or


[04/15/05 - 12:00 AM]
Development Update: April 15
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!

AMBUSH MAKEOVER (Syndication) - Twentieth Television has pulled the plug on the syndicated makeover series as the distributor has confirmed the series will wrap its run by Monday, September 12. Originally rolled out last season for a regional test run on several Fox owned-and-operated stations, "Ambush" expanded to national syndication in the fall where it currently averages a modest 1.1 household rating. Twentieth and producer Banyan Productions nevertheless are hoping to sell its nearly 300-episode run (which cost a relatively cheap $75,000 per half-hour) as a library product to both broadcast and cable networks.

THE BREAK (FOX) - The drama pilot, about an engineer (Wentworth Miller) who inserts himself into a prison he designed to help his brother (Dominic Purcell) - a death row inmate who insists he is innocent - escape, has been greenlit to series as FOX has committed to 12 episodes of the project in addition to its pilot. The news marks the first series order by the broadcast networks for the 2005-06 season. FOX hasn't specified however if the series will debut this summer or later during the broadcast networks' usual fall rollout, although the former is more likely the case. Sarah Wayne Callies, Peter Stormare, Amaury Nolasco, Marshall Allman, Robin Tunney and Wade Williams all star in the project, which could also feature both Jessalyn Gilsig and Stacy Keach in recurring roles. Paul Scheuring, Dawn Parouse, Marty Adelstein, Neal Moritz and Brett Ratner (who directed the pilot) are the executive producers of the series, which is set up at 20th Century Fox Television, Adelstein/Parouse Productions and Rat Television. A search for a showrunner currently underway.

CAROL POTTER GETS A LIFE (ABC) - Jenna Von Oy ("The Parkers") and Kevin Dunn ("All the King's Men") have both joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about a middle-aged woman (Brenda Blethyn) who leaves her picture-perfect family life for a divorce and a job. Dunn will play her ex-husband with Von Oy as her uptight daughter. Eugene Byrd and Erin Hershey Presley also star in the project, which comes from NBC Universal Television, Touchstone Television and Conaco Productions. Holly Hester, Conan O'Brien, A.J. Morewitz and Jeff Ross are the executive producers.

FILMORE MIDDLE (NBC) - Deon Richmond ("Sister, Sister") has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about disillusioned teachers at a rundown public school. He'll join the previously cast Justin Bartha, Sarah Alexander and Phil Hendrie in the NBC Universal Television-based project, which comes from creator Matt Tarses.

LIFETIME'S ORIGINAL MOVIES (Lifetime) - The ever-busy Aisha Tyler, whose duties this season have included roles on "24," "C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation" and the CBS drama pilot "Ghost Whisperer," is set to star opposite Raven Symone in the original movie "For One Night." The project, which comes from von Zerneck/Sertner Films in association with RES IPSA Media Inc., centers on a black teenager (Symone) who, with the help of a newspaper reporter (Tyler), braves decades of segregation to stage the first interracial high school prom in the history of their small town. Gary Lennon is writing and directing "Night," which begins production next month in New Orleans. Also in the works are "The Marilyn Gambrell Story," about the life of a former parole officer who helps the children of jailed parents get their lives on track and the previously announced Kathy Bates-led "Ambulance Girl," about the true story of how former food writer Jane Stern conquered clinical depression after becoming a paramedic.

LIFETIME'S SERIES DEVELOPMENT SLATE (Lifetime) - The cable channel added two new drama projects to its development slate during its upfront presentation yesterday. Former CBS and PAX programming chief Jeff Sagansky and Paul Stupin ("Dawson's Creek") are behind "The Harbinger," which asks: "If you had only 24 hours to live and knew you could travel to your past, present or future to change the course of your life, what would you do?" Stupin will executive produce the project with Sagansky co-executive producing. Also new at the network is "Scarlett," about an Anne Rice-esque New Orleans-based gothic horror writer whose fictional characters mysteriously come to life. Bruce Willis' Cheyenne Productions (USA's "Touching Evil") is behind the project, with Robert Wolfe ("The 4,400") and Hans Beimler ("The Twilight Zone") executive producing.

