CBS cashes its chips with Hugh Jackman
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under News
Hugh Jackman’s production deal with CBS Paramount has ended.
The studio announced the end of its partnership with SEED Productions as a result of the writers’ strike. Viva Laughlin failed last year after terrible reviews and disappointing ratings.
CBS Paramount enacted a “force majeure” clause, cancelling a number of pre-production deals with writers and producers as a result of the strike.
CBS Paramount’s list is said to have also included contracts with writers including Rene Echevarria (Medium), Barry Schindel (Numbers), John McNamara (Fastlane), the duo of Mitchell Burgess and Robin Green (Skip Tracer), as well as Jennifer Levin (Without a Trace).
Jackman’s Viva Laughlin was axed by CBS after only two episodes. In Australia, the Nine Network also cancelled the show, airing only two episodes.
At 20th Century Studios, writers Paul Redford (The Unit), Jonathan Lisco (K-Ville) and Lawrence Kaplow (House) are being let go.
CBS Paramount TV said in a statement, “As a result of this change in development and production activity, we have made a difficult decision to discontinue ‘overall deals’ with a number of writers and producers whose talents we greatly value and respect.”
Warner Brothers TV and Universal Media Studios have also terminated deals.
Sources indicate the number of casualties at CBS Paramount and 20th TV is significantly lower than the nearly 30 that ABC Studios let go on Friday.
Meanwhile SEED’s local production An Aussie Goes Bolly has been one of Foxtel’s biggest summer hits.
Source: ABC
2 Responses
Viva Laughlin flopped pretty hard, I think it was going to be canned in everyone’s mind before it even aired.
Backfired just a teensy bit, this strike, hasn’t it…?
Now some of the writers are perhaps feeling a little bit of the pain felt by the hundreds of thousands of people they’ve put out of work since the strike began.