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Netflix has set the guet voice cast for upcoming animated series “Carol & the End of the World” and released a new trailer.

Guest stars will include Stephen Colbert, Alison Brie, LeVar Burton, Barkhad Abdi, Danny Pudi, Gillian Jacobs, Kurtwood Smith, Laurie Metcalf and Tim Heidecker.

“Carol & the End of the World” takes place as extinction is imminent thanks to a mysterious planet hurtling towards Earth. While most people feel liberated to pursue their wildest dreams, Carol, quiet and always uncomfortable, woman stands alone — lost among the hedonistic masses. Martha Kelly plays the title role. The cast also includes Michael Chernus, Bridget Everett, Beth Grant, Lawrence Pressman, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Mel Rodriguez and Delbert Hunt.

The trailer sees Carol flip through news channels on her TV, each discussing the impending apocalypse. “Does your dog know it’s the end of the world?” one anchor asks. Other anchors cite “massive job walk offs,...

Netflix has set the voice cast for “Carol & the End of the World,” an adult animated series created by Dan Guterman that will debut on Dec. 15.

Martha Kelly will play the title role. The series takes place as extinction is imminent thanks to a mysterious planet hurtling towards Earth. While most people feel liberated to pursue their wildest dreams, Carol, quiet and always uncomfortable, woman stands alone — lost among the hedonistic masses.

Kelly is best known for starring in the FX comedy “Baskets” as Chip Baskets’ (Zach Galifianakis) friend Martha Brooks. In 2022, she guest starred in HBO’s “Euphoria” as drug dealer Laurie, which earned her an Emmy nomination. Kelly’s other prominent credits include “Gaslit” on Starz, “Hacks” on Max and “The Great North” on Fox.

The ensemble of “Carol & the End of the World” also features Michael Chernus, Bridget Everett, Beth Grant, Lawrence Pressman, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Mel Rodriguez and Delbert Hunt.

Netflix announced a new adult animation limited series from creator Dan Guterman (Rick and Morty, Community).

Carol & The End of the World stars Martha Kelly (Euphoria, Baskets) as a woman facing the apocalypse. The official description reads: “With a mysterious planet hurtling towards Earth, extinction is imminent for the people of the world. While most feel liberated to pursue their wildest dreams, one quiet and always uncomfortable woman stands alone — lost among the hedonistic masses.”

Says Guterman: “Carol & The End Of The World is a love letter to routine. A show about the comforts of monotony. An animated and existential comedy about the daily rituals that make up the gaps that make up a life.”

In addition to Kelly, the voice cast includes Beth Grant (No Country For Old Men), Lawrence Pressman (Modern Family), Kimberly Hébert Gregory (Craig of the Greek), Mel Rodriguez (Onward), Bridget Everett (Somebody Somewhere), Michael Chernus...

A new adult animation limited series from Community and Rick and Morty writer Dan Guterman is coming to Netflix.

Carol & The End Of The World is set to debut on Netflix with 10 episodes on December 15. Martha Kelly will star as the titular character Carol.

“Carol & The End Of The World is a love letter to routine. A show about the comforts of monotony. An animated and existential comedy about the daily rituals that make up the gaps that make up a life,” Guterman said in a statement on Thursday.

A logline for the series reads:

“With a mysterious planet hurtling towards Earth, extinction is imminent for the people of the world. While most feel liberated to pursue their wildest dreams, one quiet and always uncomfortable woman stands alone — lost among the hedonistic masses.”

The rest of the voice cast includes Beth Grant, Lawrence Pressman, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Mel Rodriguez, Bridget Everett, Michael Chernus and Delbert Hunt.

Carol & The End Of The World is executive produced by Guterman as well as Donick Cary. Kevin Arrieta serves as co-executive producer.

Animation is produced by Bardel Entertainment Inc.

Most festivals don’t want protests. This one encouraged a picket line to form.

The Nantucket Film Festival, which took place June 21-26 on the foggy isle 30 miles off the Massachusetts coast, is uniquely oriented toward the craft of screenwriting. Stars certainly appear — Allison Williams brought the glamour this year — but pen and paper are more important here than primping and pompadours.