The pair join the network's previously announced dramas in development: "The Hunters," about a family of spies who freelance for the C.I.A., from executive producer Efrem Seeger; an untitled project from executive producer Larry Sanitsky and co-executive producer Adriana Trigiani that follows a group of urban women from their wild days as singles to marriage and motherhood; "The Look," which explores corruption, back-biting and manipulation at a fashion magazine from John Tinker and co-executive producers John Murray, Peter Barsocchini and Wally Nicita; "The Gumm Sisters," about three overweight siblings - a dessert chef charged with a crime, a lawyer who defends her and an actress - from David Janollari, Kathy Najimy and writer/producer James Myhre; and Lions Gate Television's "Gravity" from Gale Anne Hurd and co-executive producer Charlie Craig, about astronauts stranded on a space station 200 miles from Earth and their interaction with the people who run Houston's Mission Control. The latter series is understood to be the furthest along in development and is being targeted as a limited-run series.

Comedies still in the works include: Jon Avnet and Ellen Williams's "Tripping the Prom Queen," a sitcom adaptation of Susan Shapiro's non-fiction book about a group of women who compete fiercely over everything from a job opening to the right school for their kids; "Dirty," about a ruthless woman trying to wrest control of a cosmetics company from her husband from Gale Anne Hurd and co-executive producer J. Paul Higgins; and "Thicker Than Water," a semi-autobiographical series from comedian Carol Leifer about a comedy writer who must cope with a dysfunctional family: her TV-sex-therapist mother, a dentist brother who can't settle down and two sex-obsessed sisters.

THE SHOW WITH A.J. CALLOWAY (UPN) - Justine Bateman ("Out of Order") has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, a fictionalized look at the life of BET personality/talk show host A.J. Calloway. She'll play Calloway's new confident, capable and sexy producer in the Sony Pictures Television/Handprint Entertainment-based project, which comes from executive producers David Goetch, Benny Medina, Jeff Pollack and Evan Weiss. Kel Mitchell also stars.

THE SIMPLE LIFE (FOX) - With a fourth season a near certainty, FOX is reportedly searching for a replacement for co-star Nicole Richie. Chief among the rumored replacements is Kimberly Stewart, the daughter of singer Rod Stewart. While both Richie and Paris Hilton have inked deals to star in at least five seasons of the series, FOX has yet to pick up their options beyond the current edition. A decision nevertheless is expected shortly with production beginning in late spring or early summer for a premiere date later this year.

THREE (CBS) - Newcomer Jama Williamson has booked the female lead in the comedy pilot, about a newly single guy (Zachary Levi) who suddenly finds himself the third wheel in the relationship between his best friend (James Van Der Beek) and the friend's wife (Williamson). Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen are behind the project, which is set up at Paramount Network Television.

THE TOM JOYNER SHOW (Syndication) - Litton Entertainment has cleared the weekend comedy/variety show in over 80% of the country, including stations in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Detroit as well as 38 of the top 40 U.S. markets. Reach Media - which also syndicates Joyner's radio program, "The Tom Joyner Morning Show" - is producing the series, with Litton serving as distributor.

Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [april 2005]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· 24 (FOX)
· 4400, THE (USA)
· AMBULANCE GIRL (LIFETIME)
· AMBUSH MAKEOVER (SYNDICATION)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· DAWSON'S CREEK (WB)
· DIRTY (LIFETIME)
· FIGHTING THE ODDS: THE MARILYN GAMBRELL STORY (LIFETIME)
· FOR ONE NIGHT (LIFETIME)
· GHOST WHISPERER (CBS)
· GRAVITY (LIFETIME)
· GUMM SISTERS, THE (LIFETIME)
· HARBINGER, THE (LIFETIME)
· HUNTERS, THE (LIFETIME)
· LOOK, THE (LIFETIME)
· MARSHA POTTER GETS A LIFE (ABC)
· OUT OF ORDER (SHOWTIME)
· PARKERS, THE (UPN)
· PRISON BREAK (FOX)
· SCARLETT (LIFETIME)
· SHOW WITH AJ CALLOWAY, THE (UPN)
· SIMPLE LIFE, THE (E)
· TEACHERS (NBC)
· THICKER THAN WATER (LIFETIME)
· THREE (CBS)
· TOM JOYNER SHOW, THE (SYNDICATION)
· TOUCHING EVIL (USA)
· TRIPPING THE PROM QUEEN (LIFETIME)
· TWILIGHT ZONE, THE (UPN)





[10/03/25 - 02:17 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting '25 MLB Wild Card Series
Across eight games, the MLB Wild Card Series is averaging 4.4 million viewers, up 65% from last year.

