Darren Appreciation Thread: General News about Darren for 2016

I just saw this in Darren's Twitter mentions. Not sure it means anything, but the tweet has been deleted, so I want to share for speculation...

Link to the THR story

The guy who tweeted this works at FOX for comedy development. From a quick Twitter search, he seems to be friendly with Darren and with the other two people he tagged, so maybe he just mentioned them because he would hypothetically like to work with them. However, the first person he tagged started following Darren on Twitter sometime recently (but I'm pretty sure before this tweet already), so there could also be something more to it?
And why delete it if it was just a random shoutout? It's not like he was getting flooded with unintended speculation - when I saw the tweet, 2-3 hours after he posted it, it had zero retweets/likes/replies. Then when I went to look at the guy's profile, the tweet was suddenly gone (I still had Darren's mentions open, so I was able to get a screenshot there).

A comedy about synchronized swimming with Ian Brennan as writer seems promising to me. I hope there's really a link between Darren and that project. That could explain why his body is more muscular than ever...

Wow.  This is neat.  Lin, you are so good at catching these hints!    Really hope this speculation pans out!!   Lin, you certainly added a lot of clues together that add some substance to your speculation.   The two folks tagged are also actors.  It's a good sign that Patrick Carlyle started following Darren on Twitter.   Good point about why would Jonathan delete the tweet if he is not getting bombarded with attention from Darren's fans.  Thanks for capturing the screenshot before it was deleted, Lin!   Cross fingers everyone, and let's collectively send our powerful mental vibes to FOX:  Darren!  Darren!  Darren!  !

Like dusty said to me recently, we agree that there seems to be some fascinating significance to Darren getting that haircut on the same anniversary date that he posted the photos of his famous haircut for Glee.  And I think it was you who pointed this out, Lin, that his recent short haircut happened a good deal in advance of Darren's SF Hedwig shows.

Jeremy wrote:A comedy about synchronized swimming with Ian Brennan as writer seems promising to me. I hope there's really a link between Darren and that project. That could explain why his body is more muscular than ever...

Yes, hope you are right, Jeremy.

I hope this becomes true.  I always loved Ian Brennan.  He seems sweet, and he seemed to become close to the Glee cast.

I didn't read the THR article carefully the first time (in my excitement) and I just realized Diablo Cody is a screenwriter, and she wrote Juno.  I love that film!

Thanks for linking the THR article, as well as the links to Jonathan's references to Darren and to the other two actors,  Lin!

EDIT: 

Here's more info on Jonathan Gabay. 

annenberg.usc wrote:
Jonathan Gabay

Executive Director, Comedy Development & Animation

FOX


After graduating from USC in 2004, Jonathan spent a few years as an assistant in the reality world at FremantleMedia and Sony. He made his foray into scripted programming in 2008 at the CW in current programming working on such shows as Smallville, The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, and Supernatural. Jonathan has been at FOX in the comedy development and animation department since 2011 and is responsible for overseeing such shows as Family Guy, The Simpsons, and New Girl. He was also responsible for developing Enlisted, The Mindy Project, Brooklyn 99, and the forthcoming series Last Man on Earth.

Link

EDIT: 

In November 2015, he was promoted from director of comedy development and programming, to Vice President of comedy development and programming.   Variety   (Thanks Lilikoiluv, for the correction!   I like that we watch out for each other!  )

If this show has as much potential as The Mindy Project and Brooklyn 99, then that's impressive.   I used to watch TMP on FOX, until it went to Hulu, and I really like Brooklyn 99.   I haven't watched Enlisted or The Last Man on Earth.  Has anyone?

Ok, gotta go for now, but thanks so much for this, Lin.      Let's wait and see what happens. 

I was also thinking about the haircut. My initial feeling with the way he posted about it (or even just the fact that he was cutting it so short at all) was that it had to be for some audition/screen test... But I don't know, I don't want to over-analyse Darren. He's allowed to get a haircut just because!   No, he's not. A role is the only acceptable excuse for cutting off the curls, shhhh.

Poppy wrote:Wow.  This is neat.  Lin, you are so good at catching these hints!    Really hope this speculation pans out!!

