or


[08/30/05 - 12:00 AM]
Development Update: August 29-30
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!

CRASH (FX) - Laurence Andries ("Medical Investigation") has been tapped as the showrunner of FX's small screen version of the recent Paul Haggis-directed feature about race relations in Los Angeles. In addition, FX has paid $5 million to Lions Gate Films for the broadcast rights to the film however no specific premiere date was given.

DEADWOOD (HBO) - Brian Cox ("X2: X-Men United," "Troy") has signed to appear in at least seven episodes of the show's upcoming third season. He'll play Jack Langrishe, an eccentric producer and theater owner who strives to introduce a modicum of culture to the mean streets of title town. It's not clear in what episode however Cox will make his first appearance.

PSYCHE (USA) - James Roday ("Miss Match") and Dule Hill ("The West Wing") have been cast in the lead roles of the drama pilot, about an amateur detective (Roday) who cons the police into believing he has psychic powers that help him solve crimes. Hill will play the best friend of Roday's character who works as a pharmaceutical rep. Steve Banks ("Big Daddy") is behind the project, which is also executive produced by Kelly Kulchak, Chris Henze, J.B. Roberts and Ron West of Tagline Pictures. Production is set to begin shortly for a potential series launch next year.

STORIES FROM A MORON (New!) - Barry Marder and Kenneth Braun ("Seinfeld") have pacted with 20th Century Fox Television to bring Jerry Seinfeld pal Ed Broth's book "Stories From a Moron: Real Stories Rejected by Real Magazines" to the small screen. The animated project, which is not set up at a network, would track Broth's character, a traveling salesman from the fictional town of Cumberland City, and how he comes up with the ideas for his letters and stories. Industry insiders have speculated for some time that Broth (not to mention "Letters From a Nut's" Ted L. Nancy) is/are actually Seinfeld and/or Marder writing under a pseudonym. In any case, no other details were specified.

THE STREET LAWYER (TNT) - TNT is taking a stab at developing the John Grisham novel for the small screen, following a failed effort by ABC in 2003. "Lawyer" tracks a rising young corporate attorney who quits his job at a big firm to work for a legal aid clinic that takes cases other lawyers reject and handles clients who can barely afford to pay. Eddie Cibrian ("Invasion") played the title role in the ABC pilot, which also starred KaDee Strickland, Mario Van Peebles and Hal Holbrook. Ilana Bar-din Giannini ("Picture Perfect") is on board to write the pilot script to the TNT version which Grisham himself will executive produce along Gary Randall and David Gernert. It's understood TNT is developing the project as a backdoor pilot mini-series (a la the "Battlestar Galactica" revival).

TALK TO ME (TNT) - The Dean Devlin-produced drama project has found a new home at TNT. Previously set up at USA, "Talk to Me" has scored a pilot order from TNT with Paul Guyot ("Judging Amy") replacing Jan Skrentny and Neal Tabachnick ("Driven") on scripting duties. The project, which is set up at Devlin's Electric Entertainment and Lions Gate Television, tracks a hostage negotiators unit with each episode opening in the middle of an intense crisis. Casting is currently underway. "Talk" is the third drama project ordered to pilot by TNT as of late, with the others being David Manson's "Saved" and Nancy Miller's "Grace."

THIS IS YOUR LIFE (ABC, New!) - Fox Television Studios reportedly is developing another revival of the 1952-61 NBC series for ABC. The project is expected to follow the original's format in which individuals are surprised with a presentation of his or her life story, including appearances from guests who had been part of that person's life. Gary Edwards, the son of the original host/creator Ralph Edwards, is on board to executive produce the new version along with Mindy Moore ("The Family"), Fred Siegel, Jon Vein and Barbara Dunn-Leonard. The news marks the fourth go around for "Life," which was resurrected by Edwards for syndication twice in the early 1970s and 1980s.

TRIBE (The WB, New!) - Scott Gemmill ("Jonny Zero") is set to team with McG's Warner Bros. Television-based Wonderland Sound & Vision ("Supernatural") for a new drama project at the netlet. The Los Angeles-based show tracks five twentysomething cops - all branded rejects by their respective precincts - who come together as part of a new undercover unit of the L.A.P.D. The WB has already given a pilot order to the project, which Gemmill, McG and Wonderland's Peter Johnson will executive produce.

UNTITLED BECKY MODE/LYDIA DEAN PILCHER PROJECT (HBO, New!) - Lydia Dean Pilcher ("Iron Jawed Angels") and Becky Mode ("Jojo's Circus") have scored a pilot order from the pay channel for a new single-camera comedy about a group of thirtysomething upper-class Manhattan women as they try to juggle motherhood with their careers, spouses and other responsibilities. Casting is currently underway on the project, which will shoot this fall in New York City. No other details were specified.

UNTITLED DARREN STAR PROJECT (The WB, New!) - Darren Star ("Sex And The City," "Kitchen Confidenial") is reportedly close to setting up a new drama project at the WB. No details were specified other than it's expected to be a primetime soap set in New York's ritzy beach playground. No writer is currently attached the project, which would be set up at Star's self-titled Sony Pictures Television-based banner.

Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [august 2005]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (SCI FI)
· CRASH (STARZ)
· DEADWOOD (HBO)
· FAMILY, THE (ABC)
· INVASION (ABC)
· IRON JAWED ANGELS (HBO)
· JONNY ZERO (FOX)
· JUDGING AMY (CBS)
· KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL (FOX)
· MEDICAL INVESTIGATION (NBC)
· MISS MATCH (NBC)
· PSYCH (USA)
· SAVED (TNT)
· SAVING GRACE (TNT)
· SEX AND THE CITY (HBO)
· SINCERELY, TED L NANCY (FOX)
· STREET LAWYER, THE (ABC)
· STREET LAWYER, THE (TNT)
· SUPERNATURAL (CW)
· TALK TO ME (TNT)
· THIS IS YOUR LIFE (ABC)
· TRIBE (CW)
· UNTITLED DARREN STAR PROJECT (CW)
· UNTITLED MODE & PILCHER PROJECT (HBO)
· WEST WING, THE (NBC)





[05/06/25 - 03:18 PM]
ABC News Announces Special Coverage of the Papal Conclave, Across ABC News, ABC News Live, Disney+, Hulu and ABC Owned Television Stations
David Muir will anchor "World News Tonight" from the Vatican, beginning Tuesday, May 6.

[05/06/25 - 02:39 PM]
State Farm WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on ION to Tip Off May 16 with the Most Regular-Season Games on TV
The first game will see the regular season premiere of Paige Bueckers, selected No.1 overall by the Dallas Wings in the recent WNBA draft presented by State Farm, as the Wings host the Minnesota Lynx.

[05/06/25 - 01:03 PM]
"Marvel's Iron Man and His Awesome Friends" Assembles Tony Hale, Vanessa Bayer and Talon Warburton To Voice Villains Ultron, Swarm and Absorbing Man
The series, which features young versions of Tony Stark (Iron Man), Riri Williams (Ironheart) and Amadeus Cho (Iron Hulk), premieres this summer on Disney Jr. and Disney+ and is the first Iron Man preschool series.

[05/06/25 - 01:00 PM]
Apple's Global Hit, Star-Studded Comedy "The Studio" Lands Season Two Renewal
"We're thrilled to be making a second season of 'The Studio.' We're looking forward to taking the lived experience of making season one and immediately putting it into season two, then repeating that loop for ten more seasons," said creators and executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.

[05/06/25 - 12:46 PM]
"TMZ Investigates: What Happened to Justin Bieber?" Premieres Wednesday, May 14 at 9/8c on FOX
TMZ investigates Justin Bieber's troubling behavior that has fans concerned.

[05/06/25 - 12:16 PM]
Netflix's "A Man on the Inside" Rounds Out Cast for Season 2
Constance Marie, David Strathairn, Gary Cole, Jason Mantzoukas, Jill Talley, Linda Park, Lisa Gilroy, Madison Hu, Max Greenfield, Michaela Conlin and Sam Huntington will join the previously announced Mary Steenburgen.

[05/06/25 - 12:06 PM]
TNT Sports Announces Full Broadcast Team for Inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge
Look for exclusive live race coverage beginning Saturday, June 28, at the Quaker State 400 from Atlanta Motor Speedway, followed by four consecutive Sundays of adrenaline-pumping race action: July 6 in Chicago; July 13 in Sonoma; July 20 in Dover; and July 27 in Indianapolis.

[05/06/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of April 28: No Forecast Needed: "The Four Seasons" Debuts at No. 1
In English TV, "You" Season 5 continues to stalk the top of the charts (No. 2, 10.9 million views).

[05/06/25 - 09:02 AM]
History's "The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch" and "Beyond Skinwalker Ranch" Return for New Seasons on June 3!
Join ranch owner Brandon Fugal, principal investigator and chief scientist Erik Bard, aerospace engineer, astrophysicist, and lead scientist Dr. Travis Taylor, and the team as they continue to seek answers for what's going on at this 512-acre Utah property.

[05/06/25 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Sarah Silverman: PostMortem" - Official Trailer - Netflix
After losing her parents, Sarah Silverman finds laughter and solace in celebrating their lives, from deathbed binge-watching to an ill-timed fart.

[05/06/25 - 09:00 AM]
ESPN's Presentation of Sunday's Preseason WNBA Matchup Between the Indiana Fever and the Brazilian National Team Averaged 1.3M Viewers
The telecast peaked at 1.6 million viewers, and was up 13% from last year's regular season average on ESPN.

[05/06/25 - 09:00 AM]
Brandy and Rita Ora Return as Cinderella and the Queen of Hearts in "Descendants: Wicked Wonderland"
Also returning are Paolo Montalban as King Charming and Melanie Paxson as Fairy Godmother, making her the only actor to appear in all five "Descendants" films.

[05/06/25 - 09:00 AM]
Video: Prime Video Unveils Teaser Trailer for "We Were Liars" Adaptation
All eight episodes will be available on June 18, exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

[05/06/25 - 08:01 AM]
You've Got a Text! Hit Cultural Phenomenon "Love Island USA" Returns June 3, Exclusively on Peacock
Fan favorite comedian Iain Stirling will reprise his role as the iconic narrator for the new season.

[05/06/25 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Dept. Q" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A brash but brilliant cop becomes head of a new police department, where he leads an unlikely team of misfits in solving Edinburgh's cold cases.