or


[08/10/05 - 12:00 AM]
Development Update: August 10
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!

THE CLOSER (TNT) - 6.13 million viewers tuned into the show's August 1 installment, marking its largest overall audience since its commercial-free debut (7.027 million on 6/13/05). Among adults 18-49, the episode drew a 1.8 rating/5 share. Both numbers placed the episode ahead of its broadcast competition on NBC, UPN and the WB in the Monday, 9:00/8:00c hour, not to mention made it the top overall draw among all cable series for the week of August 1-7.

THE COMEBACK/ENTOURAGE (HBO) - "Entourage's" second season continued to climb in the ratings as Sunday's installment drew a season-best 2.2 million viewers, up 38.36% from its season premiere (1.59 million on 6/5/05). Conversely, lead-out "The Comeback's" struggles continued as 937,000 viewers tuned into its most-recent episode. (Numbers for "Six Feet Under" were not available.)

DARKSIDE (FOX) - The drama, about a group of astronauts who go missing after tracing an S.O.S. signal to the dark side of the moon where they discover a mysterious compound, reportedly remains in the works at FOX as its development has been rolled over to the 2006-07 season. Richard Hatem ("Miracles") has been tapped to write the script to the project, which was created by Brandon Beckner and Scott Sampila and is set up at Gina Matthews and Grant Scharbo's Roundtable Entertainment (ABC's "Laws of Chance") and 20th Century Fox Television. Matthews and Scharbo recently signed a two-year, first-look deal with 20th which gives the studio first crack at all of Roundtable's projects. As for "Darkside," director/producer Michael Dinner had previously been attached as an executive producer (through his Rooney McP banner, with an eye to direct) however it's not clear how his recent deal with Sony Pictures Television (read the story) will affect his role on the project. Overall, FOX has only given a script commitment to "Darkside."

E-RING (NBC) - Kelsey Oldershaw ("ER") has booked a recurring role on the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced newcomer. She'll play Angie, a potential love interest for Benjamin Bratt's character. No other details were given about Oldershaw's role.

EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT MEN (CBS) - Creator/executive producer Fred Barron has exited his role as showrunner on the Jenna Elfman-led midseason comedy, which is based on his U.K. series "According to Bex." Fellow executive producer Rob Hanning ("Malcolm in the Middle") is expected to take over for Barron, who reportedly is returning to his native London to continue his career there. Production on "Men" is set to begin in a few weeks.

FASTLANE (FOX) - Videogame channel G4 has snagged the rights to all 22 episodes of the short-lived FOX series, which will begin airing this Sunday at 8:00/7:00c on the network as part of its automotive-themed programming block "Whip Set." The news marks Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution's second off-network sale this year of the series, the other being Court TV (which airs the series on Saturday nights). No financial details were released about the deal. In total, "Fastlane" will now have run on four networks: FOX, Court TV, G4 and MTV, which repurposed the show's original 2002-03 run.

FILTHY RICH: CATTLE DRIVE/GIRLS NEXT DOOR (E!) - "Girls Next Door," the network's behind-the-scenes look at Playboy founder Hugh Hefner's current trio of girlfriends, opened to 990,000 viewers on Sunday, including a 0.5 rating/1 share among adults 18-49. Said numbers more than doubled E!'s time period average (up 143%) from the previous four-week period. Meanwhile, lead-out "Filthy Rich" fared just as well, averaging 816,000 viewers.

KATHY GRIFFIN: MY LIFE ON THE D-LIST (Bravo) - 850,000 viewers tuned into the launch of Kathy Griffin's new reality series, where it built off lead-ins "Kathy Griffin Is Not Nicole Kidman" (826,000) and the "Blow Out" reunion (550,000). Said viewership outperformed the recent debuts of "Situation: Comedy" (217,000) and "Project Greenlight" (311,000) but fell short of "Being Bobby Brown's" 1.1 million viewer launch.

LAGUNA BEACH: THE REAL ORANGE COUNTY/THE REAL WORLD (MTV) - "The Real World's" August 2 installment drew a whopping 5.68 million viewers, including a stellar 2.5 rating/7 share among adults 18-49 and a 15 share among viewers 12-34. Overall, "The Real World" was the top adults 18-49 draw for the week of August 1-7 on cable. Meanwhile, "Laguna Beach" drew 3.1 million viewers in its second week this season, down 13.89% from its July 25 premiere (3.6 million). Nevertheless, "Beach" finished the week of August 1-7 among the top 10 of all cable series.