Poppy wrote:Ok, gotta go for now, but thanks so much for this, Lin.   Let's wait and see what happens.  

See what I did there?
But let's not thank me yet only to have it turn out the "hints" where just my wishful thinking and I got us excited for nothing.  

What an intriguing and catch, Lin!  Thank you for capturing it all before it was deleted and also for the background info!    Thanks also for the extra info, Poppy!

This sounds quite promising, doesn't it?  I gather from the article that the project is likely to get a green light, which makes Jonathan Gabay's tweet extra exciting! The fact that he deleted it right away also makes me suspect that he did not want to give anything away until a formal announcement could be made perhaps?  Perhaps he's already knowledgeable about the power of fandom's Darren-related CSI skills to pick up on all things Darren.  lol. 

Poppy wrote:In November 2015, he was promoted to director of comedy development and programming.   Variety

According the the article you linked to, and a deadline.com one that probably picked up the Variety article, Gabay was promoted from Director of Comedy Development and Programming to Vice-President of Comedy Development and Programming. The fact that he's such a high-ranking person at FOX and he tweeted that tweet that included Darren (and seemed excited about it), makes this news even more exciting!

Is Rachel Allyn a musician? Do I have the right Rachel Allyn? If so, could it somehow be related to music for the show?  I doubt it, because you don't have to cut your hair (if this project is what the mysterious haircut was for) to write music for a show. If she is the correct Rachel Allyn, perhaps she's providing some music for the show, or dipping into acting?  I digress.

Poppy wrote:Like dusty said to me recently, we agree that there seems to be some fascinating significance to Darren getting that haircut on the same anniversary date that he posted the photos of his famous haircut for Glee.  And I think it was you who pointed this out, Lin, that his recent short haircut happened a good deal in advance of Darren's SF Hedwig shows.

Lin wrote:I was also thinking about the haircut. My initial feeling with the way he posted about it (or even just the fact that he was cutting it so short at all) was that it had to be for some audition/screen test... 

Yes, Yes, and YES! I too agree that the haircut could only have been for an audition/screen test of some kind (ala his Blaine audition).  The fact that he actually filmed and announced it via twitter and instagram also had me wondering because he could have just done it and downplayed any comments if it were just a haircut. It must have been something important for him to cut his curls and longer hair, which he kept during his NYC Hedwig run. And it is something he (or his fans) can refer back to if/when a formal announcement about a related project happens. "Remember when I cut my hair, guys?" or "So THAT'S why he cut his hair!"  

Lin wrote:But I don't know, I don't want to over-analyse Darren. He's allowed to get a haircut just because!   No, he's not. A role is the only acceptable excuse for cutting off the curls, shhhh.

I wholeheartedly agree with you Lin, and I'll repeat it out loud:  A role is the only acceptable excuse for cutting off his gorgeous curls!

Lol. I kinda just did all of the overanalyzing for you in my excitement didn't I, Lin.   

Poppy wrote:Cross fingers everyone, and let's collectively send our powerful mental vibes to FOX:  Darren!  Darren!  Darren!  !    

*joins chant* (if this is something Darren wants)

I've been sick for the last couple of days.  Thanks for getting my energy and brain excited a bit, Lin, *Jeremy*, and Poppy! Exciting Darren speculation is the best medicine!  

Lin wrote:I was also thinking about the haircut. My initial feeling with the way he posted about it (or even just the fact that he was cutting it so short at all) was that it had to be for some audition/screen test... But I don't know, I don't want to over-analyse Darren. He's allowed to get a haircut just because!   No, he's not. A role is the only acceptable excuse for cutting off the curls, shhhh.

This post speaks the truth (and I completely agree with you and Lilikoiluv about the only justification for cutting off his cute curls.  Sorry Jeremy.  )

Lin wrote:But let's not thank me yet only to have it turn out the "hints" where just my wishful thinking and I got us excited for nothing.  

Disagree with you on this, Lin.  We do have reason to thank you for presenting these "clue" and "hints," even if they do not pan out, because the process of trying to guess what comes up next for Darren's career is half the fun!!  So you definitely deserve our thanks!  (Plus, if it does come true, we have you to thank for being the first ones to figure it out!  So thank you, Lin!)

