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Catherine Zeta-Jones is set to star in “Kill Jackie” (working title), a new revenge thriller series from Prime Video, Fremantle and Steel Springs Pictures. The show is based on the novel “The Price You Pay,” written by bestselling author Nick Harkaway as his pseudonym Aidan Truhen, and begins production in March.

The Oscar winner will portray Jackie Price, “who has been living a wealthy, luxurious existence for the last 20 years – traveling the world, selling fine art using sophisticated tax loopholes and, above all, trying to stay anonymous after escaping a dangerous past as an international cocaine dealer,” the plot description reads. “But just as life starts to feel a little boring, it takes a sudden lethal turn when she discovers The Seven Demons, a squad of the world’s most terrifying hitmen, have been hired to kill her. Assuming someone from her past is behind it, Jackie unleashes her old...

Exclusive: Oscar, BAFTA and Tony Award-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones has landed her next high-profile TV project, an adaptation of Aidan Truhen’s “gonzo thriller” The Price You Pay.

Zeta-Jones is starring in and producing Kill Jackie [working title], in which the novel’s lead Jack has switched from man to woman for the TV version. The series is for Prime Video, Fremantle and Steel Springs Pictures. Amazon has rights in several European territories including the UK, Ireland and Germany, while Fremantle is selling around the world bar the U.S.

In Kill Jackie, which will roll cameras next month, Zeta-Jones is Jackie Price, who has lived a wealthy, luxurious existence for the last 20 years – travelling the world, selling fine art using sophisticated tax loopholes and, above all, trying to stay anonymous after escaping a dangerous past as an international cocaine dealer. But just as life starts to feel a little boring, it takes...

“The Ms. Pat Show” has scored a Season 5 renewal from BET+ as co-creator and star Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams extends her overall deal with BET Media Group to include linear and streaming projects.

The sitcom is based on the life story of Ms. Pat, as told in her memoir “Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat,” as she transforms from a convicted felon and drug dealer from Atlanta into a suburban mother. Series regulars Williams, J. Bernard Calloway, Tami Roman, Vince Swann, Briyana Guadalupe, Theodore John Barnes and Brittany Inge are set to return for Season 5.

Production on Season 5 of “The Ms. Pat Show” will commence in February 2025. A premiere date for the new season has yet to be determined, but Season 4 of the sitcom debuted in May 2024.

Williams previously signed a multi-year overall deal with BET in 2022. Her first project under the deal was the unscripted courtroom series “Ms. Pat Settles It,...

Exclusive: BET+ has officially confirmed its hit comedy series The Ms. Pat Show will return for a fifth season. Additionally, Patricia ‘Ms. Pat’ Williams has extended her overall deal with BET Media Group to include linear and streaming projects.

Deadline revealed Williams was expanding her relationship with BET in 2022 by signing a multi-year overall deal under which she would produce and perform in new series and other projects across BET. Her first project under the deal was the unscripted courtroom series Ms. Pat Settles It, which premiered its second season in July.

Production will begin on The Ms. Pat Show‘s fifth season in February 2025; a premiere date yet will be revealed at a later date. The show is available to stream via BET+ and linear on BET.

Based on Williams’ life experiences, which she covers in her memoir Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat, the series tells the story...

BET has renewed its hit courtroom series Ms. Pat Settles It for a second season.

The series is the result of Patricia Williams’ multi-year overall deal with BET Media Group. Williams is also the mastermind behind The Ms. Pat Show, which returns for a fourth season May 23 on BET+.

In Season 1 of Ms. Pat Settles It, Ms. Pat assembled a jury comprised of her closest friends, family members, celebrity guest stars, and comedians where they tackled real cases where genuine relationships hung in the balance.

In the second season of Ms. Pat Settles It, each case will continue to revolve around family and relationship dynamics. Viewers will witness everyday people grappling with real-life problems who willingly accept Ms. Pat’s verdict as binding. Each case traverses the fine line between intense drama and uproarious comedy, mirroring Ms. Pat’s own life experiences. The “jury of her peers” will preside over a wide array of cases,...

Exclusive: BET+ has renewed its Emmy-nominated series The Ms. Pat Show for a fourth season.

From Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams and Jordan E. Cooper, the series lifts from Williams’ life experiences covered in her memoir Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat, which tells the story of a drug dealer and convicted felon turned suburban mom.