MR. AND MRS. DOE (ABC) - The dramedy, about two single F.B.I. agents who go undercover as a married couple, is understood to still be in development at ABC and Gina Matthews and Grant Scharbo's Roundtable Entertainment. Ron Hanning ("Frasier") and Amy Welsh created the project, which has been rolled over to the 2006-07 season. Roundtable recently signed a first-look deal with 20th Century Fox Television, however "Doe" is set up at Touchstone Television.

REUNION (FOX) - Gregory Harrison ("Safe Harbor") has scored a recurring role on the freshman drama. He'll continue in his role from the pilot as Russell Bennett, the wealthy real estate developer and father of Sean Faris's character.

THE SHIELD (FX) - Sony Pictures Television has cleared the veteran cable drama on the WB 100+ Station Group starting in the fall of 2006. The two-year deal offers weekend only repeats to the participating stations for no cash license fees, but rather half of the 14 minutes of ad space in each episode for national sales. The news comes on the heels of Sony's clearance of "The Shield" on the 26 Tribune Broadcasting-owned local stations last month (read the story) as well as its weekday sale to Spike TV (read the story) beginning in March.

TOO LATE WITH ADAM CAROLLA (Comedy Central) - The cable channel latest late-night entry opened to a modest 652,000 viewers on Monday, where it held just 45% of lead-in "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart's" audience (1.45 million). Repeats of "The Daily Show" at 11:30/10:30c in the weeks prior to "Too Late's" debut had been averaging a 65%-70% retention of its first-run "Daily Show" lead-in.

ULTIMATE FIGHT NIGHT (Spike TV) - The first live telecast of "Ultimate Fight Night" drew 2.0 million viewers on Saturday, where it topped all cable networks among adults 18-49, adults 18-34, men 18-49 and men 18-34.

THE WAR AT HOME (FOX) - Rami Malek ("Over There") has been upped to regular on the FOX newcomer. He'll continue in his role as Larry from the pilot, the best friend of Kyle Sullivan's character.

WEEDS (Showtime) - 540,000 viewers caught the show's debut on Sunday following the series finale of "Queer as Folk" (547,000), while another 488,000 tuned into its time period debut on Monday at 10:00/9:00c (plus another 367,000 for its 10:30/9:30c encore). Overall, "Weeds" topped the November launch of "Huff" (456,000) but fell short of "Fat Actress's" debut earlier this year (924,000). The latter bow however was available as part of a free preview on the pay channel.

Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [august 2005]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· BEING BOBBY BROWN (BRAVO)
· BLOW OUT (BRAVO)
· CLOSER, THE (TNT)
· COMEBACK, THE (HBO)
· COURTING ALEX (CBS)
· DARKSIDE (FOX)
· ENTOURAGE (HBO)
· ER (NBC)
· E-RING (NBC)
· FASTLANE (FOX)
· FAT ACTRESS (SHOWTIME)
· FILTY RICH: CATTLE DRIVE (E)
· FRASIER (NBC)
· GIRLS NEXT DOOR, THE (E)
· HUFF (SHOWTIME)
· KATHY GRIFFIN: MY LIFE ON THE D-LIST (BRAVO)
· LAWS OF CHANCE (ABC)
· MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE (FOX)
· MIRACLES (ABC)
· MR. & MRS. DOE (ABC)
· NEWPORT HARBOR: THE REAL ORANGE COUNTY (MTV)
· OVER THERE (FX)
· PROJECT GREENLIGHT (HBO)
· QUEER AS FOLK (SHOWTIME)
· REAL WORLD, THE (FACEBOOK)
· REUNION (FOX)
· SAFE HARBOR (WB)
· SHIELD, THE (FX)
· SITUATION: COMEDY (BRAVO)
· SIX FEET UNDER (HBO)
· TOO LATE WITH ADAM CAROLLA (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· ULTIMATE FIGHTER, THE (ESPN)
· WAR AT HOME, THE (FOX)
· WEEDS (SHOWTIME)





[04/04/25 - 10:48 AM]
Video: Watch A First Look - ID's "All Access PD: Grand Rapids" Premieres Tuesday, April 8 at 10/9c on ID
The new series offers unprecedented access to the inner workings of the Grand Rapids Police Department.