The WGA has been a longtime partner of the festival, and the biggest gala event was a Screenwriters Tribute honoring Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, the “To All the Boys I Loved Before” scribe Jenny Han, and Nicole Holofcener, whose “You Hurt My Feelings” screened in the lineup. That film is literally about an author, and so were several others that showed, including Christian Petzold’s “Afire.” And the biggest competition isn’t built around established names at all, but a screenplay contest geared toward finding new talent.

Good Trip Studios has entered production on a sequel to the 2020 documentary “Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics.”

A distribution deal has yet to be finalized, though the first film — directed by Donick Cary and hosted by Adam Scott and Nick Offerman — streamed on Netflix.

Like the first film, “Have a Good Trip 2: Adventures in Psychedelics” explores the current state of psychedelic drugs in society as well as their scientific potential to treat mental health issues including Ptsd, depression and addiction. Comedians and celebrities are featured in re-tellings and re-enactments of true experiences with psychedelics, while leading experts share facts and harm reduction methods.

Guests interviewed in the first film include Carrie Fisher, Ben Stiller, Sting, Natasha Lyonne, A$AP Rocky, Rosie Perez, Sarah Silverman, Anthony Bourdain, Will Forte, Adam “Ad Rock” Horovitz, Reggie Watts, Brett Gelman, Maya Erskine, Nick Kroll, David Cross, Rob Corddry, Paul Scheer, Bill Kreutzmann,...

Nearly 30 projects will share in $975,000 of story development funding from Screen Australia, including a television series inspired by the 1999 film Two Hands from director Gregor Jordan, and a family feature film from the producers of Bluey.

The 28 recipients for the final round of development funding in the 2020/21 financial year comprise 12 feature films, 13 television dramas, and three online projects.

Screen Australia head of development Nerida Moore said there was no shortage of variety across the projects.

“Screen Australia is really proud to be supporting this impressive mix of projects,” she said.

“This includes fresh genre-bending comedies Home and Our Haunt, and beautiful romantic drama 10 Moments that will bring together 10 chapters from a great team of exciting creative voices.

“It’s also wonderful to support more children’s content with Big Serious Studios’ Goo Zoo set to invite children into the world of microbiology as part of the company’s aims to...

“A.P. Bio” Season 3 feels like it’s playing with a chip on its shoulder. After two seasons on NBC, a frustrating combination of mediocre reviews and so-so ratings resulted in NBC dropping the axe. Thankfully, the demand for content led the network’s nascent sibling streaming service to pick up a third season, offering “A.P. Bio” one last chance to stay in school. Cancellation alone would be reason enough for creator Mike O’Brien & Co. to lay it all on the field, but like the few try-hards still fighting for an A in Jack Griffin’s pass/fail classroom, one gets the sense that “A.P. Bio” isn’t content with a passing grade; it wants to excel, and so it does in a third season bursting with creativity, charm, and well-realized ambition.

For those who fell behind (or never started), both previous seasons of “A.P. Bio” are available on Peacock,...

In a new documentary, comedy writer Donick Cary pulls together an impressive array of names, from Sarah Silverman to Sting to Ben Stiller, to share their experiences

A lifelong comedy writer, Donick Cary knows full well that some entertainers radiate a sort of effortless interestingness. They’re good off the cuff, they have an unending backlog of amusing stories, and they share these anecdotes with colorful, spellbinding delivery. “My experience on Letterman was always that if we could find funny people and follow them around, we’d get something good,” Cary tells the Guardian by phone from his home quarantine. “Easier on the writers, too.”

Related: Trial by Media: a troubling Netflix series on press coverage of the courtroom...

Writer-producer Donick Cary has spent his whole career near the top of the showbiz comedy heap, from stints on “Late Show with David Letterman” and “The Simpsons” to sitcoms like “Just Shoot Me!,” “New Girl,” “Parks and Recreation” and “Silicon Valley.” So it shouldn’t surprise that his first directorial feature, the documentary “Have a Good Trip,” is less a serious dive into its chosen subject than an excuse to have a lot of familiar-face colleagues and acquaintances serve up funny anecdotes.

Since those anecdotes are about hallucinogenic drug usage, this Netflix Original can hardly help but be entertaining. It also comes nicely kitted out with plentiful animation, campy archival snippets, comedy-sketch “reenactments” and more. But those looking for much in the way of real insight will find this amiable enterprise doesn’t stray very far from a general, standard-stoner-yuks tenor of “Omg I was So High!!!”

At least there’s little pretense otherwise,...

