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[05/29/26 - 11:52 PM]
Development Update: Week of May 25-29
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) |
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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!
ANGEL HEART (HBO, New!) - Zac Efron is attached to star in a small screen take on the 80s cult classic at the network: "Based on the William Hjortsberg's 1978 novel Fallen Angel and the sequel thereto Angel's Inferno and the series will follow a down-and-out NYC paparazzi, who makes his living finding and photographing people who don't want to be found, who is hired by a mysterious man to find a missing woman. But the deeper he digs to find her, the more it looks like a group of powerful elites, and maybe something supernatural, are covering up the disappearance." Writer Zach Baylin and director Jonathan van Tulleken are behind the project and will executive produce alongside Efron, Kate Susman, Marc Toberoff, Max Hjortsberg, Lorca Hjortsberg, Alice P. Neuhauser, Joe Hipps, Stuart Manashil, Kevin Turen, and Harrison Kreiss for A24, Youngblood Pictures, and Cut To. (Deadline.com, 5/28)
BAYWATCH (FOX) - Mary McDonnell will recur on the revival series while Michael Bergin and Kelly Packard are set to reprise their roles of Jack "J.D." Darius and April Giminski, respectively. McDonnell will play Gayle, "Hobie's (Stephen Amell) and Charlie's (Jessica Belkin) grandmother, a sophisticated woman with a wryly funny presence. She cares deeply for her family and is there for them even when they're not sure they want her help. Gayle and Hobie have a long, complicated history, but no matter how much time or distance gets between them, family always seems to find its way back together. She's learned a thing or two about second chances over the years, and she shares that wisdom with humor and grace." (Deadline.com, 5/29)
BIRDS, THE (New!) - Sarah Snook is attached to star in a proposed limited series set to make the rounds from Tom Spezialy described as "a visceral, present-day reimagining of Hitchcock's classic set in Spezialy's home state of Alaska with a murder mystery at the center and new characters, led by a new female protagonist, Myra Massey (Snook)." David Heyman and Jennifer Gabler Rawlings will also executive produce for Omni Artists, Universal International Studios, and Heyday Television. (Deadline.com, 5/29)
BISHOP (Amazon) - The Joel Kinnaman-led drama has booked the following recurring roles: Bronson Pinchot as Dougray Dillion; Ron Lea as Lt. Jack Quinn; Kaniehtiio Horn as Tasha Graves; Hunter Dillon as Ren Graves; Dillon Casey as Inspector Banton; Brett Donahue as Lee Donnally; Jorja Cadence as Lara Stone; Ishan Davé as Inspector Ashish Rai; and Adam J. Harrington as Eric Olsen; with Rick Hoffman guest starring as Martin Stone. (Deadline.com, 5/28)
CONVICTION (Hulu) - Sebastian De Souza and Adam Godley have been cast in the Elisabeth Moss-led legal drama in yet-to-be-revealed roles. (Deadline.com, 5/27)
CRY WOLF (FX) - Jon Tenney has been added to the limited series as Ian Farr, "polished, handsome, slick and smart as a whip. He's ruthless and one step ahead of everyone else, able to control an entire courtroom and destroy the opposing council with ease. A former criminal defense attorney, he now sees himself as a champion for fathers after his own bitter divorce, which made him a "found man" with a whole new belief system. He masterfully controls the courtroom in the show's climactic trial." (Deadline.com, 5/29)
DURANGO (Hulu) - Cooper Hoffman has scored a lead role on the drama pilot: "After an injury ruins his Olympic dreams, Mikey, an easy-going and street-savvy local snowboarding legend, pays his rent the old-fashioned way, by agreeing to a green card marriage. Secretly, he yearns for more, and when he falls for newcomer Bunny, he unwittingly gets pulled into something far more dangerous." (Deadline.com, 5/26)
EINSTEIN (CBS) - Tony Shalhoub will recur on the newcomer as Jack Einstein, "Lewis Einstein's (Matthew Gray Gubler) father." (Deadline.com, 5/28)
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE (Netflix) - Willa Dunn has been cast in the show's already ordered second season as Nellie Oleson: "On the surface, Nellie (Dunn) is a world-class spoiled princess and a playground bully. Smart and supremely confident, sharp-tongued but easily wounded. Lives and breathes to make Laura Ingalls (Halsey) miserable. But beneath her mean-girl persona is tenderness and a yearning for true friendship - even if she doesn't know exactly how to get it." (Deadline.com, 5/27)
LONG NOW, THE (Netflix, New!) - Semi Chellas has sold a new drama to the streamer: "A man has seven hours to solve his own murder with the reluctant help of his estranged ex. A propulsive thriller that explores the value of time and asks, What would you do if you had one day to live?" Jason Bateman and Michael Costigan of Aggregate Films are also on board to executive produce. (THR.com, 5/28)
