CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- The latest development news, culled from recent wire reports:
ASK RITA (Syndication) - Litton Syndication has renewed the half-hour talk show for a second season. Comedian Rita Rudner hosts the series where she gives advice on the most comical relationship dilemmas. Set to appear in the coming weeks are William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Pamela Anderson and Michael Clark Duncan.
CORPORATE SPY (New!) - Gale Anne Hurd ("Adventure Inc.") has signed a development deal with Viacom Productions. The pact calls for her Valhalla Television banner to develop exclusive projects for the studio. So far Valhalla has two projects in the pipeline. The first, entitled "Corporate Spy," is a drama about an estranged mother and daughter who become corporate spies. Erica Beeney ("Project Greenlight") is on board as the writer of the project. The other is a blind script commitment with writer Michael Caleo ("The Sopranos," "RedHanded").
E-BAY TV (Syndication) - Ahmad Rashad ("Celebrity Mole") will co-host the upcoming syndicated series from Sony Pictures Television. Rashad will share duties with the previously announced personality Molly Pesce. The duo have already begun work on the project, which is set for a fall 2004 bow, shooting segments this week for the pilot at L.A.'s the Grove shopping center. The producers plan to use the popular auction site as a backdrop for stories about pop culture, entertainment and everyday people, as well as how-to segments.
FOR LOVE OR MONEY/WHO WANTS TO MARRY MY DAD? (NBC) - The Peacock has greenlighted reunion specials for both reality series as the network's summer schedule draws to a close. Both one-hour specials are set to air Monday, September 1, bumping the two-hour finale of "For Love or Money" to September 8. Bruce Nash along with 3 Ball Productions' J.D. Roth, Todd Neslon and John Foy are the producers of both series.
FRIENDS (NBC) - Christina Applegate ("Married... With Children") is set to reprise her Emmy-nominated role as Rachel's (Jennifer Aniston) self-centered kid sister. The episode, set to air during November sweeps, has Amy (Applegate) being called on to babysit at the last minute for her infant niece Emma.
THE LIST (NBC, New!) - Reality guru Bruce Nash ("For Love or Money," "Who Wants to Marry My Dad?") is developing an new drama/reality series hybrid at the Peacock. The project, which is in the early stages of development, will feature a loose plotline in which a key character is killed off each week. Audiences will help determine who gets bumped off each week. Nash is currently looking for writers to create a production bible for the series, upon which the Peacock will decide whether to move forward with the project.
THE LYON'S DEN (NBC) - Popular singer/actress Jewel will make her TV series debut when she guest-stars in three episodes of the Peacock's new drama. She'll play a competitive lawyer from the Department of Justice who matches up in an important case against her former fianc� - Jack Turner (Rob Lowe).
ROCK RANGERS (MTV, New!) - Bruce Nash has landed a script commitment at the music channel for a new animated series described as a "superhero musical."
MR. AND MR. NASH (ABC) - Veteran TV writers Stan Zimmerman and Jim Berg are on board to write the pilot for the Alphabet's Alan Cumming-led project. The one-hour dramedy is a "Hart to Hart"-esque series about a pair of gay interior decorators who moonlight as detectives. The project, from Carsey-Werner-Mandabach and executive producers Steve Martin and Joan Stein, in being targeted for midseason.
WHO WANTS TO BE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA? THE DEBATING GAME (GSN) - California gubernatorial candidates Gary Coleman and Mary Cook have signed on to appear on the cable network's new limited-run series. The duo, along with two other yet-to-be-determined candidates, will talk about their platforms and discuss issues. Former MTV VJ Kennedy will host the series, which will run from Wednesday, October 1 through election day on October 7.
UNTITED BRUCE NASH PROJECT (FX, New!) - The always busy Nash has scored a script commitment for an untitled comedy about the behind-the-scenes of a reality production company. Nash is likening the show to a "Larry Sanders" for reality TV producers.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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