or


[05/01/14 - 11:28 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, May 1
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- The latest development news, culled from recent wire reports:

Looking to keep track of all the various projects in development? Click here to visit our signature "Devwatch" section. There visitors can view our listings by network, genre, studio and even development stage (ordered to pilot, cast-contingent, script, etc.). It's updated every day!


BESSIE (HBO, New!) - Queen Latifah is set to play iconic blues singer Bessie Smith in a proposed biopic at the pay channel, which "chronicles how Smith overcame her tempestuous personal life to become one of the most acclaimed performing and recording artists of the 1920s and '30s, earning the nickname Empress of the Blues." Dee Rees (Pariah) wrote and will direct the project, which is based on the biography "Bessie" written by Chris Albertson. Latifah will also executive produce alongside Shakim Compere, Lili Fini Zanuck, Richard Zanuck, Shelby Stone and Randi Michel with Hallie Foote as co-executive producer and Ron Schmidt as producer for Flavor Unit Entertainment and the Zanuck Company. (Deadline.com)


DIG (USA/UCP; W: Gideon Raff & Tim Kring; D: S.J. Clarkson) - Regina Taylor and Omar Metwally have both booked roles on the event series, about an FBI agent stationed in Jerusalem (Jason Isaacs) who, while investigating a murder of a young female archeologist, uncovers a conspiracy 2000 years in the making. She'll play Ruth Ridell, "the U.S. ambassador to Israel who has little time for problems that Peter creates for her with the local authorities"; while he's set as Yussef Khalid, "an American who disappeared after being accused of murder." Alison Loren Sudol, Anne Heche and David Costabile also star. (THR.com)


HOW AND WHY (FX/FXP; W/D: Charlie Kaufman) - Marcella Plunkett (Dark Touch) has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, the story of a man, Goodman Hesselman (John Hawkes), who can explain how and why a nuclear reactor works, but is clueless about life. She'll play two roles, "Cynthia, a photographer at Goodman's new TV station in Murfreesboro, and Magda, Mendelson's (Michael Cera) secretary, whose day is spent in a cramped, tiny room, not much bigger than her desk." Sally Hawkins and Catherine Keener also star. (Deadline.com)


UNSTRUNG (ABC Family; W: Emily Whitesell; D: TBA) - Chanel Celaya and Sofia Mattsson are the first to be cast in the drama pilot, which explores the sexy, cutthroat, and emotional stakes of the professional world tour of tennis as brother and sister Luke and Ellie Holt compete to move up the ranks. Celaya will play the aforementioned Ellie, "an athletic, spunky beauty with great talent but not-so-great discipline"; with Mattsson as Ninotchka Andropov, "a diva ranked 3rd in the world but first in looks." (THR.com)


UNTITLED ANDY ST. CLAIR/PAUL O'TOOLE PROJECT (MTV, New!) - Andy St. Clair and Paul O'Toole have scored a cast-contingent pilot order from the network for a new comedy about "22-year-old Andy, who after he catches his girlfriend cheating, accidentally rear-ends a celebrity. Taking pity on Andy, the celebrity takes it upon himself to teach him how to man up." Odenkirk Provissiero's Marc Provissiero will executive produce the project with St. Clair and O'Toole serving as co-executive producers. (THR.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Brian Percival has bowed out of helming the AMC drama pilot "Knifeman" for personal reasons (Deadline.com); "Nashville" executive producer R.J. Cutler has signed a first-look development deal with CBS Television Studios for scripted projects, ending his run at Lionsgate Television (Deadline.com); Kristin Chenoweth has been cast as Maleficent in Disney Channel's "Descendants," "who butts horns with her daughter Mal (Dove Cameron)" (Deadline.com); Nestor Serrano and Brit Morgan will both recur on the new season of "Graceland" (TVLine.com); and Tyler Hilton is bound for the upcoming CBS drama "Extant" as "the chief coder on the Humanichs Project at the center of the story" (THR.com).






  [may 2014]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· BESSIE (HBO)
· DESCENDANTS (DISNEY)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DIG (USA)
· EXTANT (CBS)
· GRACELAND (USA)
· HOW AND WHY (FX)
· KEN JEONG MADE ME DO IT (MTV)
· KNIFEMAN (AMC)
· NASHVILLE (CMT)
· UNSTRUNG (ABC FAMILY)





[06/01/24 - 10:01 AM]
Video: "Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft" - Date Announcement - Netflix
Danger is her friend. Hayley Atwell is Lara Croft in "Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft," arriving October 10 on Netflix.

