According to the Hollywood Reporter, the owners of some cancelled U.S. TV pilots want their creative work to be buried, once and for all. Regardless, "The Adventures of Big Handsome Guy and His Little Friend," a comedy series passed over by Fox Broadcasting Co. for the fall schedule, has mysteriously popped up on at least three different viral-video Web sites.
The emergence of "Handsome" marks the second known TV pilot left over from the 2005-06 development season to resurrect itself from unknown auspices. "Nobody's Watching," a comedy rejected by WB Network, resurfaced on YouTube last month, and generated enough buzz to prompt producer NBC Universal to pick up the series.
Upon discovering the pilot online Thursday, "Handsome" production company 20th Century Fox Television issued a statement indicating plans to track down the source of the leak.
"It has come to our attention that the pilot episode of 'Handsome' was posted on the Internet without the knowledge and consent of 20th Century Fox Television, its sole owner," it said. "We take the protection of our intellectual property very seriously and have launched an investigation into this matter. We will take any steps necessary to zealously protect our ownership of this program."
The studio also issued cease-and-desist letters to the offending sites, some of which have since removed "Handsome." Fox declined comment, deferring to Twentieth. Both are units of News Corp. Is it possible that this cancelled show will now be revived by the Fox network? We'll just have to wait and see.
The emergence of "Handsome" marks the second known TV pilot left over from the 2005-06 development season to resurrect itself from unknown auspices. "Nobody's Watching," a comedy rejected by WB Network, resurfaced on YouTube last month, and generated enough buzz to prompt producer NBC Universal to pick up the series.
Upon discovering the pilot online Thursday, "Handsome" production company 20th Century Fox Television issued a statement indicating plans to track down the source of the leak.
"It has come to our attention that the pilot episode of 'Handsome' was posted on the Internet without the knowledge and consent of 20th Century Fox Television, its sole owner," it said. "We take the protection of our intellectual property very seriously and have launched an investigation into this matter. We will take any steps necessary to zealously protect our ownership of this program."
The studio also issued cease-and-desist letters to the offending sites, some of which have since removed "Handsome." Fox declined comment, deferring to Twentieth. Both are units of News Corp. Is it possible that this cancelled show will now be revived by the Fox network? We'll just have to wait and see.