Ever since the name change, Freeform has been trying to make itself known to those who aren't in the 15 to 25 year old white girl demographic. They snatched up a late night show, are adding new comedy shows, and now they have a series from Veep's Jon H. Ryan -- Timothy Simons. He wrote the script with Blacklist writers Derek Elliott and Jack Donaldson. Deadline reports the show is titled Bad Dates and will feature reenactments of real life bad dates. From the description, it sounds like 1000 Ways to Die but for dating. Freeform can add as many new shows as it likes; it'll always be known as "the network that is stuck playing The 700 Club forever."
Exsqueeze me: The Mindy Project is now in syndication
Fans of rocky relationship sitcoms rejoice: The Mindy Project is now headed to syndication. VH1 and Freeform are the lucky dogs who scored the first five seasons of the Mindy Kaling led/created series. Starting in October, Deadline reports, fans new and old will be able to stream and catch reruns of classic episodes such as the one time Mindy got in a fight with Danny and the other time Mindy got in a fight with Danny. The show lived a rocky life on Fox, getting almost canceled for three years and eventually canceled after the third. Hulu picked it up and now the show is entering season five this October.
Iliza Shlesinger is going to late night
Appartently Freeform also wants to hop into late night and they're taking Iliza Shlesinger with them. Variety learned late last week that the network plans on using the comedian's "unique voice" to cover "what's happening in the moment." The show is also said to have a different side of late night due to her feminine voice and her unabashed opinions. But Samantha Bee is already doing that and Chelsea Lately has been doing it for years. So Shlesinger is still part of the crowd. Should this show be greenlit, expect it sometime next year.
The Lonely Island’s pilot ‘Alone Together’ gets a greenlight
Those Lonely Island boys sure are enjoying comedic success in their post-SNL lives. Sure, it’s not complete monetary success but it’s success none the less. And today it has been announced that Freeform has officially greenlit the Lonely Island produced pilot Alone Together. Deadline reports that the Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer produced series will star and be written by Esther Povitsky, (Lady Dynamite, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and Benji Aflalo (Not Safe with Nikki Glaser). For those not in the know, Alone Together is about two millinneal outsiders try to navigate the strange waters of LA. There’s also a heavy emphasis on the two being opposite genders. And with this being on Freeform (RIP ABC Family), you know an annoying love storyline is coming up.