[06/01/24 - 08:59 AM]
Video: Starz Celebrates "World Outlander Day" Announcing November 22 Premiere Date for Second Half of Season Seven and Releases First Look Teaser
In addition to the eight remaining episodes in season seven, "Outlander" is currently in production on a 10-episode eighth and final season.

[05/31/24 - 01:15 PM]
"Air" to Make Broadcast Debut June 11 on ABC
From award-winning director Ben Affleck, "Air" reveals the unbelievable game-changing partnership between a then-rookie Michael Jordan and Nike's fledgling basketball division which revolutionized the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand.

[05/31/24 - 12:53 PM]
The CW Sets Return of "Masters of Illusion," "World's Funniest Animals" for Thursday, June 20
Look for said duo back-to-back starting at 9:00/8:00c.

[05/31/24 - 12:08 PM]
Disney+ Anthology Series "Goosebumps" Adds Recurring Cast Arjun Athalye, Stony Blyden, Sakina Jaffrey, Eloise Payet, Christopher Paul Richards and Kyra Tantao
The previously announced series regular cast includes David Schwimmer, Ana Ortiz, Sam McCarthy, Jayden Bartels, Elijah Cooper, Galilea La Salvia and Francesca Noel.

[05/31/24 - 10:31 AM]
"Saturday Night Live" Was the #1 Entertainment Series Across Broadcast and Cable for the 2023-24 Season in the 18-49 Demo
The top-rated telecast of the season in total viewers was the Ryan Gosling/Chris Stapleton episode on April 13, 2024, with 8.9 million.

[05/31/24 - 09:30 AM]
CBS Finales Dominate in Live+7 Viewership
CBS' May finales experienced significant increases with Live+7 Day viewing, currently having 16 of the top 25 shows with the highest seven-day lift.

[05/31/24 - 09:00 AM]
Max Original Comedy Special "Hannah Einbinder: Everything Must Go" Debuts June 13
Actress, comedian, and star of the Emmy-winning Max Original comedy series "Hacks," Hannah Einbinder takes the stage at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles for her first stand-up special.

[05/31/24 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "Juanpis Gonzalez: The People's President" - Official Trailer - Netflix
When a spoiled Colombian snob becomes president through money and connections, he finds staying in power takes more than he expected.

[05/30/24 - 08:01 PM]
"Master of the House" Unveils a Scandalous Tale of Power and Greed on July 18
The mysterious death of Asia's largest diamond tycoon sets the stage for the series, premiering on July 18.

[05/30/24 - 06:01 PM]
Video: "The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse" - Official Trailer #2 - Netflix
As a prophecy of doom unfolds upon the peaceful land of Britannia, a pure-hearted boy sets out on a journey of discovery - and revenge.

[05/30/24 - 04:02 PM]
"Son of a Donkey" Brings Back Theo and Nathan Saidden in New Series for Netflix and Princess Pictures
The Saiddens will write, direct, produce and star in the series also produced by Princess Pictures for Netflix.

[05/30/24 - 04:01 PM]
Netflix Announces New Romance Series from Japan Starring: Shun Oguri, Han Hyo-Joo, Yuri Nakamura, and Jin Akanishi
"Romantic Anonymous" (wt) is currently in production and will be coming to Netflix in 2025.

[05/30/24 - 02:16 PM]
Interest Rates Are at an All-Time High as Season 15 of Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles" Returns Wednesday, July 10 at 9 P.M. ET/PT
Returning for Season 15 are agents Josh and Heather Altman, Josh Flagg and Tracy Tutor.

[05/30/24 - 02:06 PM]
HBO, NFL Films, and the Chicago Bears Announce "Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Chicago Bears," A New Season of the Groundbreaking Sports Reality Series, Debuting August 6
General manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus will be at the helm, guiding 2024's first overall draft pick, quarterback Caleb Williams, 2024's ninth overall pick, wide receiver Rome Odunze, and an array of veteran players including DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Jaylon Johnson, and Montez Sweat.