TV Bits: ‘Arrested Development’, ‘Mockingbird Lane’, ‘Modern Family’, ‘Louie’, ‘Sons Of Anarchy’, ‘How I Met Your Mother’, And More
As the Bluths and the Munsters prepare to come back to TV, it looks like SAMCRO and the MacLaren’s gang may be on their way out. After the jump:
New episodes ofArrested Developmentwill (allegedly) hit Netflix sometime in 2013. [viaVulture]
It’s pretty clear at this point theMockingbird Lanewon’t be all that much like its source material,The Munsters, but creatorBryan Fullersays we can still expect his new show to make references to its predecessor as well as other famous monsters. Fuller revealed that the family pet Spot will appear near the end of the pilot looking “like a Harry Potter dragon,” and that the Wolfman, the Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Phantom of the Opera will be make appearances down the line should the show get picked up.
As for the sound of the series, Fuller says they “hope to create our new sound forMockingbird Laneusing the old sound fromThe Munsters,” but that they’re still working out rights issues. Head toTHRto read the full interview. [viaComic Book Movie]
Contract negotiations forModern Familytooka worrying turnlast week when the adult members of the cast filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox TV, pushing back the very first table read of the season. But happily for fans,Deadlinenow reports that the suit has now been dropped and the two sides have reached a deal which involves hefty raises for the actors (Julie Bowen,Ty Burrell,Jesse Tyler Ferguson,Eric Stonestreet,Sofia Vergara, andEd O’Neill).
Money talks aren’t completely over yet, however.THR’s sources indicate that the four younger stars (Rico Rodriguez,Nolan Gould,Ariel Winter, andSarah Hyland) are now seeking higher salaries as well. Their talks aren’t expected to get as ugly as their adult counterparts' did, and their raises aren’t likely to be as big. This leaves 5-year-oldAubrey Anderson-Emmons, who gets less screen time than the other stars as Stonestreet and Ferguson’s daughter, as the only actor not making salary demands. [viaVulture]
FX has offered updates on several of its existing shows, and there’s good news all around — well, provided you don’t actively despiseCharlie Sheen.Louieis set to come back for a fourth season, while Russell Brand’s talk showBrand Xhas received an order for seven more episodes.Wilfred,Justified, andAnger Managementare looking likely to return as well, though their deals have not closed. [EW]
In fact, let’s hope your Sheen tolerance is pretty damn high, because FX is expected to giveAnger Managementa multi-season, 90-episode renewal to add on to its already existing ten-episode order. Tagging along for the ride will be Charlie’s real-life dadMartin Sheen, who’ll appear in a recurring guest role as Charlie’s dad. He’ll make his first appearance in an episode on August 16. [viaCinema Blend]
Meanwhile, another of FX’s hits,Sons of Anarchy, is starting to look toward making a graceful exit. But you don’t need to mourn its demise just yet. The biker drama is entering its fifth season in September and has already been renewed through Season 6, and showrunnerKurt Suttersays his plan is to end it after Season 7.
Sutter said during theSons of Anarchypanel at the TCA press tour that the fifth season is “really the first season I’ve had to have a very clear sense of what my end game is.” He later added in interviews that “We have a sense of it playing out in seven [seasons] […] At this point, which is not outside the realm of possibility, I think I’d really have to fuck things up not to get seven seasons.” [THR]
With the fall TV season fast approaching, CBS has dropped splashy new posters for four of its freshman series: the Sherlock Holmes riffElementary, the cops-and-gangsters epicVegas, the legal dramaMade in Jersey, and the BFF comedyPartners.
I’d just like to point out that the guy on the far left in thePartnersposter is supposed none other than former SupermanBrandon Routh, which raises the question of what in the hell CBS' marketing team did to his face. Can’t the poor guy catch a break? [EW]
While CBS hypes its new shows, it’s debating what to do about one of its older ones. While it’s unclear at this point whetherHow I Met Your Mother’s upcoming eighth season will be its last, co-creatorCraig Thomassays he and his staff plan to treat it as such. “We are shooting the premiere to launch the final season ofHow I Met Your Mother,” he said. “Whether it’s the final season or not, I don’t know. But the premiere sets us up to end it.”
While Thomas is “hopeful” that he’ll get an answer on a potential ninth season sooner rather than later, “[a]t a certain point in the season, there’s a point of no return.” Head toVultureto read the rest of the interview, in which he drops hints on this fall’s premiere and the next season.
One thing that is certain aboutHow I Met Your Mother’s eighth season, however, is that it’ll come with a brand-new original soundtrack. The 40-minute, 20-track album will include “Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit,” the Puzzles theme, and, as Thomas puts it, “a fully-produced version of the ‘Bang-Bang-Bangity-Bang’ song, perhaps with a slight New Orleans theme.” Expect the album to drop September 24, to coincide with the show’s fall premiere. [HitFixviaVulture]