“Have a Good Trip,” a documentary that premieres on Netflix on Monday, May 11, is a history lesson about the way that hallucinogenic drugs were once used in military testing by the U.S. government.

And it’s a discussion of why hallucinogens like LSD have the potential to be used to fight a wide array of conditions, including Ptsd, depression and addiction.

But really, if you want to see “Have a Good Trip,” it’s not because of those things. It’s because this is the movie where famous people talk about their most memorable experiences while on drugs.

That’s the real appeal of director Donick Cary’s film, whose subtitle is “Adventures in Psychedelics” — to listen to Sting, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Bourdain, A$AP Rocky, Deepak Chopra, Sarah Silverman, Ben Stiller, Paul Scheer, Rosie Perez, Nick Kroll and others talk about their, well, adventures in psychedelics.

Also Read: Netflix's...

It can be a lot of (semi-sadistic) fun to watch someone have a bad trip, and it can be a lot of (shared) fun to listen to celebrities reminisce about the bad trips they’ve survived in the past, but it’s generally agonizing to sit down and do either of those things for more than an hour. That sad fact of life proves to be an insurmountable problem for Donick Cary’s “Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics,” — namely, the entertainment value in watching a bunch of famous people tell interchangeable stories about seeing the carpets move or whatever.

Want to hear Sting tell you about the time he ate some dried peyote, got higher than the notes in the chorus of “Roxanne,” and then watched Halley’s Comet from the top of a mountain while someone smeared deer’s blood over his face? Of course you do.

If you’ve ever wanted to listen to Natasha Lyonne, Anthony Bourdain, Ben Stiller, Nick Offerman, and Sarah Silverman discuss LSD, Netflix has the series for you. It’s called “Have A Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics,” and A$AP Rocky says the drug made him feel like a rainbow was shooting out of his dick. Netflix has unveiled the trailer for its star-studded, acid-drenched documentary about the world’s preeminent psychedelic, which will hit the streaming service on May 11.

Per Netflix, the documentary features comedic tripping stories from A-list actors, comedians, and musicians, as well as star-studded reenactments and trippy animations that bring their surreal hallucinations to life. Mixing comedy with a thorough investigation of psychedelics, “Have a Good Trip” explores the pros, cons, science, history, future, pop cultural impact, and cosmic possibilities of hallucinogens. The film tackles the big questions: Can psychedelics have a powerful role in treating depression,...

"There's a 90% chance I'm gonna drown, but it's feeling good to be one with the Earth." Ohh yeah. Netflix has debuted the official trailer for a mesmerizing, amusing new documentary called Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics. The film is both an examination of "the pros, cons, science, history, future, pop cultural impact, and cosmic possibilities of hallucinogens"; as well as a collection of stories from various celebrities who talk about their experience(s) tripping and trying hallucinogens. "The true stories you don't know. From the people you do." Appearances by celebs including Adam Scott, Nick Offerman, Sarah Silverman, Ad-Rock, Rosie Perez, A$AP Rocky, Paul Scheer, Nick Kroll, Ben Stiller, Sting, and Rob Corddry. This looks and sounds totally rad, and I can't wait to watch it. I love these stories, and I love hearing about how hallucinogens are life-changing and positive, not something to be afraid of.

Sting, Sarah Silverman, Nick Offerman and more appear in the trailer for Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics, out May 11th on Netflix.

The film explores the history of psychedelics — its pros and cons and cultural impact — while pondering its possibilities for treating depression and addiction. “I don’t think psychedelics are the answers to the world’s problems,” Sting says in the opening of the clip. “But they could be a start.”

Offerman appears as a mad professor in a lab, asking the camera, “What is going on...

Comedy Central and Refinery29 have signed a digital content partnership to produce two comedy series featuring an all-female lineup of comedians, Variety has learned exclusively.

Slated to premiere spring 2020, the series will be co-branded and distributed on both Comedy Central and Refinery29’s digital platforms. While neither series is being eyed for a linear run at present, a release at some point on the ViacomCBS-owned cable channel isn’t out of the question given that Comedy Central owns the rights, according to sources.

The first series, titled “Cc x R29: Taking the Stage,” is a short-form stand-up series featuring a curation of showcase clips from a lineup of comedians. The second, “Cc x R29: Speak Up,” will be a short-form storytelling series in which the comedians will share stories about speaking up and being heard.