Lilikoiluv wrote:This sounds quite promising, doesn't it?  I gather from the article that the project is likely to get a green light, which makes Jonathan Gabay's tweet extra exciting! The fact that he deleted it right away also makes me suspect that he did not want to give anything away until a formal announcement could be made perhaps?  Perhaps he's already knowledgeable about the power of fandom's Darren-related CSI skills to pick up on all things Darren.  lol.

So agree about all of this, Lilikoiluv!

Lilikoiluv wrote:According the the article you linked to, and a deadline.com one that probably picked up the Variety article, Gabay was promoted from Director of Comedy Development and Programming to Vice-President of Comedy Development and Programming. The fact that he's such a high-ranking person at FOX and he tweeted that tweet that included Darren (and seemed excited about it), makes this news even more exciting!

Oops, you are right!  My bad, this is what happens when you read something in a rush.   Thank you for correcting me, Lilikoiluv!  Yes, this makes it even more exciting! (And I'm not a fan of Deadline, which is why I didn't link to it.  I have my biases. )

Lilikoiluv wrote:Is Rachel Allyn a musician? Do I have the right Rachel Allyn?

Regarding one of the other 2 persons who Jonathan Gabay linked to in his tweet, she is Allyn Rachel (not Rachel Allyn).  I did the same thing too (plus, you are not feeling well because of your cold); I thought her first name was Rachel, but that is her last name.  This is what comes up from IMDb.  If you google her, the pics of her match what she looks like on her twitter (that Jonathan linked to). 

Lilikoiluv wrote:
Yes, Yes, and YES! I too agree that the haircut could only have been for an audition/screen test of some kind (ala his Blaine audition).  The fact that he actually filmed and announced it via twitter and instagram also had me wondering because he could have just done it and downplayed any comments if it were just a haircut. It must have been something important for him to cut his curls and longer hair, which he kept during his NYC Hedwig run. And it is something he (or his fans) can refer back to if/when a formal announcement about a related project happens. "Remember when I cut my hair, guys?" or "So THAT'S why he cut his hair!" 

Yup, I agree with this. 

Lilikoiluv wrote:*joins chant* (if this is something Darren wants)

I've been sick for the last couple of days.  Thanks for getting my energy and brain excited a bit, Lin, *Jeremy*, and Poppy! Exciting Darren speculation is the best medicine!  

I was wondering if this show, if this turns out to be true, has a short season or if he is a guest star (versus a regular cast), because I always thought it was important to Darren to be able to have the freedom to do a variety of projects, including theater projects, which seems to be what he gets the most personal satisfaction from.    I am hoping if he did get an offer and if this is not what he wants, he would say "no," already knowing what it is like to be a long-term contract for a TV show.   I want Darren to be the person who defines what he wants to do career-wise. 



I'm sorry you are sick, Lilikoiluv    I hope you get better soon!   Please rest up!   (I have a sinus infection right now, so I sympathize (which is why i think Darren may want to rethink his current practice of French-kissing a new person for every Hedwig show in the month of November.  Tis the season for colds, unfortunately.  But that's just me being overly-protective.)

Something else I just remembered that may or may not mean anything. On Ricky's management website, it lists for Darren among actor/singer/etc
"PRODUCER - development of original TV series' for network and cable television"

hyphenatecreative.com wrote:

DARREN CRISS IS A RENAISSANCE MAN. WE HAVE HELPED HIM TO build as a:

• SINGER - self-released EP, signing a major record deal (Columbia), national sold out tour, gigs at some of the world's premiere concert venues (Carnegie Hall, Wembley Arena, Kennedy Center, Staples Center), setting up and managing sessions with songwriters and producers, formulating recording and marketing budgets
  
• SONGWRITER - song placement in the series finale of GLEE leading to an Emmy nomination, #1 position on Billboard's Cast Albums Chart
  
• HOST - national TV hosting gig (Teen Choice Awards, WeDay)
  
• ENTREPRENEUR - founder partner of NYC's first outdoor music festival for showtunes, ElsieFest, founding partner of the award winning Men's grooming company TheMotley.com, founding partner of the internet musical theater production company Starkid Productions
  
