or


[05/13/08 - 02:59 PM]
The Futon's Upfront Notes: Abc
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- A round-up of the various developments from ABC's upfront presentation that may have gotten lost in the shuffle:

-- 11 series didn't make the cut for ABC's 2008-09 season schedule, including "Oprah's Big Give." "We loved that show and absolutely would have loved to bring it back," ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson said in a conference call this morning. "But it was something [Oprah] didn't want to do." Also confirmed dead: "Big Shots," "Carpoolers," "Cashmere Mafia," "Cavemen," "Just for Laughs," "Men in Trees," "Miss/Guided," "Notes from the Underbelly," "October Road" and "Women's Murder Club."

-- ABC still has 17 pilots under consideration for midseason. McPherson detailed the projects during the actual presentation, which include eight comedies and nine dramas. They are "Bad Mother's Handbook," "Five Year Plan," "Never Better," "Roman's Empire," "This Might Hurt," "Fourplay" (previously "Untitled Kohan/Mutchnick Project"), "Single With Parents" (previously "My Brother's Hot (And Other Dilemmas)" and "In the Motherhood" on the comedy front and "Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas," "Castle," "Cupid," "Finnegan," "Good Behavior," "Prince of Motor City," "Untitled David Hemingson Project," "The Unusuals" and "Section 8" on the drama side. All except "Motherhood" were previously announced (as always, you can click on the links to the right for full details on any project). Said half-hour is based on the popular web series of the same name, which starred Jenny McCarthy, Chelsea Handler and Leah Remini. It's not clear why the "Untitled Victor Fresco Project," which has already cast Andrea Anders and Portia de Rossi, was not listed. Overall, only three scripted pilots were completed prior to ABC's upfront: "Life on Mars," "More Things Change..." and the "Untitled Cedric the Entertainer Project." McPherson, who went out of his way to affirm the necessity of the pilot process, hopes to order several new comedies and dramas by August and September respectively for midseason.

-- "Boston Legal" will return for its fifth (and final) season of 13 episodes. The series will shift to Monday's at 10:00/9:00c for its swan song, to be replaced by "The Bachelor" at midseason. McPherson says that creator David E. Kelley is expected to write most of the remaining episodes. Also due at midseason: the "Untitled Banks/Kutcher Project" will spell "Dancing With the Stars" cycles on Mondays while "Scrubs" and newcomer "The Goode Family" will fill the same void on Tuesdays. No time periods were specified for "Lost," "According to Jim" or "Primetime: What Would You Do?"

-- The "Life on Mars" pilot will likely be reshot. McPherson noted that the retooling could involve some recasting but the general idea is establish the vision of incoming executive producers Josh Applebaum, Andre Nemec and Scott Rosenberg.

-- "Here Come the Newlyweds" and "Dance War" may return. Neither project appeared on the Alphabet's 2008-09 schedule but each could potentially return according to network sources. Casting has already begun on a second season of "Newlyweds," however production on a new season hasn't been greenlit.

-- Other odds and ends. "Scrubs" and "According to Jim" have been picked up for 18 episodes each, while the network's fall schedule will kick off during the traditional "premiere week" of September 22.

-- And finally, additional cast and production information has been released about several of the aforementioned pilots:

· Dorian Missick ("Six Degrees") has joined the cast of "Bad Mother's Handbook," while Alison Owen, Faye Ward and Paul Trijbits of Ruby Films have been confirmed as executive producers.

· Newcomer Molly Quinn has been tapped to play Alexis Castle, the daughter of Nathan Fillion's character, in "Castle." Her character is further detailed in the casting notice as follows: "15. The daughter of Nick and Gina, Alexis is a natural beauty, the kind of old soul more at home with adults than with kids her own age. More interested in her physics textbook than in makeup, Alexis is deeply worried about her dad's sudden inability to write, and wants to see her father acting "normally" again. Pleased to share the Castle penthouse apartment with her grandmother, she's even more pleased when Nick's bickering friendship with Detective Kate Beckett gives Nick the germ of an idea for a new character."

· "Veronica Mars" veterans Danielle Stokdyk and Jennifer Gwartz will also serve as executive producers on Rob Thomas's "Cupid" update.

· Gail Mancuso, Jack Bender and Marc Buckland have signed on to direct "Five Year Plan," "The Prince of Motor City" and "Roman's Empire" respectively.

· Tina Majorino ("Veronica Mars") is set as Addy Fisher on David Hemingson's untitled hour.

· And Monique Gabriela Curnen is the first to be cast on "The Unusuals."