“We are looking forward to this partnership with Refinery29 to create shareable...

Comedy Central has signed a first-look animation producing deal with Donick Cary, best known for his work as a former head writer for “The Late Show with David Letterman” and co-executive producer of “The Simpsons” and other shows.

Under the terms of his deal, Cary will develop and produce animation projects across all platforms for the network and its new studio-production arm, Comedy Central Productions. He will also develop his own ideas, and work with other talent and creators to identify and develop animated programming for Comedy Central as well as other platforms.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled and can’t think of a better place to be developing funny cartoons for than Cc,” said Cary. “Comedy Central always encourages the right mix of funny, smart and super stupid! I definitely check at least one of those boxes! Looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and figuring out how...

Emmy-winning writer and producer Donick Cary has signed a first-look animation deal with Comedy Central Productions. Under the pact, Cary will develop and produce animation projects across all platforms for the network and its new studio-production arm, Comedy Central Productions. As part of his deal, Cary will develop his own ideas, and work with other talent and creators to identify and develop animated properties for Comedy Central and other platforms. The pact comes on the heels of Comedy Central’s renewal of animated series South Park through an historic 26th season.

“Donick has left his brilliant stamp on some of television’s best comedies,” said Sarah Babineau and Jonas Larsen, Co-Heads of Original Content, Comedy Central. “This is an exciting partnership for Comedy Central and Ccp and we can’t wait to work with him to find our new favorite animated shows!”

Cary got his start writing for Late Night with David Letterman on NBC.

Comedy Central is making a further commitment to its animation business, signing The Simpsons veteran Donick Cary to a first-look animation deal.

Cary, whose credits include Parks and Recreation, AP Bio, New Girl and The Late Show With David Letterman, will develop and produce animated projects across all platforms for the ViacomCBS cable network and its recently launched in-house studio, Comedy Central Productions. Cary will develop his own ideas and also work with other creators to identify and develop projects for Comedy Central and other outlets.

"Donick has left his brilliant stamp on some of television’s best comedies," said Sarah ...

Mike Rosenstein, former senior executive at Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Films, has lined up the first projects under his own production company, Sunset Rose Pictures, including Bad Trip, a comedic documentary about psychedelics, and TV series with Erica Oyama and one Armen Weitzman.

A half-hour special, Portraits with Yung Jake, premieres tonight at 11:30 Pm on Viceland. It follows rapper-artist Yung Jake as he takes “high art” to the next level creating an emoji portrait of guest Kate Upton in this post-modern instructional art and interview show. Rosenstein executive produces alongside Jake and Vice’s Spike Jonze. Kitao Sakurai is director/co-executive producer.

Sunset Rose’s first project was the 2016 Reggie Watts’ Spatial one-hour comedy special produced with A24 that is available on Netflix.

Rosenstein recently sold comedy projects to FX and Comedy Central. Additionally, he continues as an executive producer on Red Hour’s Comedy Central series Another Period,...

The 2018 Writers Guild of America Awards take place on Feb. 11 with simultaneous ceremonies held in both New York and Los Angeles. Only scripts written under the guild’s guidelines or those of several international partners are allowed to vie for these awards. As such, these kudos are not the most reliable barometer of the Oscars.

In the past nine years only 59 of the WGA nominees have numbered among the 90 screenplays that reaped Academy Awards bids. Indeed, 2014’s Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay, “Birdman,” was deemed ineligible. Likewise for one of this year’s leading contenders for that award: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

On the television side, the leading nominees are “Better Call Saul,” which competes for best drama series writing as well as for two individual episodes and “The Americans,” which is up for both overall drama series writing and an individual episode. Over in comedy, reigning Emmy...

Writers of Hell or High Water, La La Land, Arrival and Deadpool are among the nominees for this year’s Writers Guild Awards.

Writers of Hell or High Water (pictured), La La Land, Arrival and Deadpool are among the nominees for this year’s Writers Guild Awards, set to be presented at ceremonies hosted by the West and East branches of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) on Feb 19.

Also nominated in the WGA’s original screenplay category are the writers of Loving, Manchester By The Sea and Moonlight. Fences, Hidden Figures and Nocturnal Animals produced the other nominations in the adapted screenplay category.

