J-Lo brings ‘Brethren’ to Fox

Fox has given a script commitment to “Brethren,” a drama pilot from Jennifer Lopez’s Nuyorican Productions.

“Brethren” will be loosely based on the life of Isaac Guillen, telling the story of a former gangbanger who puts his multiple-felony past behind him and becomes a defense attorney. His life is complicated by the fact that his colleagues think he’s corrupt and his clients believe he’s corruptible, or so a press release explains.

“What interested me was the fine line the character must constantly walk in terms of both his professional and personal life, and the fact that it comes from a true-life story makes it all the more compelling.”

Lopez and fellow Nuyorican principal Simon Fields will executive produce along with Ross Fineman, Charles Glen and Barbara Cox. Guillen will serve as a consultant. Writing the pilot and executive producing will be Alfonso Moreno (“The Practice”).

“I really love the inherent tension for our main character. He has to work to walk the straight and narrow,” Moreno says. “In his professional life, law enforcement is trying to trip him up and criminal forces are lurking to suck him in. His home life is equally tricky in that he has to be the ultimate “Do what I say, not what I did’ single parent.”

On the TV side, Nuyorican’s credits include last season’s very short-lived UPN drama “South Beach,” while the company’s upcoming features range from “Bordertown” to “El Cantante.”

Fox makes ‘Vanished’ vanish

Gale Harold’s character is dead and so is “Vanished.”

In a bit of coy misdirection, Fox announced late Thursday that the concluding episodes of “Vanished” will be available streaming OnDemand on the network’s MySpace platforms. Available on TV? Not so much.

Instead, Fox will burn off four new episodes of “Justice” for the month of December. That drama has also reportedly ceased production already.

The unaired “Vanished” episodes will premiere on Fridays OnDemand, leaving viewers with the difficult choice between streaming Fox’s elaborate cancelled kidnapping drama or NBC’s elaborate cancelled kidnapping drama (“Kidnapped”).

The “Vanished” finale will be available for streaming on Friday, Dec. 8 just in case anybody actually cares why the Stonecutters kidnapped Sara Collins in the first place.

The final new episode of “Vanished” will have aired last Friday (Nov. 10) to an audience of under 2.88 million viewers, which would even make it the fourth least watched program on The CW. That’s not good.

For the season, “Vanished” averaged 6.5 million viewers, though it was averaging 7.45 million while it aired after “Prison Break” on Mondays pre-baseball. Gale Harold fans would like you to believe that the on-screen death of the show’s leading man lead to the ratings collapse, though issues of quality and Friday night audience size were probably equally complicit.

Showtime’s high on more ‘Weeds’

The third season of “Weeds” promised in last month’s season finale now looks to be a reality.

The future of the pot-infused comedy may not have been in any doubt, but Showtime finally announced the third-season pick-up on Thursday (Nov. 16), meaning that viewers will get to see the resolution to the finale’s myriad cliffhangers.

Production on a 15-episode third season will begin in spring 2007, with an eye toward a late summer premiere.

“‘Weeds’ is quintessential Showtime: bold, provocative, premium television with production values at the top of the food chain,” says Showtime Entertainment President Robert Greenblatt. “This acclaimed show will be the centerpiece of our comedy strategy for several years to come, though labeling it just a comedy doesn’t do it justice. It combines comedy and pathos in a way that seems to represent real life better than almost any show out there.”

The finale, which featured the death of a major character and ended with several more characters engaged in a Mexican stand-off, was apparently the most watched in the show’s history, not that Showtime gives out viewership figures.

“‘Weeds’ continues to surpass all our expectations and we’re delighted about the pick-up,” says Kevin Beggs, Lionsgate’s president of television programming and production. “The talent – both in front of and behind the camera – is extraordinary, and we’re excited about our continuing relationship with Showtime, which has gone above and beyond to support the unique creative vision of the series since day one.”

Star Mary-Louise Parker won a Golden Globe for her role as a weed-dealing suburban mom and the series was nominated for the best comedy series Globe. Five Emmy nominations, including one for co-star Elizabeth Perkins, followed.

CBS wants to show more ‘Class’

“The Class,” the last of CBS’ new shows not to get either cancelled or picked up for a full season, will get a few more episodes to prove itself.

According to the industry trade papers, Kelly Kahl, CBS’ senior executive vice president of programming planning, told attendees at a Wednesday industry lunch that the network is working on an agreement to order a number of additional episodes, though probably not a full back-nine.

CBS launched “The Class” with considerable hype, giving the freshman comedy from David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik the covered Monday 8 p.m. EST position. After several weeks of diminishing ratings, the network stepped in and moved “How I Met Your Mother” up to 8 p.m. and pushed “The Class” to an 8:30 p.m. berth.

Initially the move seemed to benefit “The Class,” but ratings have remained sluggish. Through its first eight episodes, the comedy averaged 8.53 million viewers.

CBS isn’t exactly loaded with midseason comedy alternatives to “The Class,” though the network is optimistic about “Rules of Engagement,” starring David Spade, Oliver Hudson and Patrick Warburton.