In a competitive situation, Craig Piligian's Pilgrim Media Group has acquired film, TV and other media rights for The Kiss Quotient, the hot breakout debut novel from author Helen Hoang. Published in June by Penguin Random House imprint Berkley Jove Trade Paperback Originals, and currently in its fifth printing, the…

Sixteen years after they first pitched the concept, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s reality competition series The Runner finally is coming to fruition with a pickup by Verizon’s recently launched free, ad-supported video platform, go90. For the latest incarnation of the reality chase, Affleck and Damon have teamed with…

Lionsgate is making a major move in the unscripted television arena with an ownership stake in Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Studios — one of the most sought-after independent production companies in the space. The studio is not commenting, but I hear the investment is in the neighborhood of $200 million for more than 50%…

Craig Piligian's Pilgrim Studios is expanding its online presence with the launch of its new digital platform 1620 Media. First up, it will premiere six new original series, including a comedy featuring Rocky Horror Picture Show’s Barry Bostwick. According to Piligian, 1620 Media will house content across a range of…

David Tutera, celebrity wedding planner and star of WEtv’s David Tutera’s CELEBrations, has signed a first-look deal with the company behind the reality series, Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Studios. Under the pact, Tutera will develop and produce both unscripted and scripted series. He said he is looking to develop…

EXCLUSIVE: Here is a competition show whose contestants will probably have the highest IQ in all of reality television. Discovery and top unscripted series producer Craig Piligian are introducing a new reality genre: an engineering competition show. Discovery Channel has ordered eight episodes from the untitled…

In 2006, movie channel AMC ventured into original programming with miniseries Broken Trail. A year later, it entered another genre, scripted series, with Mad Men. Now, the cable network is launching an expansion into yet another original programming area: reality. AMC has ordered its first unscripted series, Inside the…

The story of Amanda Knox, the U.S. exchange student convicted by an Italian trial jury of brutally murdering her roommate, is getting the Hollywood treatment as a TV movie with Heroes star Hayden Panettiere as Knox. Lifetime has greenlighted the project, tentatively titled The Amanda Knox Story, from reality producer C…