HIGHLIGHT: NBC has given a pilot order to "Isabel," a comedy inspired by a French-Canadian series about a normal family with magical elements from scribes Howard Busgang and Tom Nursall.
ABC is getting in on all of the straight-to-series action. The network has given the green light to a 10-episode adaptation of upcoming Australian series Secrets & Lies, The Hollywood Reporter confirms.
STORY: Why TV Networks Are Bypassing Pilots for Direct-to-Series Orders
The original Secrets & Lies, which won’t bow in Australia until 2014, stars Martin Henderson as a patriarch who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a young boy when he finds the body. The American adaptation, which hails from ABC Studios and Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, will also be produced by Australia-based Hoodlum.
Casting is already underway for the leads, as is the search for a showrunner.
The move follows a recent spate of direct-to-series orders for the broadcast networks. Fox recently gave a 13-episode commitment to Hieroglyph, as well as orders for an untitled comedy from Tina Fey, Matt Hubbard and Robert Carlock and Batman prequel Gotham.
CBS has also made two big moves, with early series orders for Vince Gilligan–David Shore cop drama Battle Creek and summer sci-fi drama Extant — which recently cast Halle Berry as its lead.
Kapital Entertainment currently has two series on the air at ABC: The Neighbors and Back in the Game.