LORD OF THE RINGS, THE: THE RINGS OF POWER (Amazon) - Preproduction on a fourth season of the series is eyed for this fall, with shooting to begin in early 2027. A fourth season however has yet to be officially greenlit. Season three bows on November 11. (Variety.com, 5/27)
MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, THE (MGM+) - Joanne Froggatt is in final talks to play "the leader of the Quaker group under siege" on the series. (Deadline.com, 5/28)
MOBLAND (Paramount+) - Tom Hardy has not been fired from the series despite last week's reporting. The latest report indicates "discussions are underway to find a way for Hardy (who plays gangster Harry Da Souza in the Paramount+ show) to come back." (Variety.com, 5/28)
NEAGLEY/REACHER (Amazon) - Star/executive producer Alan Ritchson and his Dancing Skeleton banner have signed a three-year first-look television deal with Amazon MGM Studios. (Deadline.com, 5/27)
OFF WEEKS, THE (Apple TV) - Tom Francis will recur on the Richard Gere-led limited series as "Jonathan's (Gere) son." (Deadline.com, 5/26)
PUNKY DUCK (Amazon) - Jorge R. Gutierrez has bowed out of the AI-driven animated series after backlash from creative peers and fans. (@mexopolis, 5/29)
ROMAN, THE (Netflix) - The Oscar Isaac-led drama series has cast Shalom Brune-Franklin and Jimmy O. Yang. Brune-Franklin will play Jessica Christine "JC" Griffin: "An alert and ambitious rising star at the casino, JC serves as a vital host and fixer, managing the whims of high rollers while harboring her own big plans for the future." And Yang is Rich Tzu, "a sophisticated, Eton-educated executive who serves as a rival to Isaac's protagonist, Bobby." (Deadline.com, 5/29)
SIDEMEN PRESENTS: SIDEMENU (Amazon/YouTube, New!) - Sidemen Productions has booked a four-part culinary competition series on the streamers: "SideMenu will see the Sidemen joined by a guest contestant as they take on a series of culinary challenges - a starter, main and dessert - with teams rotating every episode and individual points on the line." Episode one will premiere on the MoreSidemen YouTube channel on Thursday, June 18, with Prime Video exclusively premiering episode two on Friday, June 19 (with episode one made available at the same time). Episode three (June 26) and four (July 3) will follow on Prime Video with MoreSidemen landing episodes two, three and four two weeks later. Victor Bengtsson is presumably among the executive producers. (Deadline.com, 5/28)
THAT TEXAS BLOOD (FX, New!) - Jim Mickle and E.L. Katz are set to team for a small screen take on the Image Comics series from Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips at the network: "That Texas Blood is a neo-noir Western following Sheriff Joe Bob Coates of Ambrose County, Texas, who questions his place in an increasingly violent world when a man returns home following the sudden disappearance of his brother, causing a spiral down into a past filled with treachery and blood." The pair are penning the script with Mickle also directing. Condon, Michael Waldron, Adam Fasullo, Adam Fishbach, Jeremy Platt, and Linda Moran will also executive produce for 20th Television and Anomaly Pictures. Phillips is a co-executive producer. (Deadline.com, 5/29)
VIRGIN RIVER (Netflix) - Natasha Calis will recur on the show's eighth season as Dr. Astrid, "a brashly confident surgical resident who finds herself assigned to a rotation in Doc's (Tim Matheson) clinic after mysteriously being placed on probation. Her bedside manner may be lacking, but she's willing to do almost anything to get out of Virgin River and back in the surgical wing." Said role has the option to become a regular. (Deadline.com, 5/28)
WELCOME TO CATALINA (HBO Max, New!) - David E. Kelley and Michael Connelly are set to team for another adaptation at the streamer, this time based on the latter's 2024 crime novel "Nightshade": "Welcome To Catalina centers on Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Stilwell who has been "exiled" to a low-key post policing rustic Catalina Island. But while following up the usual drunk-and-disorderlies and petty thefts that come with his new territory, Stilwell gets a report of a body found weighed down at the bottom of the harbor." Kelley will write and executive produce alongside Connelly, Matt Tinker, Barry Jossen, Tana Jamieson, and Ross Fineman for David E. Kelley Productions, Ross Fineman Entertainment, and A+E Studios. (Deadline.com, 5/27)
X-MEN '97 (Disney+) - Executive producer Larry Houston has indicated seasons three and four of the animated series are deep into development. (EW.com, 5/27)
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[06/23/26 - 12:31 PM]
Video: DC, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Releases Official Trailer for "Batman: Knightfall"
Part one of the trilogy premiered tonight at the 2026 edition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival with an official release planned for later this year.
