 |
 |
[08/07/08 - 07:01 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, August 7
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!
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? (FOX) - The network has ordered nine additional episodes of the series, bringing its third season total to 22 hours. Mark Burnett Productions and Zoo Productions are behind the project, which shifts to Friday nights starting September 5. Jeff Foxworthy hosts.
THE CONVERSATION (AMC) - Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 feature is once again being eyed for the small screen, this time at AMC. Christopher McQuarrie ("The Usual Suspects") and Erik Jendresen ("Band of Brothers") are penning the latest adaptation, following their previous pass for ABC/ABC Studios in 2006. Tony Krantz and Coppola are also returning via their respective companies Flame Ventures and American Zoetrope for Sony Pictures Television. McQuarrie, Jendresen and Heather McQuarrie then will executive produce alongside Krantz. As for specifics, the new incarnation will center on electronic surveillance expert Harry Caul (played by Gene Hackman in the film) as he works as an eavesdropper with a larger, ongoing storyline about who's monitoring him as he hears conversations he shouldn't be privy to. The AMC version will also bet set in the 1970s, unlike the ABC version which was set in present day. Prior to ABC, Krantz sold a version to NBC in 1995 as an agent, with Ron Bass writing and Kyle MacLachlan attached to star.
DROP DEAD DIVA (Lifetime) - Golden Brooks ("Girlfriends") and April Bowlby ("Two and a Half Men") are the latest additions to the drama pilot, about Deb, a dead aspiring actress-model who is reincarnated in the body of Jane (Brooke Elliott), a chubby, brilliant attorney. Brooks is set as Kim Kastle, who's detailed via the casting notice as: "Late 20s-Mid 30s, all ethnicities, in a Michael Kors suit, with a blue Hermes bag. Kim is a partner at the same law firm as Jane. Confident, savvy, manipulative and rather bitchy, she is not as smart as Jane, or as well liked by the clients, but she does know how to play the office politics game. For Kim, "everything's a competition. Every woman, a threat. Every man, a conquest"." And Bowlby then is playing Stacy Punt: "Early 20s, all ethnicities, "Sports Illustrated swimsuit sexy," a vapid but sweet young woman. She is Deb's best friend. Shallow, but with a gushy, fun personality, she is offended when Deb suggests she get a job and tells her, "I'm a model." Later, Stacy is the only person in whom Jane (Deb) confides about her rather unusual situation." Jackson Hurst and Margaret Cho also star in the Sony Pictures Television-based hour, which James Hayman is helming from a script by Josh Berman.
THE INFORMANT (FOX, New!) - Tom Szentgyorgyi ("Journeyman") is developing a domestic take on the Australian series of the same name, about Richard Button, a regular middle-class suburban dad who works as a police informant for an elite federal investigative agency. Greg Haddrick was behind the original version. 20th Century Fox Television and Alchemy Entertainment are co-producing.
LOVELAND (FOX, New!) - The network is reportedly close to importing the upcoming U.K. dating series, in which participants select their dates based on interactions with computer-generated versions of potential suitors. Jo Pine created the format, which comes from Tom Gutteridge's Standing Stone Productions. Antwerp animation house Nazooka is behind the technology used in the show, which is set to roll out on Sky One later this season, as is a web-based version of the format.
SHAWN RYAN PROJECTS (Various, New!) - "The Shield" creator Shawn Ryan has set up three new projects around town - "The Lead Sheet" at A&E, "Millionaires Club" at FOX and an untitled hour at FX. That's in addition to "Confessions of a Contractor" at CBS, which was announced earlier this week. All four stem from his overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television. "Sheet," created by author James Ellroy, chronicles the hunt for the infamous Hillside Strangler - a prolific serial killer who tortured, raped and killed young women in 1977-78 in the hills above Los Angeles. The series then follows three police officers and two DAs as they investigate the killer, with each episode of the crime procedural starting with a tip leading to a violent crime that may or may not be related to the Strangler. Ellroy is penning the hour and executive producing alongside his manager Joel Gotler. As for "Club," the single-camera comedy revolves around a ragtag group of wannabe millionaires who keep coming up with ill-fated plots to get rich. "Semi-Pro" helmer Kent Alterman attached to direct the half-hour from a script by Ryan. And finally, Ryan is teaming with "Ocean's Eleven" writer Ted Griffin for the FX project, which is billed as a comedic drama about a private eye. Ryan is executive producing each via his MiddKid Productions banner with 20th producing the broadcast projects and Fox 21 shepherding the cable projects.
