or


[01/24/13 - 11:09 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, January 24
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!


ADVOCATES, THE (CBS) - Pilot wunderkind David Nutter has signed on to direct and executive produce the drama, about "a female lawyer and a male ex-con who team up as victim advocates, going to the edge of the law to right wrongs and fight for the underdog." Nutter, who has delivered 17 of his 18 pilots to series, will work from a script by Bruno Heller for Warner Bros. Television. (Deadline.com)


BROWSERS (Amazon) - Newcomers Dustin Ingram, Constance Wu, Bridgette Davidovici, Marque Richardson and Chris Wood have all been cast in the pilot, a musical comedy set in contemporary Manhattan that follows four young people as they start their first jobs at a news website. Details on their roles weren't given. Bebe Neuwirth also stars in the half-hour, from writer David Javerbaum and director Don Scardino. Amazon Studios is producing. (Deadline.com)


ENLISTED (A.K.A. UNTITLED KEVIN BIEGEL PROJECT) (FOX) - Kevin Biegel's comedy - about "three very different brothers working together in the Army at a small base in Florida" - has been given a pilot commitment by the network. 20th Century Fox Television is behind the single-camera project with Mike Royce also expected to serve in some capacity alongside Biegel. (Deadline.com)


GATES (NBC) - Ken Marino and Aasif Mandvi are the latest to board the comedy pilot, about the hijinks that ensue when parents drop off and pick up their kids at school each day. The former will play Mark Baxley, "a loveable, sweet, well-meaning, puppy-dog of a guy, a type B, or C, maybe even D to his wife's (Kathleen Rose Perkins) type-A personality." Mandvi then is set as another dad at the school, Trevor Palmer, "a super-driven, competitive Yale-educated lawyer who's one of these comedically intense guys who pushes his kids way too hard." Christina Kirk, Diana Maria Riva, John Grisetti and Justin Chon also star in the 20th Century Fox Television-based project, from director Marc Buckland and writers Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith. (Deadline.com)


JACK JOHNSON (HBO, New!) - Beau Willimon ("Ides of March") is spearheading a new four to six part mini-series at the pay channel about the storied life of the first African-American world heavyweight champion. Ken Burns and Playtone's Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman are on board to executive produce the project, which will be based on Geoffrey C. Ward's book "Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson." Burns, who was behind the Emmy-winning documentary of the same name, will also direct while Willimon will serve as a co-executive producer. (Deadline.com)


TOGETHERNESS (HBO, New!) - Mark and Jay Duplass ("Jeff, Who Lives at Home") have likewise booked a single-camera comedy pilot at the pay network about "two couples living under the same roof who struggle to keep their relationships alive while pursuing their individual dreams." Said duo penned the half-hour and will direct and executive produce with production eyed for an April start. Stephanie Langhoff also serves as a co-executive producer for their Duplass Brothers Productions banner. (Deadline.com)


TWO WRONGS (A.K.A. UNTITLED MICHELLE MORGAN PROJECT) (FOX) - Michelle Morgan has received a pilot commitment from the network for her comedy, about "a couple whose friends and family don't think they are right for each other." The single-camera effort is set up at the 20th Century Fox Television-based Chernin Entertainment with Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope as well as Kaplan Perrone Entertainment's Aaron Kaplan and Sean Perrone executive producing alongside Morgan. (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED ANDREW GURLAND PROJECT (FX, New!) - Andrew Gurland ("The Last Exorcism") has scored a pilot order from the cable channel for a comedy about "a married man who is given permission by his wife to get a mistress in order to save their marriage." Said effort is set up at FX Productions with Paul Young and Peter Principato executive producing alongside Gurland. Salamo Levin will serve as a producer. (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED CRAIG ROBINSON PROJECT (NBC) - The Craig Robinson-led comedy - about "a talented musician with rough edges who adjusts to his new life as a music teacher in a big-city middle school, where he encounters teacher politics and the temptations of single moms" - has scored a pilot order at the Peacock. Owen Ellickson penned the single-camera project and is executive producing alongside Greg Daniels, Tracy Katsky, Howard Klein and Mark Schulman for Universal Television. Robinson will also receive a producer credit. (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese's small screen take on "Zombieland" reportedly has found a new home at Amazon (Deadline.com); John Pyper-Ferguson will guest on "Once Upon a Time" as "a widower who wants nothing more than to help his young son heal from the loss of his mother" (EW.com); Sean Patrick Flanery and Charlotte Rampling have both landed roles on the upcoming season of "Dexter" as "the ex-cop owner of a private investigation company in Miami" and "a neuro-psychiatrist who specializes profiling criminals in unorthodox ways," respectively (Deadline.com, EW.com); Larry Manetti is bound for "Hawaii Five-0" as a local lounge legend who assists the team with a case (TVGuide.com); and Sendhil Ramamurthy soon-to-debut ADA Gabe Lowen has been upped to series regular on "Beauty and the Beast" (THR.com).