Documentary nominations went to Author: The Jt Leroy Story, Command And Control and Zero Days, while dramatic TV series getting nods were The Americans, Better Call Saul, Game Of Thrones, Stranger Things and Westworld.

Full list of feature nominees and selected TV nominees:

Original Screenplay

Hell or High Water Taylor Sheridan

La La Land [link...

Writers of Hell or High Water, La La Land, Arrival and Deadpool are among the nominees for this year’s Writers Guild Awards.

Writers of Hell or High Water (pictured), La La Land, Arrival and Deadpool are among the nominees for this year’s Writers Guild Awards, set to be presented at ceremonies hosted by the West and East brances of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) on Feb 19.

Also nominated in the WGA’s original screenplay category are the writers of Loving, Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight. Fences, Hidden Figures and Nocturnal Animalsproduced the other nominations in the adapted screenplay category.

Documentary nominations went to Author: The Jt Leroy Story, Command and Control and Zero Days, while dramatic TV series getting nods were The Americans, Better Call Saul, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things and Westworld.

Full list of feature nominees and selected TV nominees:

Original Screenplay

Hell or High Water Taylor Sheridan

La La Land [link...

Silicon Valley, Season 3, Episode 3: “Maleant Data Systems Solutions”

Written by Donick Cary

Directed by Charlie McDowell

Airs Sundays at 10pm on HBO

At the end of last week’s very funny but somewhat stuffed episode, Richard’s plan to circumvent Jack’s wishes had been discovered and he was in danger of being fired for his insubordination/fraud. This week, Richard retains some of his cunning in negotiations with Jack. Part of what makes Thomas Middleditch so funny as Richard is that he has resisted any kind of major character evolution. Richard never became a confident leader, and his position as CEO of Pied Piper was solely based on the fact that he created the product, not any kind of leadership skills. In “Maleant Data Systems Solutions,” Silicon Valley starts to present a version of Richard who’s actually capable of leading a company in a successful direction.

Rather than being fired,...

CBS has put in development Side by Side, a single-camera comedy based on the Norwegian series of the same name (Side om Side). Veteran comedy writer-producer Donick Cary (Parks and Recreation, New Girl) will write the adaptation, which is being produced by CBS TV Studios. Side by Side centers on a young couple that buys their dream home and gets caught between two feuding families. Created by Terje Solli, the original series premiered on Norway’s NRK1 in 2013. It has…...

Veteran comedy writer-producer Donick Cary has signed a two-year overall deal with CBS TV Studios. In the first year of the deal, he will be loaned out to HBO comedy Silicon Valley, where he is doing a stint as consulting producer, while developing for CBS Studios. Cary started his writing career on Late Night and Late Show With David Letterman before segueing to The Simpsons. He created Comedy Central’s animated series Lil’ Bush and most recently worked as co-executive…...

Patrick Brammall will make his Us screen debut in NBC.s pilot Strange Calls, a remake of the Australian series created by Daley Pearson.

The role won.t be a stretch for the actor as he is reprising the character of the macho but not overly bright Sergeant Lloyd,. whom he played in The Strange Calls.

Hoodlum.s Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield, who executive produced the original for ABC2, will work on the pilot with Aaron Kaplan of Kapital Entertainment and 20th Century Fox TV.

The original writer Donick Cary has departed and the pilot is being written by Blake McCormick (Cougar Town, King of the Hill).

"When I read the Us script I was struck by how faithful it is to Daley's original creation," Brammall told If today.. "Blake McCormick. has nailed the tone. It's extremely funny; I reckon the Us audience will love it. And I can't wait to play Sarge again.

NBC has commissioned a pilot of Strange Calls, a remake of the Australian series created by Daley Pearson.

Hoodlum.s Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield, who executive produced The Strange Calls for ABC2, will work on the pilot with Aaron Kaplan of Kapital Entertainment and 20th Century Fox TV.

The project was set up initially with the Us ABC network but did not proceed after difficulties in casting the lead, according to Deadline.com.

The original writer Donick Cary has departed and the pilot is being written by Blake McCormick (Cougar Town, King of the Hill).

The plot will follow an affable but down-on-his-luck young police officer who is transferred to a rural town where, helped by a peculiar, elderly night watchman, he realises the town has a bizarre supernatural underbelly.

The Strange Calls, which starred Toby Truslove as the cop and Barry Crocker as the night security man, screened...