“It’s going to be another great and funny season and we’re so excited,” Williams tells Deadline exclusively. “I don’t want to give anything away but as you know, we’re always challenging ourselves. What I will say is that Season 4 will be better than prior seasons.”

When asked how she keeps storylines fresh and doesn’t run out of new content she said with a laugh, “There’s something happening in my house every day.”

Williams confirmed work on Season 4 was set to begin the week the WGA called for a strike...

This one bitch…

After finishing April with back-to-back looks at stylish vampire films like The Hunger and Ganja & Hess, we’re kicking off May a film we’ve actually discussed before (in written form): Fred Dekker‘s 1986 classic Night of the Creeps!

Night of the Creeps sees fraternity pledges Chris (Jason Lively) and Jc (Steve Marshall) take part in a hazing prank, only to find a frozen body filled with alien slugs that escape and begin to take over everyone on campus. They must team up with a cop with a haunted past (Tom Atkins) and Chris’ new crush Cindy (Jill Whitlow) to stop the invasion before it’s too late.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS.

Episode 228: Night of the Creeps (1986)

Cindy!

Lindsey Kraft is set as the female lead opposite Jay R. Ferguson in the CBS comedy pilot Living Biblically, from The Big Bang Theory star Johnny Galecki and Warner Bros TV. Based on A.J. Jacobs' bestselling book The Year of Living Biblically, the project, written by Patrick Walsh and directed by Andy Ackerman, centers on Chip (Ferguson), a modern-day man at a crossroads in his life who decides to live according to the Bible. Kraft will play Chip’s (Ferguson) wife Leslie…...

There’s been many milestones so far in the history of Joe DeRosa and Patrick Walsh’s We’LL See You In Hell Podcast. There was the show’s inaugural episode back in August, then the first live episode at Mile High Horror in October and the first episode of the new year last week. Now, We’LL See You […]...

Exclusive: Universal Pictures has made a connection with Holly Dimarco’s iPhone, paying low against mid-six figures for a pitch for a hard R-rated comedy that will be written by Patrick Walsh and Sonny Lee. It sounds like a John Hughes-esque plot gone wrong. A couple of high school losers find themselves in wish-fulfillment mode after they find the iPhone belonging to the hottest and most popular girl in school. The film will be produced by Hurwitz & Schlossberg Productions partners Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who have a producing deal at the studio and a mandate to make edgy comedies. They wrote the Harold & Kumar comedies and at Universal wrote and directed American Reunion, which rebooted the American Pie franchise for the studio. Hurwitz & Schlossberg’s Joseph Amaral will supervise production with Uni exec Maradith Frenkel. As for Walsh and Lee, they come out of TV where they were...

Writing is an amazing gift that not everyone has. To be a great writer one must possess a number of character traits, some of them being a healthy appetite for reading, a great imagination, and an aptitude for creative writing.

In less than 5 years, Sonny Lee and his writing partner, Patrick Walsh, have worked on 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia,' 'Rob & Big,' and now have a one-year-deal with NBC.

Sonny Lee took some time out of his insanely busy schedule to talk to Iae Magazine about his awesome career and to share his expert advice with writers and other industry professionals.

Iae: Where are you from and what got you’re interested in entertainment?

Sl: My family moved around a lot when I was younger. Every 4 years we were in a different state. We lived in Minnesota, Iowa, Louisiana, Texas, and Illinois. Not sure if my parents...

"Outsourced" co-executive producer Michael Pennie has closed a two-year overall deal with Universal Media Studios.

Pennie served as co-executive producer on NBC's "My Name Is Earl" before coming aboard "Outsourced," which joins the network's Thursday night comedy block this fall. The show is about a manager sent to India to oversee a staff of customer service reps.

"Ums are willing to take some chances," Pennie said. " 'Outsourced' is an example of their willingness to try something different in a year where there's a lot out there that feels like versions of stuff I've seen before, and that's definitely something I'm attracted to."

Ums recently inked overall deals with former "Earl" writer-producer Danielle Sanchez-Witzel and former "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" writers Sonny Lee and Patrick Walsh.

The agreement marks the first overall deal for the CAA-repped Pennie, who also wrote for the CBS comedy "Yes, Dear." Pennie plans to focus...