  [may 2013]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· ADVOCATES, THE (CBS)
· BEAUTY & THE BEAST (CW)
· BROWSERS (AMAZON)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DEXTER (SHOWTIME)
· ENLISTED (FOX)
· GATES (NBC)
· HAWAII FIVE-0 (CBS)
· JACK JOHNSON (HBO)
· ONCE UPON A TIME (ABC)
· TOGETHERNESS (HBO)
· TWO WRONGS (FOX)
· UNTITLED ANDREW GURLAND PROJECT (FX)
· UNTITLED CRAIG ROBINSON PROJECT (NBC)
· ZOMBIELAND (AMAZON)





[05/20/13 - 06:00 PM]
Grammy Award-Winning Artist Kelly Rowland and Global Pop Sensation Paulina Rubio Join Demi Lovato and Simon Cowell on "The X Factor"
"It's taken more than a decade, but I'm delighted to finally be on a panel with three girls," Cowell said.

[05/20/13 - 04:36 PM]
ABC Confirms "666 Park Avenue" Return on Saturday, June 22
The show's remaining episodes will air at 9:00/8:00c following fellow short-lived drama "Zero Hour," which returns the week prior.

[05/20/13 - 04:04 PM]
Friday's Cable Ratings: "Sons of Guns," "WWE Smackdown" Lead Demo Race
Plus: numbers for Starz's "Da Vinci's Demons," Animal Planet's "Swamp'd!" and VH1's "Best Week Ever."

[05/20/13 - 03:05 PM]
CBS Pulls Tonight's "Mike & Molly" Due to Tornado Storyline
The episode featured a related storyline to the tragic events this afternoon in Oklahoma.

[05/20/13 - 01:37 PM]
Investigation Discovery Asks "Where Are They Now?" in Update Edition Week, with Episodes Airing Nightly at 8 PM Beginning May 27
In-house crime expert Pat LaLama will provide updates to cases that have already been profiled on ID.

[05/20/13 - 01:17 PM]
Discovery Channel's May 19 Premiere of "North America" Grabs 3.4 Million Viewers
Discovery spins the numbers for Sunday, May 19.

[05/20/13 - 12:58 PM]
Orange County Choppers and Paul Senior Are Back at It with a Brand New Series on CMT
The new eight-episode series is produced by Pilgrim Studios and will premiere on CMT later this year.

[05/20/13 - 12:41 PM]
"Web Therapy" to Premiere Tuesday, July 23rd at 11 P.M. ET/PT on Showtime(R)
The show's third season was previously slated to launch the night prior.

[05/20/13 - 12:32 PM]
History(R) Announces New Season of "Ice Road Truckers" Premiering Sunday, June 9 at 10PM ET/PT
This season: after a year on hiatus, the queen of the road, Lisa Kelly, returns and chooses a side.

[05/20/13 - 12:25 PM]
Bruce Boxleitner Added to Cast as Series Regular in Hallmark Channel's "Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove"
Andie MacDowell, Dylan Neal and Teryl Rothery also star in the series, premiering Saturday, July 20.

[05/20/13 - 12:25 PM]
The Cast of ABC Family's "Baby Daddy" to Participate in Live Premiere Night Tweet-Off Wednesday, May 29th
Greg Grunberg will moderate the event, in which the cast will compete for new Twitter followers.

[05/20/13 - 12:17 PM]
2013 14-Game WNBA Regular-Season Schedule Begins Next Monday with Memorial Day Doubleheader
Plus: the Boost Mobile WNBA All-Star Game returns on Saturday, July 27, at 3:30 p.m. on ABC from Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.

[05/20/13 - 12:08 PM]
"The Big Bang Theory" Delivers Its Largest-Ever L+7 Day Lift in Viewers and Adults 18-49
CBS further spins the numbers for the week of April 29-May 5.

[05/20/13 - 12:02 PM]
NBC Kicks Off 2013 Search for the Nation's Funniest Comics
Since the inception of the program, many participating comics have gone on to sign with top Hollywood managers, agents, and met with leading casting executives.

[05/20/13 - 11:56 AM]
"Street Outlaws" Races Onto Discovery Channel This June
The series will air Mondays at 10:00/9:00c following new episodes of "Fast N' Loud."