Are you ready to rock and/or roll with the merger? The Pawnee/Eagleton Unity Concert — and a whole lot of other events — will take place in the season 6 finale of Parks and Recreation on Thursday at 8 p.m. The hourlong episode is brimming with famous guests, plot twists, and, yes, a decision from Leslie (Amy Poehler) on whether she’ll stay in Pawnee to raise triplets or move her family to Chicago so she can take a dream job at the National Parks Service. Want a few more hints about the big night? Executive producer Michael Schur has you...

Writers for Breaking Bad and House of Cards were among those singled out for the 2014 Writers Guild Awards, which will be held on Feb. 1 in Los Angeles and New York.

The nominees are:

Drama Series:

Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC

The Good Wife, Written by Meredith Averill, Leonard Dick, Keith Eisner, Jacqueline Hoyt, Ted Humphrey, Michelle King, Robert King, Erica Shelton Kodish, Matthew Montoya, J.C. Nolan, Luke Schelhaas, Nichelle Tramble Spellman, Craig Turk, Julie Wolfe; CBS

Homeland, Written by Henry Bromell, William E. Bromell, Alexander Cary,...

The Us network ABC looks highly likely to shoot a pilot based on the quirky Australian comedy series The Strange Calls.

The network has ordered a pilot based on the show which was created and directed by Daley Pearson for Hoodlum Entertainment for ABC2.

The only proviso is that the network must first approve the cast being assembled by director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), producer Aaron Kaplan of Kapital Entertainment and the showrunner Donick Cary, according to Deadline.com.

Cary has completed the script for the pilot based on Pearson.s script. Hoodlum Entertainment.s Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield will serve as executive producers with Kaplan and Cary.

The pilot will start shooting as soon as the network approves the cast. The Us show, which has the working title Strange Calls, will switch the location to Nantucket island, where bumbling cop Toby Banks is called on to investigate strange, unexplainable occurrences.

The Us network ABC looks highly likely to shoot a pilot based on the quirky Australian comedy series The Strange Calls.

The network has ordered a pilot based on the show which was created and directed by Daley Pearson for Hoodlum Entertainment for ABC2.

The only proviso is that the network must first approve the cast being assembled by director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), producer Aaron Kaplan of Kapital Entertainment and the showrunner Donick Cary, according to Deadline.com.

Cary has completed the script for the pilot based on Pearson.s script. Hoodlum Entertainment.s Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield will serve as executive producers with Kaplan and Cary.

The pilot will start shooting as soon as the network approves the cast. The Us show, which has the working title Strange Calls, will switch the location to Nantucket island, where bumbling cop Toby Banks is called on to investigate strange, unexplainable occurrences.

It was just about a year ago that we learned the paranormal comedy series "Strange Calls" had landed at ABC with a put pilot commitment. In layman's terms, that meant that they agreed to produce and air a pilot episode of the show and that they were pretty certain the series would be picked up.

According to Deadline today, ABC has now given a cast-contingent pickup to the half-hour comedy, which means that the full green light will be given to the project as soon as actors are found that the network is happy with. In other words, things are moving along as planned.

Donick Cary ("New Girls") wrote the adaptation and will serve as showrunner, with Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) set to direct the pilot. The two executive produce with Aaron Kaplan ("The Neighbors") and Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield, executive producers of the original series, which was produced by their company Hoodlum.

Exclusive: ABC is getting a jump on pilot season with a second early comedy pilot order. The network has given a cast-contingent pickup to Strange Calls, from writer Donick Cary (New Girl), director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) and producer Aaron Kaplan of Kapital Entertainment (The Neighbors). The project, based on an Australian format, was developed at ABC last season when it had a put pilot commitment. Strange Calls centers on good-hearted, bumbling Boston cop Toby Banks, who is exiled to night duty on Nantucket island, where strange, unexplainable occurrences become the norm nine months out of the year. Working out of a creaky lighthouse on the outskirts of town, he is teamed with Gregor, the eccentric lighthouse keeper and local paranormal authority. The two make an unlikely crimefighting duo dealing with the “strange calls” that come into the station at night. Nantucketer Cary wrote the adaptation and will serve as showrunner,...

Australian comedy/mystery series The Strange Calls has been bought by Hulu, the giant Us video-streaming service.

Produced by Hoodlum Entertainment, the six-parter will premiere on Hulu on October 19.

