Human” and “Spooks” (aka “MI;5”) with an eye toward “Life of Mars,” after those two. If “Prime” is as good as everything else I’ve seen (and god bless Helen Mirren, she’s a national treasure) I could prolong my British series kick a little longer.

In other news, Mike White — the albino-looking dude who wrote “School of Rock,” and starred in the creepy Chuck and Buck, (as well as last season’s “The Amazing Race”) and the upcoming Zombieland is also developing a series for HBO. “Enlightened” will star Laura Dern. It’s about a self-destructive woman who has a spiritual awakening and becomes determined to live an enlightened life, creating havoc at home and work.

Production on the pilot begins in December, and HBO expects to roll it out quickly.

And while we’re on the subject of television, here is the premiere schedule for the fall, compliments of Entertainment Weekly:

September 8:
90210, 8 p.m. (The CW)
Melrose Place, 9 p.m. (The CW)
Sons of Anarchy, 10 p.m. (FX)

September 9:
America’s Next Top Model, 8 p.m. (The CW)
Glee, 9 p.m. (Fox)
So You Think You Can Dance, 8 p.m. (Fox)

September 10:
Supernatural, 9 p.m. (The CW)
The Vampire Diaries, 8 p.m. (The CW)

September 11:
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, 8 p.m. (Fox)

September 12:
America’s Most Wanted, 9 p.m. (Fox)
Cops, 8 p.m. (Fox)

September 14:
Eddie Griffin: Going for Broke, 10 p.m. (VH1)
Gossip Girl, 9 p.m. (The CW)
The Jay Leno Show, 10 p.m. (NBC)
Lincoln Heights, 8 p.m. (ABC Family)
One Tree Hill, 8 p.m. (The CW)

September 15:
The Biggest Loser, 8 p.m. (NBC)

September 16:
The Beautiful Life, 9 p.m. (The CW)
Launch My Line, 10 p.m. (Bravo)

September 17:
Bones, 8 p.m. (Fox)
Community, 9:30 p.m. (NBC)
Fringe, 9 p.m. (Fox)
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, 10 p.m. (FX)
The Office, 9 p.m. (NBC)
Parks and Recreation, 8:30 p.m. (NBC)
Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday, 8 p.m. (NBC)
Survivor: Samoa, 8 p.m. (CBS)

September 18:
Brothers, 9 p.m. (Fox)
Crash, 10 p.m. (Starz)

September 20:
Bored to Death, 9:30 p.m. (HBO)
Curb Your Enthusiasm, 9 p.m. (HBO)

September 21:
Accidentally on Purpose, 8:30 p.m. (CBS)
The Big Bang Theory, 9:30 p.m. (CBS)
Castle, 10 p.m. (ABC)
CSI: Miami, 10 p.m. (CBS)
Dancing with the Stars, 8 p.m. (ABC)
Heroes, 8 p.m. (NBC)
House, 8 p.m. (Fox)
How I Met Your Mother, 8 p.m. (CBS)
Two and a Half Men, 9 p.m. (CBS)

September 22:
The Forgotten, 10 p.m. (ABC)
The Good Wife, 10 p.m. (CBS)
NCIS, 8 p.m. (CBS)
NCIS: Los Angeles, 9 p.m. (CBS)

September 23:
Cougar Town, 9:30 p.m. (ABC)
Criminal Minds, 9 p.m. (CBS)
CSI: New York, 10 p.m. (CBS)
Eastwick, 10 p.m. (ABC)
Gary Unmarried, 8:30 p.m. (CBS)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, 9 p.m. (NBC)
Mercy, 8 p.m. (NBC)
Modern Family, 9 p.m. (ABC)
The New Adventures of Old Christine, 8 p.m. (CBS)

September 24:
CSI 9 p.m.(CBS)
Flash Forward, 8 p.m. (ABC)
Grey’s Anatomy, 9 p.m. (ABC)
The Mentalist, 10 p.m. (CBS)

September 25:
Dollhouse, 9 p.m. (Fox)
Ghost Whisperer, 8 p.m. (CBS)
Law & Order, 8 p.m. (NBC)
Numb3rs, 10 p.m. (CBS)
Smallville, 8 p.m. (The CW)

September 26:
48 Hours Mystery, 10 p.m. (CBS)
Saturday Night Live, 11:30 p.m. (NBC)

