Drama Pilots ‘Constantine’ And ‘Secrets & Lies’ Get Directors

Neil Marshall (The Descent) is set to direct NBC’s drama pilot Constantine, from Warner Bros TV. Based on the characters in DC Comics’ John Constantine stories, Constantine centers on John Constantine, an enigmatic and irreverent con man-turned-reluctant supernatural detective who is thrust into the role of defending us against dark forces from beyond. The project was written by Daniel Cerone from a story by him and David S. Goyer. In TV, Marshall recently helmed the opening as well as the third episode of Michael Bay’s Starz pirate drama Black Sails and an episode from the upcoming fourth season of HBO’s Game Of Thrones.

One of the most sought after pilot directors, Charles McDougall, has been tapped for ABC’s drama pilot Secrets & Lies, which has a series penalty. An adaptation of the Australian crime mystery series. the pilot, from writer/exec producer Barbie Kligman, ABC Studios, Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment and Australian-based Hoodlum, centers on a family man who finds the body of a young boy and quickly becomes the prime murder suspect. He has no choice but to try to find the real killer as his marriage, his kids, his reputation, and his sanity are all at stake. McDougall, who won an Emmy for directing the pilot for ABC’s Desperate Housewives, is on a streak, with his four most recent pilots going to series: The Good Wife, The Chicago Code, The Mindy Project and ABC’s upcoming drama Resurrection.

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