Tag Archives: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Matt Lopez to Serve as Executive Producer & Showrunner of CBS’ “Sheriff Country”

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Matt Lopez has gone country…

The Latino television writer and producer has joined CBS’ recently picked up drama series Sheriff County as executive producer and showrunner.

Matt LopezThe Fire Country spinoff, headlined by Morena Baccarin, is slated to debut during the 2025-26 season, with a writers room expected to open in late summer.

Sheriff Country was introduced when Baccarin guest starred in an April episode of the mothership series. 

Like the Fire Country pilot, the planted spinoff was written by Joan Rater and Tony Phelan from a story the duo co-wrote with series’ star Max Thieriot, whose real-life experiences inspired Fire Country.

Thieriot also directed the backdoor pilot episode.

The offshoot also is following Fire Country‘s leadership pattern.

While Grey’s Anatomy alums Rater and Phelan are executive producers and a writers room fixtures on the mothership series, Tia Napolitano was brought in as day-to-day showrunner. Lopez is taking on the duties for Sheriff Country. He was already in negotiations when CBS in May announced a series pickup for the spinoff.

Sheriff Country stars Baccarin as straight-shooting sheriff Mickey Fox, the stepsister of Cal Fire’s division chief Sharon Leone (Diane Farr of Fire Country), who investigates criminal activity as she patrols the streets of small-town Edgewater.

The series, from CBS Studios, is executive produced by Thieriot, Phelan, Rater, Lopez as well as Jerry Bruckheimer and KristieAnne Reed for Jerry Bruckheimer Television.

Lopez created, executive produced and served as showrunner of ABC’s 2022 family drama series Promised Land.

His feature writing credits include Max’s top-rated original Father of the Bride, from Warner Bros., and several Disney movies, including The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Lopez is a former entertainment lawyer and DreamWorks business affairs executive.

ABC Orders Pilot for Matt Lopez’s Latinx Family Drama “Promised Land” 

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Matt Lopez’s promise continues…

The Latino screenwriter’s hourlong Latinx family drama Promised Land has secured a pilot order at ABC.

Matt Lopez

Previously known as American Heritage, the project is an epic, generation-spanning drama about two Latinx families vying for wealth and power in California’s Sonoma Valley.

ABC bought the project pre-emptively with a put-pilot commitment last year.

Lopez, who has written feature films including Bedtime Stories, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Race to Witch Mountain, writes and executive produces.

ABC Signature is the studio.

Lopez created the NBCUniversal International drama series Gone, starring Chris Noth, which aired on WGN America in the U.S. He also is adapting Helen Cresswell’s young-adult novel Moondial into an ambitious time-travel drama for Fulwell 73. On the feature side, he’s writing a new Father of the Bride film for Warner Bros. revolving around a Latinx family, a first for the franchise.

Pino to Star in Procedural Drama Series “Gone”

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Danny Pino is going, going, Gone…

The 42-year-old Cuban American actor and former Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Cold Case alum will star opposite Chris Noth and Leven Rambin in Gone, a 12-episode procedural drama series for NBCUniversal International Studios, Germany’s RTL and France’s TF1.

Danny Pino

The series, which eyes a launch in winter 2017-18, was created by Matt Lopez (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) based on Chelsea Cain’s novel One Kick.

The project tells the fictional story of Kit “Kick” Lannigan (Rambin), survivor of a famous child-abduction case, and Frank Booth (Noth), the FBI agent who rescued her. Determined never to fall victim again, Kick trains in martial arts and the use of firearms. She finds her calling when Booth persuades her to join a special task force he created dedicated to solving abductions and missing persons cases. Paired with former Army intelligence officer John Bishop (Pino), Kick brings her unique understanding of the mind of a predator. Bishop is initially skeptical about bringing Kick onto the team, but over the course of the season, he will come to appreciate her unique skill-set and they will become a formidable crime-solving duo.

Pino most recently starred opposite Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Tony Shalhoub in CBS’ critically praised series Braindead. He previously played Detective Nick Amaro on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for multiple seasons, and starred for seven seasons as Detective Scotty Valens on Cold Case. He also recurred on ABC’s Scandal.

Lopez Developing Legal Drama Project “Justice” for NBC

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Matt Lopez is looking to bring a little justice to NBC…

The network has put in development Justice, a legal drama project from the Latino screenwriter and John Glenn.

Matt Lopez

Written by Lopez, a former lawyer, Justice tells the story of larger-than-life District Attorney Logan Archer, a brilliant and relentless prosecutor who takes on crime while harboring some deep, dark secrets.

In features, Lopez is a go-to screenwriter for family fare including Bedtime Stories, Race To Witch Mountain, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and the upcoming Clifford The Big Red Dog.

He is set to adapt the best-selling children’s book The Day The Crayons Quit as a feature at Universal Pictures and is producing Huck for Paramount Pictures.

In TV, he wrote the 2013 ABC pilot Gothica and developed the drama One Kick at NBC last season.

Molina to Star in NBC’s Comedy Pilot “Assistance”

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For his next project, Alfred Molina will need a little assistance…

The 59-year-old half-Spanish actor, who currently stars on TNT’s Monday Mornings drama series, will be starring opposite Krysten Ritter in the NBC’s comedy pilot Assistance.

Alfred Molina

The project, from Universal Television, centers on Nora (portrayed by Ritter), an idealistic “working girl” assistant who is pulled between her colleague and her real-life fiancé while trying to manage her demanding boss Daniel (Molina).

Molina’s character is described as a very successful film producer with a large presence and thick intensity.

Along with his award-winning performance in Chocolat, Molina’s film credits include Spider-Man 2, An Education and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. His television credits include performances in Law & Order: LA and Harry’s Law.