September 27:
60 Minutes, 7 p.m. (CBS)
The Amazing Race, 8 p.m. (CBS)
American Dad, 9:30 p.m. (Fox)
Brothers & Sisters, 10 p.m. (ABC)
Californication, 10 p.m. (Showtime)
The Cleveland Show, 8:30 p.m. (Fox)
Cold Case, 10 p.m. (CBS)
Desperate Housewives, 9 p.m. (ABC)
Dexter, 9 p.m. (Showtime)
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC)
Family Guy, 9 p.m. (Fox)
The Simpsons, 8 p.m. (Fox)

September 28:
Lie to Me, 9 p.m. (Fox)
Trauma, 9 p.m. (NBC)

September 29:
Hell’s Kitchen, 8 p.m. (Fox)
Shark Tank, 8 p.m. (ABC)

September 30:
Hank, 8 p.m. (ABC)
The Middle, 9 p.m. (ABC)

October 1:
Private Practice, 8 p.m. (ABC)

October 2:
Stargate Universe, 9 p.m. (Syfy)
Til Death, 8:30 p.m. (Fox)

October 4:
America’s Funniest Home Videos, 7 p.m. (ABC)
The Next Iron Chef, 9 p.m. (Food)
Three Rivers, 9 p.m. (CBS)

October 5:
Sherri, 7 p.m. (Lifetime)

October 6:
Scare Tactics (Syfy)

October 7:
Secret Girlfriend, 10:30 p.m. (Comedy Central)
South Park, 10 p.m. (Comedy Central)

October 9:
Sanctuary, 10 p.m. (Syfy)
Ugly Betty, 8 p.m. (ABC)
Wizards of Waverly Place, 8 p.m. (Disney)

October 15:
30 Rock, 9:30 p.m. (NBC)

October 16:
Supernanny, 8 p.m. (ABC)

October 23:
Southland, 9 p.m. (NBC)
White Collar, 10 p.m. (USA)

October 28:
Friday Night Lights, 9 p.m. (DirecTV)

November 2:
I Want to Work for Diddy, TBD (VH1)

November 3:
V, 8 p.m. (ABC)

November 7:
The Wanda Sykes Show, 11 p.m. (Fox)

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Comments

"Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday?" You have got to be shitting me.

Posted by: Snath at September 4, 2009 9:08 AM

The only problem with the American version of "Prime Suspect" is that it will star Roseanne Barr and be a sitcom. Just watch the British show "Agony" and then the American remake "The Lucie Arnaz Show" and you'll see exactly what I mean. Or watch "She Devil." Again, Roseanne Barr was in the remake, and the British version was much better.

Posted by: BWeaves at September 4, 2009 9:16 AM

This premiere guide is like a gift from God. You'd think it would be easy to find something like this on the internet but no my friends I have been searching and searching. Thanks for the awesomeness.

Although my heart breaks a little every time I realize that Lost won't be here until winter.

Posted by: buttercup at September 4, 2009 9:27 AM

Prime Suspect, along with Cracker, is a show that was so good it can't be duplicated.

An American version of Cracker has already been tried- and predictably, failed- and there's no reason to expect this adaptation will do any better.
Who do you get to replace Helen Mirren?

Posted by: clocker at September 4, 2009 9:28 AM

"Prime Suspect"is a must see.
A wonderful series which gets little love here in the States is "The Wire In The Blood", based on the 'Tony Hill' novels by Val McDermid, starring the brilliant Robson Green and Hermione Norris. VERY much worth your time.

Posted by: Spender at September 4, 2009 9:29 AM

Someday I will have a spacebar that I do not have to HIT WITH A HAMMER in order for it to function.

Posted by: Spender at September 4, 2009 9:35 AM

Yum, Robson Green. My secret man crush. I'll watch anything he does.

Posted by: BWeaves at September 4, 2009 9:35 AM

PBS used to run the occasional "Prime Suspect," IIRC. The couple episodes I saw were pretty damn good.

And ... hey, Dame Helen: Nice cans! Can I show you my motorboat?

Posted by: , (TCFKAB) at September 4, 2009 9:37 AM

Dustin:

If you want more good British stuff, try "House of Cards." It was a 4 episode miniseries, and it was followed by 2 sequels. It stars Ian "Do you have any Grey Poupon" Richarson as member of Parliment who gets screwed over for a cabinet position, and he gets even by working behind the scenes to oust the Prime Minister and take his place. Wickedly evil.

