Multi-platform digital entertainment network Crackle unveiled its 2014 lineup at its NewFront presentation in New York on Wednesday, accompanied by a lineup of new creative partners that included actors Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill) and Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage) and sportscaster Dan Patrick.
Cranston is making a series for Crackle through his production company Moon Shot Entertainment, titled Tightrope, that takes an irreverent modern-day character and inserts him into the story line of an old-fashioned detective series. The campy, black-and-white show will be Moon Shot’s first comedy, Cranston said.
Crackle also announced it’s renewing Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee for 4 more seasons, which means the show will run through 2016. The five-episode fourth season, featuring guests Aziz Ansari, Jon Stewart, Sarah Jessica Parker, Robert Klein and George Wallace, is scheduled to debut in early summer. A seven-episode season 5 will follow in the fall.
Crackle’s upcoming slate also includes the Throwaways, a direct-to-digital feature about a notorious hacker who’s captured by the CIA and given the choice of working with them or spending the rest of his life in prison. Oscar-nominated actor Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, The Bourne Legacy) will executive produce and co-star.
One of Crackle’s most popular shows, Chosen, which recently launched its third season, has been renewed for a fourth season, series star Murray announced at the event.
Cleaners, a show about two female assassins (Chriqui and Emily Osment), has been renewed for a second season, announced Eric Berger, GM of Crackle. In total, the Sony-owned digital video platform will run 100 episodes of original programming this year, said Berger.
The network also announced Sequestered, a thriller about a jury sequestered in a hotel starring Jesse Bradford, Summer Glau, Patrick Warburton, Bruce Davison and Katie Savoy. Created by Aaron Tracy and produced by Lifeboat Productions, the 12-episode series debuts in August.
On the lighter side, Crackle will be putting a new spin on a classic game show with Sports Jeopardy, in which announcer Patrick takes the role of Alex Trebek behind the host’s podium. It will debut new episodes weekly for 52 weeks.
Crackle also announced Playing it Forward, a new street performance-style reality series produced by Team Downey, the production company founded by actor Robert Downey Jr. and his wife, producer Susan Downey, along with Kevin Lake (The Singing Detective) and veteran music producer/composer Tony Berg.
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Summer Glau’s imagination and ability to inhabit a character will undoubtedly serve her well and I can’t wait to see her deliver another riveting performance in the thriller ‘Sequestered’. This show is a great way to showcase Summer Glau’s talents well, to reach to a new audience and ultimately will help with her career.
We all know Summer Glau is a Sci-Fi queen and Sci-Fi is the best genre. Unfortunately it seems like the majority of people are not much into Sci-Fi and Sci-Fi shows don’t succeed on broadcast network (see the recent cancellation of FOX’s “Almost Human”).
I am convinced that Summer Glau is trying to reach to new audiences and wants to tackle new roles. The problem is that she’s typecast (as proven by her recurring role in Arrow) and producers are reluctant to give her leading roles in non-genre shows. This means she has to take advantage of any opportunities that may arise, even if it’s not on a big network. Hence her role in David Martin Porras short drama “Inside the Box”, for example.
This leading role in Crackle’s ‘Sequestered’ is another step in the path that will lead Summer to a new turn in her career. I’m very excited to see her in this new show.
[…] The comedy series, “Tightrope,” will take a modern-day character and put them into an old-fashion detective story. It’s black and white; it’s campy; it sounds awesome. The show will be made through Cranston’s production company, Moon Shot Entertainment. […]
[…] Crackle's new programming slate includes Bryan Cranston comedy Crackle also announced it's renewing Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee for 4 more seasons, which means the show will run through 2016. The five-episode fourth … weekly for 52 weeks. Crackle also announced Playing it Forward, a new … Read more on StreamDaily […]