Steve Coogan Tapped for Happyish Pilot for Showtime; Lifetime's Lizzie Borden Movie Turning Into Limited Series

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Steve Coogan Tapped for Happyish Pilot for Showtime; Lifetime's Lizzie Borden Movie Turning Into Limited Series

Noted for his range of comedic and dramatic roles, Oscar(R) and Golden Globe(R) nominee Steve Coogan (Philomena, Alan Partridge) is set to star in the Showtime comedy pilot Happyish. He'll succeed the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in the project. The half-hour single-camera comedy pilot will be filmed in New York this December. Happyish is a comedic, soul-searching examination of our pursuit of happiness, a pursuit that might just be the very thing causing our unhappiness in the first place. Coogan will star in the lead role of Thom Payne, a 44 year-old man whose world is thrown into disarray when his 25 year-old "wunderkind" boss arrives, saying things like "digital," "social" and "viral." Is he in need of a "rebranding," as his mentor insists, or does he just have a "low joy ceiling," as his corporate headhunter suggests? Maybe pursuing happiness is a fool's errand? Maybe, after 44 years on this ludicrous planet, settling for happyish is the best one can expect. Should this pilot be picked up to series, we will let you know. So, stay tuned...

Christina Ricci - Lizzie Borden Took an Ax

Lizzie Borden takes another whack... Lifetime has ordered the limited series Lizzie Borden: The Fall River Chronicles, in which Golden Globe® and Emmy® Award nominee Christina Ricci (Pan Am, Monster) will reprise her haunting role as the notorious murder suspect she portrayed in the network's hit original movie Lizzie Borden Took An Ax (#LizzieBorden). Screen Actors Guild Award® winner Clea DuVall (Argo) will also reprise her role in the series as Lizzie Borden's sister, Emma. Lizzie Borden: The Fall River Chronicles delivers an intense and fictionalized account of actual events and people surrounding Lizzie's life after her controversial acquittal of the horrific double murder of her father and stepmother in 1892, when the exonerated figure lives a life awash in newfound celebrity. But when numerous people close to Lizzie – ranging from her half-brother to Broadway luminaries and the head of the criminal underworld -- start to mysteriously die under brutal and strange circumstances, legendary Pinkerton detective Charlie Siringo (Cole Hauser, Good Will Hunting) becomes determined to prove her involvement in their ultimate demise. Emmy nominee John Heard (The Sopranos) will portray William Almy, the business partner of Lizzie's murdered father Andrew, while Lizzie's half-brother William will be played by Andrew Howard (Hatfields & McCoys). Six-one hour installments of Lizzie Borden: The Fall River Chronicles will air on Lifetime in 2015.

In its January 25, 2014, world premiere, Lizzie Borden Took An Ax averaged 4.4 million Total Viewers. Among social media, it was the evening's most-tweeted program across television, while it also drove the highest traffic to a movie premiere on mylifetime.com since November 2012. In 2014 YTD, it is ad-supported cable's second most-watched movie telecast among Women, second only to the Lifetime Original Movie Flowers in the Attic.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Saturday, February 27

Young Rock - "On the Road Again" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Pennsylvania, 1987: Dwayne pretends he's rich to impress popular girl Karen, but a date to Rocky's wrestling match at the flea market risks exposing the truth; stressed about money, Ata takes on a wealthy new client.

Kenan - "Hard News" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Kenan, Rick and Gary go to great lengths to uncover what they think is a deep, dark secret Cori was hiding; Mika believes the morning show should cover more hard news stories.

Danger Force - "Twin It to Win It" (Nickelodeon, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Captain Man makes ShoutOut and AWOL compete over who can catch more criminals using their own ways of crime-fighting.

Side Hustle - "Karaoke Kickoff" (Nickelodeon, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Presley, Lex and Munchy are excited when they buy a karaoke machine from the "Karaoke Kickoff" show; when the machine breaks, the kids head to the studio to get their money back.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 22)

Friday, February 26

Will Arnett (Flaked/Arrested Development/The Millers/Up All Night/Running Wilde) - Watch Will on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Queen Latifah (Living Single) - Queen Latifah is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Will appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Annie Mumolo (Mapleworth Murders/About a Boy) - Annie is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Regina King (227/Leap of Faith) - Regina appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Constance Zimmer (Entourage/Good Morning, Miami) - Constance talks about the series Good Trouble on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany guest hosts The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar (mixed-ish/Saved by the Bell/Truth Be Told) and Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/The Game) - Mark-Paul and Tika are guests on The Real, so check your local listings.
Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster/Sabrina, the Teenage Witch) and Cherie Johnson (Punky Brewster) - Soleil and Cherie talk about Peacock's Punky Brewster on NBC's Today in the 9am hour. Soleil also appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Freddie Prinze Jr. (Punky Brewster/Freddie) - Freddie is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Jason Biggs (Outmatched/Mad Love/Drexell's Class) - Jason is filling us in on hosting the new game show Cherries Wild on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Mary Lynn Rajskub (How to Be a Gentleman/Veronica's Closet/The Larry Sanders Show) - Mary Lynn talks about Live from the Pandemic on Couch Surfing at 8am.
Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke will be on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.