  [october 2025]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· ACCORDING TO JIM (ABC)
· ALPHAS (SYFY)
· BACHELOR, THE (ABC)
· BAD MOTHER'S HANDBOOK, THE (ABC)
· BETTER OFF TED (ABC)
· BIG SHOTS (ABC)
· BOSTON LEGAL (ABC)
· CAPTAIN COOK'S EXTRAORDINARY ATLAS (ABC)
· CARPOOLERS (ABC)
· CASHMERE MAFIA (ABC)
· CASTLE (ABC)
· CAVEMEN (ABC)
· CUPID (ABC)
· DANCE WAR: BRUNO VS. CARRIE ANN (ABC)
· DEEP END, THE (2008 VERSION) (ABC)
· FINNEGAN (ABC)
· FIVE YEAR PLAN (ABC)
· FOURPLAY (ABC)
· GOOD BEHAVIOR (ABC)
· GOODE FAMILY, THE (ABC)
· HERE COME THE NEWLYWEDS (ABC)
· IN THE MOTHERHOOD (ABC)
· JUST FOR LAUGHS (ABC)
· LIFE ON MARS (ABC)
· LOST (ABC)
· MEN IN TREES (ABC)
· MISS/GUIDED (ABC)
· MORE THINGS CHANGE… (ABC)
· NEVER BETTER (ABC)
· NOTES FROM THE UNDERBELLY (ABC)
· OCTOBER ROAD (ABC)
· OPRAH'S BIG GIVE (ABC)
· PRINCE OF MOTOR CITY, THE (ABC)
· ROMAN'S EMPIRE (ABC)
· SCRUBS (ABC)
· SINGLE WITH PARENTS (ABC)
· THIS MIGHT HURT (ABC)
· TRUE BEAUTY (ABC)
· UNTITLED CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER PROJECT (ABC)
· UNUSUALS, THE (ABC)
· WHAT WOULD YOU DO? (ABC)
· WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB (ABC)





[10/17/25 - 01:16 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Audience Performance Since July
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 139 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[10/17/25 - 10:38 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues Historic Hot Streak - Rising for Fourth Straight Week Since Premiere with 6 Million Total Viewers
Plus: "High Potential" dominated the 10 p.m. hour with 4.15 million Total Viewers and a 0.33 rating among Adults 18-49.

[10/17/25 - 10:01 AM]
51st Season of "Saturday Night Live" Continues with Three Back-to-Back Shows in November
Miles Teller is on tap to host on November 1, followed by Nikki Glaser on November 8, and Glen Powell on November 15.

[10/17/25 - 09:05 AM]
All-New Season of "The Last Woodsmen" Premieres Friday, November 14 at 9PM ET/PT on Discovery
Deep in the untamed wilderness of the Pacific Northwest, veteran logger Jared Douglas returns to put everything on the line in the new season.

[10/17/25 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia" - Sneak Peek - Netflix
A brutal mob war between John Stanfa and Joey Merlino plunges '90s Philadelphia into chaos and bloodshed in this captivating true-crime series.

[10/17/25 - 08:31 AM]
Video: "Me late que si" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A desperate, ordinary man, fed up with his misfortune, hatches a daring heist and assembles a very unusual group to attempt the impossible: stealing a live lottery jackpot.

[10/17/25 - 08:00 AM]
"Weapons" Begins Streaming Exclusively on HBO Max October 24
When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at 2:17 a.m., a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.

[10/17/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "My Secret Santa" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A vivacious single-mom (Alexandra Breckenridge) in need of a job decides to disguise herself as a man in order to get hired as the seasonal Santa at a luxury ski resort.

[10/17/25 - 07:01 AM]
"Euphoria" Season 3 Is Coming Spring 2026
Newly announced cast members include Gideon Adlon, Bill Bodner, Colleen Camp, Danielle Deadwyler, Homer Gere, Jessica Blair Herman, Natasha Lyonne, Hemky Madera, Kwame Patterson, Trisha Paytas, Rebecca Pidgeon, Bella Podaras, Cailyn Rice, Eli Roth, Madison Thompson, Jack Topalian, Sam Trammell, Matthew Willig.

[10/17/25 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "Eloa the Hostage: Live on TV" - Official Trailer - Netflix
This gripping documentary explores the case of a teenage girl who was kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend in one of Brazil's most shocking hostage situations.

[10/17/25 - 06:01 AM]
Apple Is the Exclusive New Broadcast Partner for Formula 1 in the U.S.
Apple TV will deliver comprehensive coverage of Formula 1, with all practice, qualifying, Sprint sessions, and Grands Prix available to Apple TV subscribers.

[10/16/25 - 02:11 PM]
Video: National Geographic Unveils First Look at "Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember" - A Powerful and Heartfelt Special Featuring the Global Movie Star on His Most Personal Journey Yet
The one-hour documentary, from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa, Jane Root's Nutopia, and Chris Hemsworth and Ben Grayson's Wild State, premieres November 23 at 9:00/8:00c on National Geographic and streams the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.

[10/16/25 - 12:58 PM]
Lifetime Announces Annual "It's a Wonderful Lifetime" Holiday Movie Slate Kicking Off November 29th
Featured talent this year includes Brandy Norwood, Kane & Katelyn Brown, Loretta Devine, Debbi Morgan, Arielle Kebbel, Tyler Hilton, James Lafferty, Vivica A. Fox, Jackée Harry, Sy'Rai Smith, Nischelle Turner, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, and others.

[10/16/25 - 12:31 PM]
Video: "The Witcher" Season 4 - Character Trailer - Netflix
Scattered to fates unknown, Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri traverse the war-torn Continent and its countless enemies in the hope of finding each other again.

[10/16/25 - 11:32 AM]
A+E Global Media and Rachael Ray's Free Food Studios Cook Up Expanded Programming Partnership with Over 100 New Episodes Ordered
The network has ordered 110 new episodes of Ray's programming, including new episodes of "Meals in Minutes," that will continue to focus on her approachable and comforting cooking style.