Posted by: BWeaves at September 4, 2009 9:39 AM

FUCK FUCK BUGGER!!

Glee and SYTYCD are both going to be on Wednesdays!? Goddammit I have class on Wednesdays and no DVR!! Filthy sons of whores!

Posted by: Anna von Beaverplatz at September 4, 2009 9:41 AM

i may watch chuck and buck at work today, no that you mentioned it.

chuck and buck suck and fuck!!!

Posted by: gp at September 4, 2009 9:44 AM

NOW that you mentioned it.

Posted by: gp at September 4, 2009 9:45 AM

Hey! I forgot about Lie To Me. This kind of leaves me wondering about its quality. But I’ll watch it anyway because, well, Tim Roth. Do I need another reason?

Posted by: Eyvi at September 4, 2009 10:18 AM

Also, for you Anglophiles, check out "State Of Play", a 6-part BBC miniseries which featured Bill Nighy as the coolest newspaper editor ever!

-Ralphie

Posted by: Ralphie at September 4, 2009 10:18 AM

I think Orange County is a lot better than School of Rock. I've always considered myself a fan of White's, but I looked over his oeuvre for this comment and with a couple exceptions it's... less than stellar.

Posted by: Eep at September 4, 2009 10:22 AM

wait, Melrose Place is still on television?

Posted by: bethy at September 4, 2009 10:34 AM

Is it April 1st again? Have you really never seen Prime Suspect?
It's as excellent a procedural crime drama as you can find, except of course as Clocker mentioned above, for Cracker which was the best ever.

Posted by: PaddyDog at September 4, 2009 10:34 AM

That would be the new remake, bethy.

Posted by: Snath at September 4, 2009 10:46 AM

Verily, as has been the truth for these past 23 years and 11 months, my birthday shall yet again be a horrendous day. Aside from falling on the most accursed day of television in the fall, Football Day, more commonly referred to as Sunday, I shall have to compete for attention on the occasion against the premiere of The Cleveland Show. Which may not seem bad, until you learn that I tend to have a minor breakdown on a good year ever since I turned 18. This time will be the "Fuck me I'm one year away from halfway to 30 and my only recent publishing credit has nothing to do with anything else I try to write," unless the fear of going another season without landing an audition overwhelms the writerly side of things. I'm flexible in my instability.

Posted by: Robert at September 4, 2009 10:54 AM

Cannot WAIT for Sons of Anarchy to start back up! And really looking forward to the NBC Thursday shows again too. Watched the re-runs of the finales last night and Parks & Rec is a damn funny show that is just not getting any love. Definitely darker than The Office, but still a great show. I think they have a solid line up this year, Community looks pretty damn good too.

Posted by: TylerDFC at September 4, 2009 11:12 AM

Prime Suspect is the dog's bollocks. (For those who don't speak Brit - that means it's awesome). I hate to think with what botoxed, face-lifted, over-made-up American actress they'd try to replace Mirren.... yikes.

I can also heartily recommend Life on Mars. The reason I had trouble liking the US version is because the original is so damn good.

Posted by: Tarn at September 4, 2009 12:21 PM

I'll jump on board the Prime Suspect love-train here - I've got the box-set of the entire run of the show, and while I don't find it to be quite as gripping as Cracker, it's still a supremely well-acted, incredibly well-written show.

Posted by: Dill The Devil at September 4, 2009 12:42 PM

Prime Suspect was fabulous - one of the best detective series I have ever seen. Helen Mirren would have gotten an Oscar if it was a movie.

And going back a few years, there was a fabulous BBC series called "I, Claudius" - which won numerous prizes and was spellbinding, riveting, jaw dropping, etc. etc. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and either rent the series (there were twelve episodes) or buy it. I promise you, you will thank me. It had everything, sex, violence, drama, humor, intrigue - you name it!

Posted by: Julia at September 4, 2009 2:08 PM

P.S. and I also agree Cracker was phenomenal. You know (or perhaps you dont), one of those shows that you wish would never end and you cannot wait for the next episode. (Can you tell I am an ex-pat from England?)

Posted by: Julia at September 4, 2009 2:11 PM

Dustin, Spooks is phenomenal. They don't show it in the US, and since we don't have cable anyway, Mr. Suz and I have been over here in the corner, twitching and moaning softly since we finished Series 6. We blazed through it over the summer, and we've been unable to find anything as good ever since.