• PRODUCER - development of original TV series' for network and cable television
  
• ACTOR - ongoing role consultation and scouting, general meeting introductions, premiere party organization and sponsorship, contract negotiation, press relations
  

I don't know how long that has been listed there, and it would seem really random if he was somehow involved in developing a show about synchronised swimming, but I have no idea what else it could be referring to. Does it even refer to anything concrete or is it just an empty line to add some more flavour to an already diverse resume? But that would be extremly random.  
Of course, even if it does refer to something concrete, it doesn't really have to mean anything. For example, I believe Jennifer Morrison (currently Emma on OUAT) had a producer credit on the first season of Glee basically just for bringing the initial script to Ryan's attention.

Any idea what it's about, am I missing something obvious here? It's just weird because everything else on the list is stuff everyone knows about.

Lin, you are quite a detective, aren't you?  Wow, color me impressed with your investigative skills!

Thanks for the new piece of info.  Hmmmmm.   That is another piece that is already adding up to mean something is up.  I agree, it would be random to just add that bit about Producer on this list, although like you also said, it could just be that he financially contributed, or played a small role (like selling a concept, as you said) about a TV show.   But . . . being the big Darren fan who I am, and a person who is prone to excitement about his career news at the drop of a dime , I think something is up! 



So if he is a producer for the synchronized swimming show, that means he has some say in some creative choices in terms of casting and script?  Or not necessarily?  I guess it depends on how major his role is as a producer.  But maybe if he does have a major role as a producer, he will be able to pop in and out on the TV show as a recurring guest star (so that he has some flexibility as to his schedule, and ability to do other projects, such as in theater). 

Anyway, Lin, this new piece of info that you so skillfully unearthed is just adding to my anticipation and hopefulness regarding this new TV show. 

And thank you Lin, for the link to Ricky's management website.  That is useful to have. 


We are so lucky to have you as part of this little forum.  Thanks so much for all these clues, and for putting them together for us!   

From dailydarrennews:



Cute. 

Poppy wrote:Lin, you are quite a detective, aren't you?  Wow, color me impressed with your investigative skills!

I can't take credit for this one, I actually saw someone else mention it maybe a month ago. But no idea if it was a new addition on the site or if it's been around way longer and they just happened to find it then. Also, sorry I didn't report back right away, but I didn't give it much second thought at the time.

Poppy wrote:Thanks for the new piece of info.  Hmmmmm.   That is another piece that is already adding up to mean something is up. I agree, it would be random to just add that bit about Producer on this list

I just like to cover my bases and not assume anything! So I was consindering the possibility that maybe it's just something Darren is vaguely interested in that they're helping him look into, but nothing has really panned out in that field yet. But it would still be strange to include because everything else on the list is concrete stuff that has happened.

In any case, something really does seem to be up, but I wonder if we're anywhere close to it or if we're just piecing together things that have nothing to do with each other.  

Poppy wrote:We are so lucky to have you as part of this little forum.  Thanks so much for all these clues, and for putting them together for us!   

Thank YOU so much for creating this place! I would never feel comfortable starting or joining any of these discussions on Tumblr, so I'm really grateful to have our nice little group here.

Poppy wrote:From dailydarrennews:



Cute. 

I love Halloween too. Happy Halloween, guys 

Count me in as another who thinks something's up! The new website, the sudden gig....hmm...Surely it can't all be coincidental? Intriguing about the producer listing. DC is usually so secretive so surely he wouldn't put anything up there like that unless it really is something he's done? Very interesting if he is involved in a brand new original TV show! If that's the case then I hope he'll be starring in it too!

Lin wrote:But it would still be strange to include because everything else on the list is concrete stuff that has happened.

In any case, something really does seem to be up, but I wonder if we're anywhere close to it or if we're just piecing together things that have nothing to do with each other.  

I agree it would be strange to include that on a list of concrete stuff.  haha!  Yes, I have a feeling something is up, but what exactly . . .     Speaking for myself, I love the clues that you are providing to us!   It's so fun to see all of them together!    Thanks Lin!

Lin wrote:Thank YOU so much for creating this place! I would never feel comfortable starting or joining any of these discussions on Tumblr, so I'm really grateful to have our nice little group here.

