Santa Monica, CA — The last week of 2015 is here, so let’s take a look back at the year’s Best & Worst, the Trends, the Lessons Learned in Film & TV and All Things Entertainment.

Be Chill, Bro.  It’s all good!  (Did I mention I surfed Costa Rica this year? Pura Vida!)

Let’s start with Television.

First, there is a lot of it.  So many good shows to DVR. So little time.

Did you watch the final season of Da Vinci’s Demons on Starz or The Knick on Cinemax?  How about Penny Dreadful on Showtime?  Surely, you binge-watched Jessica Jones on Netflix? The Man in the High Castle on Amazon???

Here are the Biggest Development Trends from 2015:

• Networks buy scripts that come with Talent Attached.  If you can get your script to Eva Longoria, Reese Witherspoon or Mila Kunis, chances are great that they will get it set up at either a network or a digital platform.
• Female-Centric stories are a big deal.  The success of new series Blind Spot on NBC, Quantico on ABC, and Supergirl on CBS highlight what everyone should realize:  Women control the remote.
• Adaptations lessen a Buyer’s fear of scary ideas and are easier to market.  And it’s not just Books that get the TV Treatment, either:  Comics, Graphic Novels, Magazine Articles, Songs, Stand-Up Comedy Routines, Web Series.  Anything Goes!  I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see AMC’s adaptation of Preacher and SyFy’s The Magicians.

• Re-Boots will continue thanks to Heroes: Reborn.  Will NBC proceed to Pilot on Xena, though? Or, ABC with its new spin on Fantasy Island?  How about CBS’ dreadful take on Nancy Drew? Hopes are high for Fox’s The X-Files.  There are so many in the pipeline! Netflix loves ’em (Gilmore Girls, Lost in Space).
• Pre-Sold Titles will continue (i.e., Daredevil, Limitless, Minority Report).  Blame it on corporate synergy now that most networks are connected to studios with film libraries to exploit.  Anyone up for small-screen versions of Galaxy Quest, The Notebook, or Jack Ryan? They are in the works!
• Bio-Pics. Networks love ’em, especially HBO.  Teddy Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson, The Young Pope…they are all getting either telefilms or limited series.

• Super Heroes.  More, more, more! (Jessica Jones raises the bar. Can Fox’s take on Hellfire meet it?)  Constantine was a bust on NBC, but the Marvel favorite lives to see another day on The CW.  Marvel and DC are plugged in and ready to rock our viewing world, so settle in your Barca-Lounger and relax.
• Original Ideas can still make it through the system. (Fingers crossed for Epix’s Berlin Station, and OWN’s Greenleaf.)  Do not lose heart, Scribes!
• Zeitgeist! It’s true, People.  More than one person can come up with the same good idea as evidenced by the numerous scripts in development at competing networks that bear a strong similarity to one another.  Designated Survivor has been ordered straight-to-series at ABC starring Kiefer Sutherland. Meanwhile, Fox has the same concept ordered to script executive produced by Johnny Depp.  That’s just one example.  There are many many others.

It’s been a great year of Surfing Hollywood, Venice Beach, and Playa Guiones.  Thanks for reading!

And just for laughs (and in case you missed them), please check out SNL’s Adele Saves Thanksgiving as well as Funny Or Die’s Lifetime Original Film with Christina Applegate as Meryl.  Hilarious!  Now streaming…

Next Up:  Film Surf Report 2015: The Year in Review….