Along the "State of Play" lines, check out "The State Within." The ending is a little abrupt, but it's tremendous.

So glad to see the BBC getting some love!

Posted by: Suz at September 4, 2009 3:32 PM

Holy shit Julia...I, Claudius!
Where else can you see a classical train pull?

So now we have Prime Suspect, Cracker and I, Claudius.
Toss in Connections with James Burke and you have definitive proof the British make the best TV in the world.

Posted by: clocker at September 4, 2009 6:00 PM

I, Claudius is great.

The sets don't compare to the recent Rome, but it was done in the 1970's after all, and it's damn good for back then.

Where else can you see Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed, Patrick Stewart (with hair, sort of), John Hurt? Oh the list goes on and on.

Posted by: BWeaves at September 4, 2009 6:27 PM

You forgot Black Adder, Inspector Lynley (where else can you see the gorgeous Nathaniel Parker for an hour and a half), Fawlty Towers, The Vicar of Dibley - should I go on?

Posted by: Julia at September 4, 2009 7:28 PM

@ Julia--how 'bout you come over, because Black Adder is one of my favorite shows EVER. Everyone Rowan Atkinson is only in Mr. Bean, but he's not. Have you seen The Thin Blue Line? Wonderful.

Posted by: Suz at September 4, 2009 8:55 PM

Prime Suspect, along with Cracker, is a show that was so good it can't be duplicated.

Posted by: clocker at September 4, 2009 9:28 AM

----

What clocker said. Seriously, if you are on a British series kick, you have got, got, got to see them both. Hellen Mirren. And Robbie Coltrane before he did the Bond film hackery, or the studied, over-sized, slow-witted fake charm in the that series about wizards, you know: Harry Potter Doesn't Die Again

And the I Claudius love. Must see. Repeatedly. So delicious, because it's not about the f-ing sets, or the sparkly robot-boobs a sploding. Drama vs. spectacle.

BUT, has no one yet mentioned Elizabeth R? Oh, the duplicity. And the murders. And the revolutions. And the speechifying. And the over-acting that's cheesy and wonderful because, just because.

Posted by: BierceAmbrose at September 4, 2009 9:14 PM

@Suz - I forgot that one - The Thin Blue Line - where he is the married uptight policeman! Hysterical! Actually, I am not too keen on Mr. Bean.

I have actually fallen on the floor laughing at Black Adder - and with a young, very funny Hugh Laurie.

I'll be right over by the way - do you have any hot chocolate?

And of course Edina and Patsy!

Posted by: Julia at September 5, 2009 1:59 AM

I prefer Cracker - and the early stories even have Christopher Eccleston! - but Prime Suspect is also very, very good. Remaking it is pointless and idiotic.

Posted by: Sarah at September 5, 2009 2:16 AM

So, everyone - favourite British TV series of all time? Mine go as follows:

1) Cracker
2) Prime Suspect
3) Life On Mars
4) Red Dwarf
5) Blackadder
6) Fawlty Towers
7) State Of Play
8) Yes, Prime Minister
9) The New Statesman
10) Knightmare (I'm gonna keep pimping that show til someone watches it)

Posted by: Dill The Devil at September 5, 2009 3:11 AM

You've totally got to watch the amazing series, 'House of Cards' for the definitive political intrigue and the brilliant Ian Richardson.

And for lots of belly laughs (often very politically incorrect) catch Fawlty Towers.

Posted by: Meenama at September 5, 2009 4:57 AM

And what about the Eddie Izzard specials that BBCA airs from time to time? Again, for me anyway, falling down laughing humor.

And a couple of years ago, there was a terrific play with Diana Rigg's daugher, called "Tipping the Velvet" which I don't even think American TV would televise.

And has anyone ever seen the Spaghetti Growers? The April Fools' special.

I could go on and on ... and who were the masterminds behind "American Idol", "Dancing with the Stars", "America's Got Talent"? (Which are my guilty pleasures.) The British of course.

Posted by: Julia at September 5, 2009 4:02 PM

We are on Season 5 of MI 5 and are excited about the rest of the show. Pajeesus, the first 3 seasons were amazing.

Posted by: Stella at September 6, 2009 10:26 AM

All these comments and no mention of AbFab?
It'd be difficult to get much more politically incorrect- and hilarious- than Patsy and Edina.

Posted by: clocker at September 7, 2009 11:21 AM

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Mike White Is Enlightened and Helen Mirren Is Still Hot

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