Aw thanks, Lin.  That's so nice of you to say.  I appreciate that. 

dusty wrote:Count me in as another who thinks something's up! The new website, the sudden gig....hmm...Surely it can't all be coincidental? Intriguing about the producer listing. DC is usually so secretive so surely he wouldn't put anything up there like that unless it really is something he's done? Very interesting if he is involved in a brand new original TV show! If that's the case then I hope he'll be starring in it too!

Yes to this post!   It's too many coincidences together, right?

I agree that this is out of character for Darren, to have the producer listing public, although it's on Ricky's list, but I'm sure Darren knows about it.   Darren does not like any word to get out until something is a sure thing, and even then, the announcement is usually at the last possible moment (and sometimes not even by him, himself, but by the project). 

If he is involved in a new TV show, that would nice for us to be able to see him on our screens again, especially for the international fans who haven't been able to see him for a while because of the distance to his shows in the U.S.

And Happy Halloween to you too, Jeremy and to everyone else!   Looking forward to seeing the adorable kids in their costumes!

The Jackal Group owned by Gail Berman is working on a musical comedy project called Royalties starring Darren Criss, which centers on a trio of songwriters at a Burbank recording complex enduring the minutiae of issues in the music business while collaborating to crack the next saccharine hit song of the summer… Allyn Rachel & Patrick Carlyle (Couple Time webseries) are the writers. 20th Century FOX Television is the studio.
[...]
We’ll see in a couple of months if one of those is picked-up to pilot.
http://season-zero.com/scoop-darren-criss-damon-wayans-jr-how-i-met-your-mothers-creators-back-at-fox-with-comedy-projects/

I can't believe we were sort-of right!!! Except this makes a whole lot more sense than the synchronised swimming thing! I guess Jonathan Gabay had just glanced at the headline and later deleted the tweet because he realised it was the wrong project.
So exciting, let's hope it gets picked up.

Wow!  This is great news!   See Lin, I knew your detective skills were onto something!   Thank you so much again for putting all the clues together!  


haha!  This does make more sense than the synchronized swimming project, although I actually like that idea because I sort of like things that are coming out from left field sometimes. 


The two writers, Patrick Carlyle and Allyn Rachel are partners and they wrote other projects together.   They focus on comedies. 


Cross your fingers everyone that this project gets picked up and that we get a pilot aired! 


ha!  yes, I think Jonathan Gabay was confused about the project.   So it seems that Simon Cowell and Diablo Cody are involved with another project.


So how does this explain why Darren got more muscular.  Would the character be writing songs without a shirt?    But it does explain the haircut! 



I'm very excited about this.  Really, really hope it pans out!   Come on FOX!!!

Let's all chant together:  PILOT!  PILOT!  PILOT!

Thank you for this exciting news, Lin 

Actually, I see three good news in this one :
- we would watch Darren every week on TV
- it's a musical TV show, which means we would watch him acting AND singing
- it's a comedy and I love comedies

Btw, it's still possible he has a (small) role in that swimming TV show.

Hi Jeremy!

Jeremy wrote:Thank you for this exciting news, Lin 

Actually, I see three good news in this one :
- we would watch Darren every week on TV
- it's a musical TV show, which means we would watch him acting AND singing
- it's a comedy and I love comedies

Btw, it's still possible he has a (small) role in that swimming TV show.

All good points, Jeremy!   I love comedies too and I would love to see Darren on my TV every week.  

Does anyone know if most FOX shows are long seasons (20 plus episodes)?  Or can they be less?

Jeremy, I was wondering about the singing part.   I hope we see some singing! 

I have to admit I was very excited when I read that Hollywood Reporter article about Darren and Ian possibly working together.  I hope that Darren does have a small role in Ian's show about the synchronized swimmer. 

Off topic, but Jeremy, i will watch the next episode of Twin Peaks (episode # 2 of season 2) next week and comment next week.  Sorry, about the delay.

Poppy wrote:Jeremy, I was wondering about the singing part.   I hope we see some singing!

I assume this is the "new project" he was working on with Tim Davis. So downside, probably still no album anytime soon, but if he's writing/singing songs for a TV show that we get to see him on weekly instead, I certainly won't complain.