[10/03/25 - 12:37 PM]
BET+ Sets October 23 Premiere for "Carl Weber's The Family Business" Season 6
The 10-episode season will premiere with two episodes, followed by one episode weekly, with the finale on Thursday, December 18.

[10/03/25 - 12:07 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues to Shatter Records - Growing Two Weeks in a Row Since Season Premiere for First Time Since 2005
Plus: "High Potential" hit a season high in Total Viewers (4.24 million), growing by double digits over the show's comparable third episode from last fall.

[10/03/25 - 10:57 AM]
Legends, Champions and Icons of October Highlight FOX Sports' Postseason Broadcaster Lineup
FOX Sports begins its Postseason coverage Saturday, October 4 at 4:00 PM ET on FOX, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports App and FOX One as the New York Yankees face the Toronto Blue Jays.

[10/03/25 - 10:05 AM]
All-New Season of "Gold Rush" Returns with High-Stake Risks and Land Fury on Friday, November 7 at 8PM ET/PT on Discovery
With only a few short months to mine, top bosses and rising underdogs collide in a race to claim new ground, move more dirt, and strike it rich.

[10/03/25 - 09:12 AM]
FOX Nation Secures Exclusive U.S. Rights to Docuseries "Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar"
The acclaimed series will make its anticipated U.S. debut on FOX Nation on Monday, October 6.

[10/03/25 - 08:02 AM]
TNT Sports to Be Exclusive Home of 2025 NLDS & NLCS
Both best-of-five NLDS series begin Saturday, October 4.

[10/03/25 - 08:01 AM]
TNT Sports Sets BIG EAST Men's College Basketball Schedule for Inaugural 2025-26 Season
TNT Sports' regular season BIG EAST men's basketball schedule will feature 40 appearances by St. John's, UConn, Creighton, Xavier, and Marquette, programs that each clinched berths in last season's NCAA Men's Tournament.

[10/03/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "27 Nights" - Official Trailer - Netflix
When a woman is admitted by her daughters to a psychiatric clinic for her carefree ways, an expert must judge if she is ill or simply wants to enjoy life.

[10/03/25 - 04:01 AM]
Video: "Steve" - Official Trailer #2 - Netflix
Over one intense day, the devoted head teacher of a last-chance reform school strives to keep his students in line while facing pressures of his own.

[10/03/25 - 03:02 AM]
Miguel Herran Will Play Poli Diaz in "El Porto the Vallecas," the New Film by Daniel Calparsoro for Netflix
Inspired by true events, the film follows the life of Policarpo "Poli" Díaz (Miguel Herrán), a young man from Vallecas who, despite a childhood marked by poverty and family violence, became a boxing legend in 1980s Spain, even fighting for the world lightweight title.

[10/03/25 - 03:01 AM]
Netflix Honors Jane Goodall with Posthumous Release of "Famous Last Words" Docuseries Following Her Passing
The series showcases reflective interviews with some of the world's most influential cultural figures, who agreed to sit down and discuss their legacy, and give their final words, with the understanding that it would only be shared with the world after they passed.

[10/02/25 - 04:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers the Most-Watched WNBA Semifinals Ever
Game 5 between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces averaged 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2.1 million.

[10/02/25 - 03:01 PM]
Video: "Twisted Wonderland" - Trailer - Disney+
Your favorite villains reimagined in ways you've never dared to dream.

[10/02/25 - 02:51 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting Day One of MLB Wild Card Series
Coverage of Red Sox versus Yankees averaged 6.5 million viewers, peaking at 9.9 million.