I think most hit TV shows are sued at one point or another by someone who claims to have actually created the show. Usually it's someone unknown, but once in a while you get a real producer or writer with several credits who claims to have created the show. This is one of those cases.Anthony Spinner, who among other credits produced and/or wrote for The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Cannon, Search,The FBI, Return of the Saint, and Baretta, is suing both ABC and Touchstone Television, saying that he created (and was paid $30,000 for) a show that is very similar to Lost way back in 1977. He actually sued back in 2005 but the case was dismissed for procedural reasons.
Fans of the late CBS drama Smith will be happy to hear this. Jonny Lee Miller, who played Tom on Smith, has 
Judging Amy star Amy Brenneman could be back on network television as soon as next fall. She has signed a holding deal with ABC and Touchstone Television to star in a project next year. No word yet on what that project is or whether Brenneman has a large role in creating a series for herself. She was the creator and executive producer of Judging Amy, which was based on her mother, Frederica Brenneman, a single mother who was also a juvenile court judge.
Francis Ford Coppola's small scale masterpiece The Conversation may soon be an ABC series with Coppola himself serving as executive producer. The series will take place in the present day and center on surveillance expert Harry Caul, played in the original film by Gene Hackman. The series will reflect on advances in surveillance technology, including digital spying. Christopher McQuarrie, screenwriter of The Usual Suspects and director of The Way of the Gun is writing the pilot along with Band of Brothers writer Erik Jendresen. Tony Krantz (24) is on board as a producer. The plan is to have a specific story for each episode, with an over-arching storyline centering on the various government agencies tracking Caul. The men behind the new series are currently attempting to close a deal with Touchstone Pictures and Krantz's Flame Ventures to serve as studios for the new show. Given the talent behind this, I could see it really taking off. It'll be interesting to see who they get to play Caul. 
Mike Newell, director of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, has signed a deal with ABC to develop three pilots for the network. Not much is known about the three dramas, other than that they will be done under the banner of Touchstone, another member of the Disney/ABC megacorp family. 
Variety
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