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[06/23/26 - 12:01 PM]
Video: Paramount+ Releases Official Trailer for "The Real Wolf of Wall Street"
The three-part documentary event premieres on Tuesday, July 14, exclusively on Paramount+.
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[06/23/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of June 15 - "I Will Find You" Chases Down No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
At No. 2 on the English TV list was "Outlast: The Jungle" with 3.9 million views.
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[06/23/26 - 11:16 AM]
Terry Crews Will Host Macy's 4th of July Fireworks on NBC
The star-studded event will feature performances by Noah Kahan, Post Malone, Salt-N-Pepa, Bebe Rexha, Shaboozey and Blake Shelton.
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[06/23/26 - 10:03 AM]
Disney+ and Hulu to Stream "Rabbit Hole" - pocket.watch Creator-Led Show Premieres July 13th
The half-hour 10-episode original series will debut as the largest ensemble of digital stars ever brought together for a premium series.
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[06/23/26 - 10:02 AM]
HBO Original Documentary Series "The Man Will Burn" Debuts July 9
The series goes behind the scenes to chronicle the evolution and ethos of Burning Man, the 40-year-old cultural event and temporary city built in the Nevada desert.
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[06/23/26 - 09:10 AM]
ESPN and Disney Jr. Encourage Preschoolers to Get in the Game, Team Up Again with Every Kid Sports to Expand Access to Youth Sports for Income-Restricted Families
"Me & Mickey: Let's Play Sports," a collaboration between Disney Jr., ESPN and Positive Coaching Alliance, will debut Monday, June 29, on Disney+, Disney Jr. (6:25 a.m. EDT/PDT) and Disney Jr. on Demand.
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[06/23/26 - 09:06 AM]
Video: HBO Max Releases Official Trailer and Key Art for Max Original Comedy Series "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe," Debuting July 23
Comic book store owner Stuart Bloom is tasked with restoring reality after he breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard, accidentally bringing about a multiverse Armageddon.
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[06/23/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: Her Kingdom Has Come - Paramount+ Reveals Trailer and First Look at Season 6 of "Tyler Perry's Ruthless" Premiering June 30
The series will launch with two episodes, followed by a weekly rollout culminating in the mid-season finale on Tuesday, August 25.
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[06/23/26 - 09:00 AM]
The CW Network Named Exclusive Broadcast Partner for Both Miss USA and Miss Teen USA 2026 Competitions
Both competitions will air live from the Ziff Ballet Opera House at the renowned Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, marking the return of the two competitions to The CW for the first time since 2024.
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[06/23/26 - 08:31 AM]
Netflix Unveils Upcoming Anime Slate Out of Annecy Festival
The Netflix Anime Studio Focus highlighted upcoming titles from some of Japan's most acclaimed creators and animation studios, spanning original stories, beloved manga adaptations, and returning fan-favorite franchises.
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[06/23/26 - 08:23 AM]
BET Names Keke Palmer to Its Board of Advisors, Deepening a New Era of Leadership and Cultural Stewardship
Formed earlier this month under BET President Louis Carr, the Board brings together cultural icons, business leaders, and industry visionaries to help steer the ongoing growth of the 45-year-old network as a key player at the crossroads of media, community, and culture.
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[06/23/26 - 07:01 AM]
A24's "The Drama" Begins Streaming Exclusively on HBO Max July 31
The film stars Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie, and Hailey Benton Gates.
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[06/23/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: 2026 MLB Home Run Derby - Official Trailer - Netflix
The best sluggers in baseball put their power to the test and chase home run glory live from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
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[06/23/26 - 07:01 AM]
"The Devil Wears Prada 2" Streams Exclusively on Disney+ and Hulu July 29
Gird your loins.
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