Owned by Disney, 21st Century Fox and NBCUniversal, the service streamed more than 1 billion videos in the first quarter of this year. Its paid subscription service, Hulu Plus, has more than 4 million subscribers.

The deal was concluded by Dcd Rights, which had sold the show to a bunch of other territories including China and Russia. Based on a short film by Daley Pearson and Luke Tierney, it stars Toby Truslove as a local Gold Coast cop who investigates weird things that happen after dark, accompanied by Barry Crocker as a night security man.

A Us remake of the series, which aired on ABC2, is being developed by 20th TV for the American ABC network. Set in Nantucket Island near Boston, the...

New ABC2 comedy The Strange Calls has become the latest local TV series to be picked up for a Us pilot.

Us Network ABC has commissioned a .put pilot. . a strong commitment requiring it to broadcast the initial pilot episode, which often leads to a full series.

The Us adaptation will be led by writer Donick Cary (New Girl), director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) and producer Aaron Kaplan (The Neighbors). All three will executive produce alongside the Australian series producers, Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield of Hoodlum.

The Australian 6x30-minute multiplatform series, which begins broadcast on October 16, stars Barry Crocker and Toby Truslove as an unlikely paranormal investigative team. The series was written and directed by Daley Pearson ($quid). The first episode has already launched on ABC iView and the series will invite audiences to communicate with the characters and share .strange. sightings via Twitter and the show.s website.

Picture if you will being alone at night and sitting in silence when the phone rings. All of a sudden the telephone rings breaking the silence. Immediately you fumble for the phone and answer. At the other end of the line something strange awaits.

According to Deadline "Strange Calls," a half-hour comedy from writer Donick Cary ("New Girl"), director Ruben Fleisher (Zombieland) and producer Aaron Kaplan ("The Neighbors"), has landed at ABC with a put pilot commitment.

Based on an Australian series — which coincidentally also airs on ABC (Australia’s ABC2) – "Strange Calls" centers on good-hearted, bumbling Boston cop Toby Banks, who is exiled to night duty on Nantucket island, where strange, unexplainable occurrences become the norm nine months out of the year. Working out of a creaky lighthouse on the outskirts of town, he is teamed with Gregor, the eccentric lighthouse keeper and local paranormal authority. The two make...

Exclusive: Strange Calls, a half-hour comedy from writer Donick Cary (New Girl), director Ruben Fleisher (Zombieland) and producer Aaron Kaplan (The Neighbors), has landed at ABC with a put pilot commitment. Based on an Australian series — which coincidentally also airs on ABC (Australia’s ABC2) – Strange Calls centers on good-hearted, bumbling Boston cop Toby Banks, who is exiled to night duty on Nantucket island, where strange, unexplainable occurrences become the norm nine months out of the year. Working out of a creaky lighthouse on the outskirts of town, he is teamed with Gregor, the eccentric lighthouse keeper and local paranormal authority. The two make an unlikely crimefighting duo dealing with the “strange calls” that come into the station at night. Nantucketer Cary is writing the adaptation and will executive produce with Fleisher; Kapital Entertainment’s Kaplan; as well as Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield, executive producers of the original series,...

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has announced the winners of the WGA Awards for outstanding achievement in writing. In the Screenplay category, "Midnight in Paris," written by Woody Allen, took home the Original Screenplay award while "The Descendants," written by Alexander Payne, and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming, received the Best Adapted Screenplay award.

Winners of the WGA awards were announced Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Zooey Deschanel and Joel McHale served as hosts of the ceremony.

Here is the full list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 2012 WGA Awards (to see winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, visit our Awards Avenue coverage right here)

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios

*** (Winner) Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Win Win,...

Midnight in Paris, Young Adult, and the other nominations for the 2012 Writers Guild Awards have been announced. The 64th Annual Writers Guild Awards is “a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different Us labor unions: The Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae), representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi. The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw), representing TV and film writers in Hollywood and southern California.” The 2012 Writers Guild Awards will be held on February 19, 2012.

The full listing of the 2012 Writers Guild Awards nominations is below.

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Pictures

Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight

Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures

Adapted Screenplay

The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne...

HollywoodNews.com: The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, news, radio, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2011 season. The winners will be honored at the 2012 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 19, 2012, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York.

