or


[02/14/05 - 12:00 AM]
Development Update: February 14
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!

20 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU'RE 30 (UPN, New!) - "King of the Hill" veterans Alan Cohen and Alan Freedland are looking to import the British comedy of the same name - about four twentysomething friends who create a list of 20 things they want to do before they are 30 and set out to accomplish them - for UPN. The netlet has given a pilot order to the project, which is set up at Touchstone Television. The news marks the second time the comedy has been developed for U.S. audiences, the first being by Conan O'Brien and Lester Lewis ("Happy Family") for NBC in 2003 (read the story). Cohen and Freedland will write the pilot script and executive produce.

3 LBS. (CBS) - Oscar-winner Barry Levinson has been tapped to direct the pilot for the project, a medical drama revolving around brain surgeons. Already cast in the Paramount Network Television-based pilot is Reiko Aylesworth while Peter Ocko and Paul Stupin are the executive producers.

CRAZY LAWYERS (FOX) - Aimee Garcia ("All About the Andersons") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about a successful golden boy lawyer (Chris O'Donnell) who has a nervous breakdown and teams up with another mentally disturbed lawyer with an anger problem to help people with issues, legal and otherwise. She'll play the lawyer in distress' loyal assistant in the project, which comes from executive producers Bill Chais, Jeff Rake and Barry Josephson as well as 20th Century Fox Television.

EIGHT SIMPLE RULES (ABC) - The Alphabet threw some extra support behind another one of its veteran comedies over the weekend, ordering two extra installments of "Rules." Said order brings its season total to 24 episodes. To date this season "Rules" is averaging 7.03 million viewers, ahead of fellow Friday comedies "Less Than Perfect" (6.48 million) and "Complete Savages" (6.09 million) and just short of "Hope & Faith" (7.35 million).

THE EVIDENCE (ABC) - Oscar winner Martin Landau ("Ed Wood") and Orlando Jones ("Evolution") have been cast the drama pilot, a San Francisco-based procedural which presents all the evidence and then tries to deconstruct the crime. Jones will play Det. Clint Bishop in the project while Landau is believed to be set as Dr. Saul Gold. Here's how Bishop is described in the show's casting notices: "Early-mid 30s, African-American, charismatic, sensitive, compassionate, well-educated (MA's in criminal psychology), Bishop is a San Francisco detective. He is trying to resuscitate his partner, Sean Riley, and gets a lot of flak for his propensity to play "therapist" to everyone. Bishop has a brother in prison, and will struggle with his eventual release, as well as with his own capacity for forgiveness." Gold then is described as: "65-72, seasoned, respected, wry, he's a CSU supervisor with nothing left to prove." The project is set up at John Wells Productions and Warner Bros. Television.

FRIENDS IN THE A.M. (UPN, New!) - Courteney Cox and David Arquette's Coquette Productions has scored a pilot order from the netlet for a new comedy about the brutally honest, fiercely loyal and incredibly complex on- and off-camera exploits of the three female hosts of a morning talk show. Allison Gibson ("Reba") is on board to write and executive produce the project, which is set up at Touchstone Television. Cox and Arquette will also serve as executive producers.

NUMB3RS (CBS) - The Eye has ordered four additional episodes of the successful Friday-night drama, bringing its season total to 12 installments. 11.55 million viewers tuned into its February 4 broadcast, making it the most-watched program on the night.

REUNION (FOX) - Chyler Leigh ("The Practice") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, about the lives of six close friends from their high school graduation in 1986 to their 20th reunion in 2006. Leigh joins the previously cast Alexa Davalos, Sean Faris, Amanda Righetti and Dave Annable in the project, which comes from "Tru Calling" creator Jon Harmon Feldman, Warner Bros. Television and Class IV Productions. Leigh will play Carla, a good girl whose life is transformed over the show's 20 years.

THRESHOLD (CBS) - Charles S. Dutton ("Roc") is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, about a female government contingency analyst who leads a team of scientists and military personnel to respond to the threat of a mysterious alien lifeform. No details were given about his character in the project, which comes from Paramount Network Television and executive producers David Goyer, David Heyman, Bragi Schut, Mark Rosen and Brannon Braga.

UNTITLED DAN MAZER PROJECT (NBC, New!) - "Da Ali G Show" executive producer Dan Mazer has booked a pilot presentation order from the Peacock for a new sketch comedy series along the lines of the HBO comedy. Already cast in the pilot are Matt Walsh ("Old School"), Andrea Savage ("The 40-Year-Old Virgin"), A.D. Miles ("Wet Hot American Summer") and Zach Galifianakis ("Late World With Zach"). No other details were released about the project, other than it will will mix actors (as newscasters) and real-life people, in the vein of "Ali G."

UNTITLED TOM FONTANA/BARRY LEVINSON PROJECT (The WB) - Ernest Waddell ("The Wire") and Penn Badgley ("The Mountain") have signed onto the drama pilot, an ensemble drama about the lives of students and teachers at a small Manhattan college. HBO Independent Productions and Warner Bros. Television are behind the project, which comes from Fontana, Levinson, Jim Finnerty and Julie Martin.

Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [february 2005]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· 20 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU'RE 30 (UPN)
· 3 LBS. (CBS)
· ALL ABOUT THE ANDERSONS (WB)
· BEDFORD DIARIES, THE (WB)
· COMPLETE SAVAGES (ABC)
· DA ALI G SHOW (HBO)
· DOG BITES MAN (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· EIGHT SIMPLE RULES (ABC)
· EVIDENCE, THE (ABC)
· HAPPY FAMILY (NBC)
· HEAD CASES (FOX)
· HOPE & FAITH (ABC)
· KING OF THE HILL (HULU)
· LESS THAN PERFECT (ABC)
· MOUNTAIN, THE (WB)
· NUMB3RS (CBS)
· PRACTICE, THE (ABC)
· REBA (CW)
· REUNION (FOX)
· TALK SHOW DIARIES (UPN)
· THRESHOLD (CBS)
· TRU CALLING (FOX)
· WIRE, THE (HBO)





[09/04/26 - 01:31 PM]
Peacock Greenlights New Competition Series "Get Me Out of Here" (wt) Co-Hosted by Maura Higgins and Rob Rausch
An updated and amped-up take on the massive global format "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!" the series is set in a dense and unforgiving jungle, pairing celebrities with a non-famous friend or family member in the ultimate test of friendship.

[09/04/26 - 11:49 AM]
ABC News Wins Friday Night and Late Night
"20/20" posted double-digit gains week to week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, hitting 6-week highs in both measures.

[09/04/26 - 10:01 AM]
Apple TV's Hit Drama "Silo" to Return for Fourth and Final Season on July 9, 2027
The complete third season of the acclaimed world-building drama starring and executive produced by Rebecca Ferguson is now streaming on Apple TV.

[09/04/26 - 08:01 AM]
Production Underway in Prague for Netflix Series Based on Dan Brown's "The Secret of Secrets"
Newly announced cast includes Mamadou Athie, Ben Levi Ross, Anamaria Marinca, Richard Sammel, and Elena Saurel.

[09/04/26 - 08:00 AM]
Paramount+ Celebrates Mexican Independence Day Weekend with Combat Sports Doubleheader on Saturday, September 12
The wall-to-wall action kicks off with Noche UFC: Silva vs. Delgado at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT.

[09/04/26 - 03:31 AM]
Video: "Schumacher '94 - The Birth of a Legend" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Michael Schumacher's first World Championship win roars to life through personal interviews and archival footage of the legendary 1994 Formula 1 season.

[09/03/26 - 03:15 PM]
Brutal Murder Inspired by Horror Film Is First Original ABC News Video Podcast to Premiere Exclusively on Disney+ and Hulu Sept. 4
Based on the Hulu documentary, the six-part series - with new, never-before-seen material and hosted by the producers of the original documentary, Pat Rogers and Conor McCarthy - takes viewers deeper into the slaying of Idaho teenager Cassie Stoddart by killers influenced by a horror film.

[09/03/26 - 02:31 PM]
FOX Greenlights "Mammoth," A New Comedy Series from Emmy Award-Winning "Modern Family" Co-Creator/Executive Producer Christopher Lloyd and Executive Producer/Writer Danny Zuker
Based on the original BBC Studios U.K. production of the same name and created by Welsh comedian and writer Mike Bubbins, "Mammoth" is produced by FOX Entertainment Studios.

[09/03/26 - 02:01 PM]
"Famous Last Words" Honors the Life and Legacy of Gloria Steinem
Conducted by Emmy Award winner Brad Falchuk in February 2025, the episode captures Steinem not just as a media spokeswoman, but as a lifelong traveler on the road to justice.

[09/03/26 - 01:32 PM]
Video: Abbott House Rock - "Abbott Elementary" Season 6
No such thing as too cool for school(house).

[09/03/26 - 01:01 PM]
Netflix Expands Broadcast Team for First-Ever Regular Season NFL Game in Australia
The studio desk and in-game broadcast team will also return across Netflix's entire 2026-2027 NFL slate, with more names to come.

[09/03/26 - 11:03 AM]
Kevin Zegers, Paul Gross, and Milla Jovovich Join the Cast of "Heated Rivalry" Season 2
And the crowd goes crazy.

[09/03/26 - 11:03 AM]
Video: "R.J. Decker" Season 2 - Official Trailer - Premieres September 15
The stakes are higher and the cases are weirder, but R.J. Decker is just getting started.

[09/03/26 - 10:10 AM]
"Gold Rush" - New Season Premieres Friday, October 2 on Discovery Channel
As soaring gold prices attract a new wave of fortune seekers to the Yukon, mining veterans and ambitious newcomers alike risk everything in pursuit of life-changing riches.

[09/03/26 - 10:08 AM]
Deliciously Deceptive Desserts Hide in Plain Sight in New Food Network Series "Sweet Deceit" Hosted by Josh Peck
The series is hosted by actor Josh Peck, who hilariously commands the on-screen hijinks as he leads contestants through four rounds as they try to identify masterfully disguised sweets created by world-class cake artists.