Leslie Mann and Kate Bosworth have joined the cast of Goodnight Moon, a semi-autobiographical drama from writer-director Elgin James about a Boston street gang. But who will play the cow jumping over the moon in the great green room? [THR] Lane Bryant is feuding with Fox and ABC, two networks who have resisted airing plus-sized lingerie ads. One reason for the hesitation: "Ample cleavage," according to the clothing company. Does ABC realize that Pam Anderson is currently on their network on Dancing With the Stars? [Adweek] Christopher McQuarrie and Bryan Singer -- who teamed up for films like The Usual Suspects --...

Despite the promising looking poster art that was being shown around at Afm a few months ago, the first clip for Syfy's Mothman had made its way online to prove that it's more of the same goofy stuff we can expect from the network. Sigh.

Sheldon Wilson (Shallow Ground, Screamers: The Hunting) directed the flick for Rhi Entertainment, and it stars Jewel Staite of "Firefly" and "Stargate: Atlantis". Wilson also shares a writing credit alongside "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" writers Sonny Lee and Patrick Walsh.

Well, at the very least this mythical psychic menace will be killing folks this time around instead of just making predictions about disasters. Look for it on Syfy April 24th at 9/8 Central.

Allow me to step into the creature's vacated psychic shoes -- I predict a scathing review from the Foywonder! Click below to watch the clip! I wonder if the monster will leave...

Two former writers on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" have signed an overall deal with Universal Media Studios.

Sonny Lee and Patrick Walsh have reached a one-year deal to develop comedy projects for the studio.

The Icm-repped Lee and Walsh started in the business just four years ago as pages for NBC in Manhattan, where their spec comedy script about the network's page program caught the attention of NBC executive vp comedy Jeff Ingold.

Overall deals typically are reserved for seasoned showrunners, but Ums is looking to make more deals with up-and-coming talent.

"Lee and Walsh have proved to be very funny writers and are rising in the ranks quickly, and we're excited to get them early and groom them to the next level of showrunner," said Renate Radford, vp comedy programming at Ums.

The duo did behind-the-scenes stints at "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," "Saturday Night Live" and "Today.

The spec script market continues to show green shoots in 2010. Icm just told me that writers Sonny Lee and Patrick Walsh, who left CAA for Icm last week, preemptively sold a spec script to Paramount with Montecito and Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg producing. Sonny and Pat have spent the last three years on It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and have sold pilots to Fbc and ABC. This is the duo’s first spec script. Based on an idea by Hurwitz and Schlossberg, 21 Shots centers around a guy who, on his 21st birthday, loses his I.D. and needs to [...]...

No relation to the awful Mothman Prophecies movie (if you ever read the book, then you know why I just described the film as awful; and if you have never read the book, you should and then you, too, will realize why the film was so lame), Syfy has finally checked off enough other cryptids from its list to make a new film about the Mothman starring a "Firefly".

Not much is known about the plot of this Syfy-bound Mothman movie simply titled Mothman other than the glowy-eyed cryptozoological entity in this version also kills people, which I guess is a major step up from crank calling people in that terrible Richard Gere movie. Don't expect this one to adhere too closely to the facts of case either.

Sheldon Wilson (Shallow Ground, Screamers: The Hunting) is wrapping up post-production on this Rhi Entertainment entry starring Jewel Staite of "Firefly" and...

Here's something I bet you didn't know: Some of us who write for Cinematical also enjoy a variety of other similar gigs. Like, for example, Patrick Walsh (who used to write for us) now writes episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ... and Scott Weinberg (who still writes for us) likes watching Philadelphia Eagles games for some odd reason when he's not contributing to this site. Then there's the fabulous Eric D. Snider, who, over on his personal site, has posted his rejected Twilight screenplay -- as in, the one Summit Entertainment didn't turn into a box office behemoth. You can check out the complete script over at Snider's site, but here are two snippets (read one below and one after the jump):

Scene 2

Bella: It's tough being the new kid in school! Especially when everyone is so friendly and helpful and interested in me. Why can't they just...

I know, I know: Why would Cinematical be writing a story about It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia? NO, there are no plans to turn this blisteringly funny little series into a movie -- at least none that I know of. I think I'll just extend the suspense a little longer...

Is it because yours truly was born and raised (and is currently seated in front of a computer) in Philadelphia? Despite the fact that this wonderful city gave us Rocky, The Sixth Sense, and Mannequin 2: On the Move -- the answer is no: We're not posting about It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia because it takes place in an awesome city. (Go Phils!)

OK, maybe I'm just blathering about the comedy series because, let's face it, Sunny is much funnier than most Hollywood comedies. It just is. But that's not the reason either. Here's why you're reading a TV story...