Television Nominees

Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire, Written by Bathsheba Doran, Dave Flebotte, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Itamar Moses, Margaret Nagle, Terence Winter; HBO

Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC

Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, George R.R. Martin, D.B. Weiss; HBO

The Good Wife, Written by Courtney Kemp Agboh, Meredith Averill, Corinne Brinkerhoff, Leonard Dick, Keith Eisner, Karen Hall, Ted Humphrey, Michelle King, Robert King, Steve Lichtman, Matthew Montoya, Julia Wolfe; CBS

Homeland, Written by Henry Bromell,...

Writers behind such HBO dramas as Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones were nominated for the 2012 Writers Guild Awards, announced today. Scribes for the AMC drama Breaking Bad also received multiple nods, as did NBC’s 30 Rock and ABC’s Modern Family.

Here is a partial list of nominees. Statues will be handed out Feb. 19 in Los Angeles and New York City.

Drama series

Boardwalk Empire, written by Bathsheba Doran, Dave Flebotte, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Itamar Moses, Margaret Nagle, Terence Winter

Breaking Bad, Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett

Game of Thrones,...

My expectations were perhaps too high for Bored To Death; based on its eclectic cast, an appealing premise, and the reputation of HBO. So my heart sank when the pilot, “Stockholm Syndrome” was shown to be such an uninteresting, humorless, lethargic chore that utterly failed to amuse…

Created by Jonathan Ames, Bored To Death‘s lead character is a pointless proxy of the author, also a writer named Jonathan Ames (Jason Schwartzman.) The fictional Ames is struggling with writer’s block in Brooklyn as he works on his sophomore novel, but a fondness for Raymond Chandler’s oeuvre inspires in him a unique distraction, as he’s sets himself up as an unlicensed P.I on Craigslist.

In the pilot, Ames tackles his first case: to find a female client’s missing sister, whom she assumes has been kidnapped by her meth-head British boyfriend Vincent (Richard Short.) Quite why the...

TBS is partnering with David Spade to develop an animated version of his film "Joe Dirt."

The pilot script deal calls for the comic actor, Sony Pictures Television and Happy Madison Prods. to collaborate on a series following a "mullet-sporting, muscle-car-loving loser with a heart of gold."

"David Spade is a hugely popular comic talent who has created a funny, yet lovable, character in 'Joe Dirt,'" said Michael Wright, executive vp of programming for TBS. "We look forward to seeing how he and his fellow writers and producers take this character in new directions as TBS continues exploring the world of primetime animation."

The movie "Joe Dirt" was released in 2001 and was a modest performer at the boxoffice. Spade, Fred Wolf and Donick Cary will executive produce. This marks TBS' third animated project following Fox TV and DreamWorks' "Neighbors from Hell," and Lionsgate and Olive Prods.' "Good and Evel.

Amp'd Mobile on Tuesday announced a collaborative partnership with Hollywood producers Bunim Murray, LivePlanet, Donick Cary and Quincy Jones' QD3 Prods. Through the agreement, the mobile entertainment company aims to bring existing reality shows into the mobile and blog space as well as develop original mobile series, animated programming, documentary footage and a location-based mobile game, all next year. "By collaborating with Emmy-award winning producers to originate programming that combines scripted story lines with interactive, user-submitted content and mobile-specific features, our members will participate in pioneering an entirely new category of entertainment," said Seth Cummings, Amp'd senior vp wireless content and Internet services.

After going to the suburbs with his series The Hughleys, comedian D.L. Hughley is headed for California's wine country for his next series project. Hughley is in negotiations with NBC for a development deal to co-write, executive produce and star in Solvang, a comedy for NBC Studios described to be in the vein of Green Acres. The project centers on a black city guy who moves to a farm in the Central Coast town of Solvang with his family and his Latina caretaker and her family and opens a bed-and-breakfast. Hughley is writing the script with Donick Cary (Fox's The Simpsons), who will also executive produce with Hughley. Hughley's semiauthobiographical series The Hughleys bowed out in May after four seasons -- two on ABC and two on UPN. It also earned the comedian four Image Award nominations. On the big screen, he starred in The Brothers and Spike Lee's The Original Kings of Comedy. Cary's credits include CBS' Late Show With David Letterman and NBC's Just Shoot Me. Hughley and Cary are repped by CAA. Hughley is additionally repped by 3 Arts Entertainment and attorney Jim Jackoway.