[04/04/25 - 10:32 AM]
New Season of "Gold Rush: White Water" Premieres Friday, April 25 at 8PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel
Last year, Dustin Hurt's crew struck a 6-ounce, $70K nugget - the biggest in Gold Rush history. This season, he's risking everything for more.

[04/04/25 - 09:01 AM]
Hit the Gas! Prime Video Releases Premiere Date and First-Look Images for Electrifying New YA Drama "Motorheads"
All 10 episodes will debut exclusively on Prime Video on Tuesday, May 20 in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

[04/04/25 - 08:31 AM]
Peacock Exclusively Streams Blumhouse's "Wolf Man" Beginning April 18
Directed by acclaimed horror filmmaker Leigh Whannell, the film stars Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, Sam Jaeger, Matilda Firth, Benedict Hardie and more.

[04/04/25 - 08:01 AM]
HBO Original Film "Mountainhead," Written and Directed by Jesse Armstrong, Debuts May 31
The film finishes production this week in Park City, Utah and marks Armstrong's feature directorial debut.

[04/04/25 - 07:45 AM]
Prime Video Greenlights "Taurasi"
The three-part docuseries chronicles the extraordinary story of basketball legend Diana Taurasi, whose relentless pursuit of greatness has transcended the boundaries of sport.

[04/04/25 - 07:02 AM]
Video: "Earnhardt" - Larger Than Life Teaser - Prime Video
The new original series is coming to Prime Video on Memorial Day Weekend.

[04/04/25 - 07:01 AM]
Paramount+'s New Series "MobLand" Breaks Record as Biggest Global Series Premiere Ever with 2.2 Million Global Viewers on Premiere Day
"'MobLand' is a runaway success thanks to the visionary work of Guy, Jez, Ronan and David Glasser and brought to life by the exceptional Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren who transport us into a world audiences clearly cannot get enough of," said Chris McCarthy.

[04/04/25 - 02:26 AM]
"Rotten Legacy", Starring Jose Coronado, Premieres on Netflix May 16
In "Rotten Legacy," Federico (Jose Coronado) is forced to step away from his communication companies to recover from an illness that kept him sidelined for two years.

[04/03/25 - 02:00 PM]
Video: Trailer and Key Art for "Not Just A Goof" Available Now
Just in time for the 30th anniversary of "A Goofy Movie," this documentary follows a young creative team tackling their first Disney feature, facing disappointment upon release, only for the film to gain a passionate following decades later.

[04/03/25 - 12:06 PM]
Twelve Rebellious Chefs Are Set for Battle on NBC's Bold New Cooking Competition Series "Yes, Chef!" Hosted by Emmy-Award Winning Chefs Jose Andres and Martha Stewart
The series will premiere on Monday, April 28 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC following "The Voice."

[04/03/25 - 12:01 PM]
ABC Renews "9-1-1," "Grey's Anatomy," "The Rookie," "Shifting Gears" and "Will Trent" for 2025-26 Season
The network confirmed the pickups on social media this afternoon.

[04/03/25 - 12:00 PM]
CBS to Present MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) for the First Time, Airing Live Sunday, Sept. 7 from UBS Arena, and Streaming on Paramount+
The 2024 VMAs delivered its biggest multi-network audience in four years and ranked as the most social VMAs in show history, with 66.7 million social interactions.

[04/03/25 - 11:53 AM]
Awesomeness Aquires the Rights to "Racing Hearts," Highly Anticipated Debut Novel from Ann Adams
Set in the cinematic world of competitive rowing, "Racing Hearts" is a coming-of-age romance that follows Olympic hopeful Katherine Parker, who is sent home to Berkeley after another failed race to work with a new coach, Adrian.

[04/03/25 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Gives First Look at "The Equalizer" Spin-Off Featuring Titus Welliver and Juani Feliz
In the episode, airing April 20, McCall is contacted by Samantha Reed, whose father, ex-CIA agent Elijah Reed, is missing.