or


[02/03/05 - 12:00 AM]
Development Update: February 3
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 newly revamped "Series in Development" charts. Visitors can now filter our listings by network, genre and even development stage (ordered to pilot, cast-contingent, script, etc.). It's updated every day!

BLUE SKIES (NBC, New!) - Jhoni Marchinko ("Will & Grace") has scored a cast-contingent pilot order from the Peacock for a new comedy about a 27-year-old woman who finds herself the "reluctant enabler" to her eccentric family. The project, additional details of which were not available, is set up at NBC Universal Television.

BOSTON LEGAL (ABC) - Chi McBride is set to reprise his "Boston Public" role of Steven Harper in an upcoming episode of the David E. Kelley-produced series. The controversial installment is understood to revolve around the Winslow High principal's decision to ban certain network news coverage on school grounds. It's not clear if any of the other "Public" cast members will appear in the episode nor when it will air. Kelley is no stranger to crossovers, as "Boston Public," "Ally McBeal" and "The Practice" have all mingled at some point.

THE COMMUTERS (CBS) - Stephen Kay ("Boogeyman") has been tapped to direct the drama pilot, which revolves around three couples in the suburbs, the husbands of which all commute together each day on the train to New York City. Dan Bucatinsky ("All Over the Guy") created "Commuters," which is set up at Paramount Network Television.

DEVIANT BEHAVIOR (A.K.A. UNTITLED JOSH BERMAN PROJECT) (FOX) - Josh Berman's ("C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation") untitled drama pilot has been given a production green light and a title. The project, which is set up at Regency Television, revolves around a team that tracks serial killers. No other details were available.

DOG TOWN LAYWERS (The WB) - Jay Baruchel ("The Stones," "Undeclared") has scored the lead role in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced drama pilot, about the relationship between a young prodigy lawyer (Baruchel) and his mentor, a jaded defense attorney who has fallen from the big leagues. Jonathan Shapiro ("The Practice") created the Warner Bros. Television-based project, which will be executive produced by Shapiro, Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman.

EMILY'S REASONS WHY NOT (ABC, New!) - The Alphabet has given a showrunner-contingent pilot order to a small screen adaptation of Carrie Gerlach's book of the same name. The comedy, about a woman who publishes a self-help book but doesn't take her own advice, is set up at Sony Pictures Television and Pariah Television. Pariah's Gavin Polone and Vivian Cannon will executive produce the project along with Emily Kapnek ("As Told by Ginger").

THE GHOST WHISPERER (CBS, New!) - Famed psychic James Van Praagh ("The Dead Will Tell") has set up another project at the Eye, this time a cast-contingent drama pilot about a young newlywed who talks to the dead. John Gray ("Helter Skelter") is attached to write and direct the pilot as well as executive produce with Touchstone Television-based producers Ian Sander and Kim Moses ("Profiler"). Van Praagh will serve as a co-executive producer.

HOT PROPERTIES (ABC, New!) - Suzanne Martin ("Maybe It's Me") is back at ABC as the writer/producer has received a pilot commitment from the Alphabet for a new comedy about four women who run a real estate office in New York. The project is set up at Warner Bros. Television. Martin spent the past development season at ABC where she created the Gina Gershon-led comedy pilot "Hot Momma."

IN JUSTICE (ABC) - Jason O'Mara ("The Agency") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about a group of impassioned lawyers who aid the wrongly convicted. He'll play a detective working for the team in the project, which is set up at Touchstone Television and comes from feature writers Robert & Michelle King ("The Vertical Limit"). O'Mara's involvement stems from a talent holding deal the actor signed with the network and the studio in October (read the story). He's also no stranger to ABC, having spent the past development season as part of the failed drama pilot "Countdown."

QUANTICO (CBS, New!) - Jeff Davis and Mark Gordon ("Grey's Anatomy") have booked a pilot order from the Eye for a new a suspense thriller set inside the F.B.I.'s behavioral analysis unit. The drama project is set up at Touchstone Television with Davis writing the pilot script and executive producing with Gordon.

STACKED (A.K.A. UNTITLED PAMELA ANDERSON PROJECT) (FOX) - Tom Everett Scott ("That Thing You Do!") has joined the cast of the Pamela Anderson-led comedy, which now features the title "Stacked." Scott will play a bookstore owner who hires Pamela Anderson's character, a woman who's trying to change her life and break her habit of falling for less-than-responsible men. Steve Levitan is behind the 20th Century Fox Television-based project, which already has an on-air commitment of six episodes.

THE UNIT (A.K.A. UNTITLED DAVID MAMET/SHAWN RYAN PROJECT) (CBS) - Recent "The Shield" collaborators David Mamet and Shawn Ryan have been given a green light to produce the drama pilot, which now is running under the title "The Unit." The project, which previously had a put pilot commitment, chronicles the lives of the members of a special forces unit and their families. Mamet will write the pilot script and executive produce the 20th Century Fox Television-based project along with Ryan.

UNTITLED DAVID DIAMOND/DAVID WEISSMAN PROJECT (CBS) - The untitled project, from writers David Diamond & David Weissman ("The Family Man") and director Brett Ratner, has been given a green light to produce a pilot. The drama revolves around the lives of a sports agent and his wife, a magazine editor, as they juggle parenthood. Ratner will direct the project, which is set up at 20th Century Fox Television and Paramount Network Television, from a script by the duo.

