HBO is in the midst of some upheaval at the moment, with a string of projects that have been scuttled, and one high profile drama (“Vinyl“) getting a serious makeover, so the first move from new programming president Casey Bloys, replacing the departed veteran Michael Lombardo, would need to be a strong one. It would have to be an indication that HBO is getting back to the business of making some of the best television around, with top-tier talent, and credit to Bloys, he’s made it clear that the network is continuing to chase high quality television.
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HBO has ordered new drama pilots from directors Katherine Bigelow and Adam McKay. Word of Bigelow’s project “Mogadishu, Minnesota” first surfaced a few months ago, when at the time it was known as “The Recruiters.” It was said to revolve around the hidden world of Jihadi recruitment, though for now it’s just being described as a family drama about Somalis in Minneapolis. K’naan will write, executive-produce and direct the pilot, with Bigelow executive producing, though hopefully she’ll get behind the camera as well.
McKay will direct “Succession,” a drama about a powerful, wealthy, and dysfunctional global-media company. It will certainly allow the filmmaker to continue his look into the 1%, and his longtime bud Will Ferrell will be among the producers.
Not to be outdone, Amazon has lined up new pilots from prominent filmmakers as well. Guillermo del Toro will be bringing the long developing “Carnival Row” to the streaming service. Based on “Pacific Rim” writer Travis Beacham‘s hotly-buzzed, never-produced breakthrough script “The Killing on Carnival Row” that has been knocking around Hollywood for over a decade, it’s a supernatural story set in a future that looks like 18th century London. You can read a better breakdown over at Script Shadow who describe it as “a mordant phantasmagoria” and “hard-bond pulp pages soaked in absinthe and hallucinogenic fey blood and set ablaze with the fire from an exploding gas-lamp.” So yes, sounds awesome.
Meanwhile, Kevin Macdonald‘s “Strange New Things,” first announced this spring, sees the adaptation of the book by Michel Faber (“Under The Skin“), about a pastor who goes on a galactic missionary assignment, only to discover his wife losing her faith back on Earth as a series of terrible events occur, moving a couple steps forward with a pilot order.
Other shows getting pilots from Amazon include: a drama set in pre-revolutionary Cuba called “Tropicana,” “The Legend Of Master Legend” about real life superheroes, and “Gilmore Girls” creator Amy-Sherman Palladino‘s new project “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” about a 1950s housewife, who decides to become a stand-up comic.
Which of these will rise to the top, and while fall away? Time will tell, but let us know what you want to see in the comments section. [Deadline/Variety]