Todd Holland negotiating hefty new TV deal

Openly gay Emmy-winning director Todd Holland (Malcolm in the Middle) is negotiating a "mid-seven-figure" contract with Regency Television and 20th Century Fox Television, reports Variety. The new pact would call for Holland to create, develop, executive-produce, and direct new projects for both studios while continuing on as executive producer and director of Malcolm.

"[Holland] brings a real creative vision and style from the director's chair, and he likes to do things that are a little off-center and strange," says Regency Television president Pete Aronson. Dana Walden at Fox concurs: "He has really been at the top of every director list we've put together for the last four pilot seasons. He's a great developer because he understands how to work with writers to get scripts where they need to be." Holland is already at work on a show for next season in collaboration with out writer Bryan Fuller (NBC's upcoming Carrie remake).