TREME (HBO) - Khandi Alexander ("CSI: Miami") and "The Wire" alums Wendell Pierce and Clarke Peters are the first to be cast in the drama pilot, a post-Katrina-themed drama which chronicles the rebuilding of New Orleans through the eyes of local musicians. David Simon and Eric Overmyer are behind the hour, which is also executive produced by Nina Noble for Simon's Blown Deadline Productions. As for specifics, Pierce will play Antoine Batiste, "an accomplished jazz trombonist who is now scratching for gigs, trying to support a live-in girlfriend and a new baby, while still carrying a torch for a failed marriage to Ladonna Batiste (Alexander), the mother of his two children, who is single-handedly keeping her bar afloat," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Peters then is set as Albert Lambreaux, a big chief of the White Feather Nation trying to bring the tribe's members home.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
|
|
|
 [august 2008]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| | | | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[05/21/24 - 11:00 AM]
HBO Original Documentary Series "Ren Faire" Debuts June 2
For half a century, 86-year-old George Coulam, known to his employees as King George, has reigned with an iron fist over the Texas Renaissance Festival, the largest such "faire" in the world.
|
[05/21/24 - 10:32 AM]
Video: "Worst Roommate Ever" Season 2 - Sneak Peek - Netflix
Roommate wanted? Desperation leads to danger - and even death - in one's own home as real-life nightmares of con artists, criminals and killers unfold.
|
[05/21/24 - 10:31 AM]
Netflix Renews Shane Gillis Scripted Comedy "Tires" for Season 2 Ahead of Series Premiere on May 23
As previously announced, Netflix has also ordered a new standup special from Gillis, to premiere in 2025.
|
[05/21/24 - 10:24 AM]
"60 Minutes" Makes Television History - The CBS Newsmagazine Is America's #1 News Show for the 50th Straight Season
This is the first time any program on television has reigned as #1 for five decades.
|
[05/21/24 - 10:03 AM]
Academy Award Winner Holly Hunter to Star in the Paramount+ Original Series "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy"
The series will follow the adventures of a new class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy.
|
[05/21/24 - 10:00 AM]
BBC America Sets Premiere Date for Sir David Attenborough's Major New Natural History Series, "Mammals"
Renowned naturalist and three-time Emmy Award-winner Sir David Attenborough presents the series, which reveals how mammals have conquered the Earth, uncovering the secrets to their success with their winning design, incredible adaptability, unrivalled intelligence, and unique sociability.
|
[05/21/24 - 09:04 AM]
HGTV Renews Hit Series "Ugliest House in America" and Greenlights Four-Episode Spin-Off Series "Scariest House in America" Both Starring Actress and Comedian Retta
"Not sure how I got roped into this," said Retta. "I don't do scary. I don't like to be scared. I don't like scary movies. Halloween is my least favorite holiday but here we are."
|
[05/21/24 - 09:02 AM]
BritBox Unveils Compelling Programming Slate with Premiere Date Announcements and First Looks for Exciting New and Celebrated Returning Series
Summer will see the powerful return of gritty, impactful crime dramas, starting with the June 13 return of "Blue Lights."
|
[05/21/24 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Sweet Tooth" - Final Season Official Trailer - Netflix
In this final chapter, Gus and his friends embark on a harrowing journey in hopes of curing the Sick - and finally discovering the truth about hybrids.
|
[05/21/24 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Shoresy" Season 3 - Official Trailer - Hulu
Foul-mouthed, chirp-serving, mother-loving, fan favorite "Letterkenny" character, "Shoresy" (Jared Keeso) joins the Sudbury Bulldogs of the Northern Ontario Senior Hockey Organization (aka The NOSHO) on a quest to never lose again.
|
[05/21/24 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Marlon Wayans: Good Grief" - Official Trailer - Prime Video
They say comedy is the best therapy. "Marlon Wayans: Good Grief" premieres June 4.
|
[05/21/24 - 09:00 AM]
Season Three of the HBO Original Drama Series "Industry" Debuts August 11
The series gives an insider's view of the blackbox of high finance following a group of young bankers as they forge their identities within the pressure cooker environment and sex and drug fueled blitz of international bank Pierpoint & Co's London office.
|
[05/21/24 - 08:06 AM]
Paramount+ Announces New Docuseries "How Music Got Free" to Premiere June 11
Directed by Alexandria Stapleton, the series made its world premiere at the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival.
|
[05/21/24 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Trigger Warning" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A Special Forces commando uncovers a dangerous conspiracy when she returns to her hometown looking for answers into her beloved father's death.
|
[05/21/24 - 08:01 AM]
Apple TV+ Announces Season Two of Hit Drama "Drops of God" Starring Fleur Geffrier and Tomohisa Yamashita
In season two of "Drops of God," Camille (Geffrier) and Issei (Yamashita) once again face a nearly impossible challenge: to uncover the origin of the world's most wonderful wine, a secret that even Alexandre Léger failed to unlock.
|
|
|
|
