'Cloverfield' Director Matt Reeves Inks Overall Deal at 20th TV

Cloverfield director Matt Reeves is heading back to TV.

our editor recommends

'The Big C's' Jenny Bicks Inks Overall Deal at 20th TV

Geoff Stults Inks Talent Deal With 20th TV, Books 'Ben and Kate' Arc

'New Girl' EP Jake Kasdan Inks Overall Deal With 20th TV

Wilmer Valderrama Inks Talent, Development Deal With 20th TV

Twentieth Century Fox TV has inked an overall deal with the writer/director best known in small-screen circles for co-creating Felicity with J.J. Abrams. More recently, Reeves’ name has appeared on the short-list for top pilot directors each spring. To hear 20th TV chairman Gary Newman tell it, the studio has been “hounding him for years.”

PHOTOS: Broadcast TV's Returning Shows for 2012-13 Season

As part of the new pact, Reeves will be tasked with creating and writing his own fare, supervising other drama projects and signing on to direct top-priority projects for the studio. He is expected to sit down with Newman and fellow chairman Dana Walden later this week to discuss potential projects, but has already expressed interest in returning to a medium in which he’s able to develop characters over several years.

“He’s so versatile and open to all of it, and people just love working with him,” Newman tells The Hollywood Reporter of the frequent Abrams collaborator, whose focus in recent years has been on the feature side.

PHOTOS: 8 Shows Ending During the 2012-2013 Season

Adds Reeves: “This is an incredibly exciting time in the television business and I look forward to working closely with my partners at Twentieth Television to develop innovative new series for both network and cable.” 

Reeves, whose other credits include Let Me In, The Pallbearer and an upcoming Twilight Zone feature set up at Warner Bros., is repped by CAA, 3 Arts, and Jackoway Tyerman.

Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com; Twitter: @LaceyVRose