UNTITLED SEAN JABLONSKI/JASON KATIMS PROJECT (FOX, New!) - Sean Jablonski ("Nip/Tuck") and Jason Katims ("Roswell") have scored a pilot order from FOX for a new drama which follows the staff of a fertility clinic. The pair will write and executive produce the project, which is set up at the 20th Century Fox Television-based Imagine Television, along with Imagine's David Nevins and Brian Grazer.

Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [february 2005]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· AGENCY, THE (CBS)
· ALLY MCBEAL (FOX)
· BLUE SKIES (NBC)
· BOSTON LEGAL (ABC)
· BOSTON PUBLIC (FOX)
· COMMUTERS, THE (CBS)
· COUNTDOWN (ABC)
· CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· DEAD WILL TELL, THE (CBS)
· EMILY'S REASONS WHY NOT (ABC)
· FERTILE GROUND (FOX)
· GHOST WHISPERER (CBS)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· HELTER SKELTER (CBS)
· HOT MOMMA (ABC)
· HOT PROPERTIES (ABC)
· IN JUSTICE (ABC)
· JUST LEGAL (WB)
· KILLER INSTINCT (FOX)
· MAYBE IT'S ME (WB)
· NIP/TUCK (FX)
· PRACTICE, THE (ABC)
· PROFILER (NBC)
· ROSWELL (UPN)
· SHIELD, THE (FX)
· STACKED (FOX)
· STONES, THE (CBS)
· UNDECLARED (FOX)
· UNIT, THE (CBS)
· UNTITLED DIAMOND & WEISSMAN PROJECT (CBS)
· WILL & GRACE (NBC)





[11/20/25 - 01:16 PM]
"Christmas in Nashville" Unveils Star-Studded Performer Lineup for Dec. 3 Country Music Holiday Special on NBC
Bill Murray & His Blood Brothers, Lauren Alaina, NE-YO, The War and Treaty and Trace Adkins are set to perform holiday favorites.

[11/20/25 - 12:32 PM]
"The Tonight Show" Enters the Upside Down - "Stranger Things" Cast to Make a Series of Guest Appearances on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon"
Millie Bobby Brown will co-host with Fallon on December 7, which is the final post-"Sunday Night Football" special episode of the season.

[11/20/25 - 12:30 PM]
Video: Acorn TV Debuts Trailer and Key Art for "The Madame Blanc Mysteries" Two-Part Christmas Special
Created by and starring Sally Lindsay, the special is set to premiere on Monday, December 15 and Monday, December 22, respectively, in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

[11/20/25 - 11:56 AM]
TV One Networks Commitment to the Culture Continues with 2026 Programming Preview Featuring Star Studded Stories, True Crime Confessions and Lifestyle Experts
Adding to the exciting new lineup, TV One continues its investment into the true crime genre with returning fan favorite titles and expansion of the popular "Fatal Attraction" franchise with "Fatal Attraction: I'd Kill to Be You."

[11/20/25 - 11:31 AM]
"Landman" Season 2 Premiere Delivers Record Breaking 9.2 Million Global Streaming Views in Its First Two Days on Paramount+
Views increased by +262% from the first season premiere, making it the most watched premiere for any original series for Paramount+.

[11/20/25 - 11:01 AM]
ESPN Signs Women's Basketball Analyst and Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo to Multi-Year Extension
She will continue as one of ESPN's lead voices on women's college basketball and WNBA coverage, including regular-season games, Champ Week, the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament and the WNBA Finals.

[11/20/25 - 11:01 AM]
BritBox Announces Season Three of Jimmy McGovern's Award-Winning "Time" Starring David Tennant and Siobhan Finneran
Set within a Young Offenders Institution, the season will explore the impact of locking up teenagers and the effects on those who look after them.

[11/20/25 - 10:17 AM]
All New Season of "When Calls the Heart" Returns January 4
Plus: Guess who's returning to Hope Valley... it's Brooke Shields!

[11/20/25 - 10:10 AM]
Tubi's YA Original Film "How to Lose a Popularity Contest" Premieres Exclusively on Tubi on January 16
The film is a sharp, flirty high school rom-com about a charming underachiever and a type-A overachiever teaming up to win student body president - and maybe each other.

[11/20/25 - 10:01 AM]
HBO Original Documentary "Paul Anka: His Way" Debuts December 1
From teen idol to chart-topping songwriter, Paul Anka has spent seven decades as one of the most prolific musicians in the world and he's still going.

[11/20/25 - 10:01 AM]
BET+ Original Film, "Love After Holidays," Premieres Thursday, December 4
The film stars Jacinth Headlam, Jeremy Meeks, Trina, Amia Brock, and Malik Yoba.

[11/20/25 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Train Dreams" - Final Trailer - Netflix
A logger leads a life of quiet grace as he experiences love and loss during an era of monumental change in early 20th-century America.

[11/20/25 - 09:01 AM]
Prime Video Announces Premiere Date for "Beast Games" Season Two and Shares First Look at New Beast City
The first three episodes will be available on January 7 with following episodes dropping weekly thereafter leading up to the Season Two finale on February 25.

[11/20/25 - 09:00 AM]
Lainey Wilson Set to Perform at the 99th "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade"
Wilson will take the stage in front of the iconic Herald Square flagship store.

[11/20/25 - 08:48 AM]
FOX's Reimagined "Baywatch" Brings the California Dream Back to Los Angeles Thanks to the State Film Commission's 40% Tax Credit
The tax credit was granted as part of the CFC's ongoing efforts to keep high-profile, job-creating productions in The Golden State.