or


[09/09/05 - 12:00 AM]
Development Update: September 6-9
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!

ALMOST FAMILY (Lifetime) - The cable channel has given the reality pilot a series order of six-one hour episodes. Gay Rosenthal ("Behind the Music") is behind the "Wife Swap"-esque project, in which couples of diverse backgrounds are sent to live with each other's parents for a week, despite never having met them before. It's understood the pilot featured a Harvard-educated attorney who went to live her fianc�e's chain-smoking, former showgirl mom while he, a Caucasian standup comedian, stayed with her traditional Korean parents. Each hour then wraps with the couples and families recapping their experience. "Family" is set to bow in the first quarter of 2006 with Paul Barrosse and Jeff Apploff executive producing along with Rosenthal.

CELEBRITY POKER SHOWDOWN (Bravo) - A seventh tournament appears to be on tap according to the network's latest schedule update for October. The installment, dubbed "Million Dollar Jackpot," kicks off Thursday, October 13 at 9:00/8:00c.

GASTINEAU GIRLS (E!) - The reality series, about the lives of the mother-daughter team of Lisa and Brittny Gastineau, has been picked up for a second season of 10 episodes. 440,000 viewers on average tuned into the show's inaugural 10-episode run earlier this year, up 8.18% from the network's current primetime average (404,000). Said new installments are set to bow in December with True Entertainmen's Steven Weinstock and Sara Nichols continuing on as executive producers.

HBO ORIGINAL SERIES (HBO) - The season finales of "Entourage" and "The Comeback" drew 2.1 million viewers and 920,000 viewers respectively this past Sunday. Meanwhile, lead-in "Rome" saw 3.03 million viewers tune into its second week, a dip of 20.26% from its launch on August 28 (3.8 million).

I DID NOT KNOW THAT (TV Land, New!) - Paul Reiser and Craig Knizek are developing a new documentary series for the cable channel that aims to poke fun of "Biography"-style profiles. The pilot, which is set to shoot next week in Los Angeles, features a series of segments such as "Infomercial Film School," in which offbeat directors like Tim Burton and the Coen brothers are alleged to have started out as infomercial producers; and "History's First Drive-By," about the Tupac Shakur/Notorious B.I.G.-esque feud between Franz Schubert and Ludwig van Beethoven. Harry Shearer ("The Simpsons") has been tapped to host the project with Stephen Brophy ("Average Joe") writing the script. Should it go forward to series, TV Land executives are targeting an early 2006 start. Overall, TV Land has averaged 992,000 viewers in primetime this summer, up 29% from a year ago.

THE RON CLARK STORY (TNT) - Randa Haines ("Children of a Lesser God") has been tapped to direct the Matthew Perry-led telefilm, about the true story of a small-town schoolteacher who moves to New York to teach in one of the city's toughest schools. Production began this week on the project, which comes from Granada America and Magna Global Entertainment, for an expected first-quarter 2006 bow. Max Enscoe and Annie DeYoung ("Wuthering Heights") wrote the teleplay.

THE TONY DANZA SHOW (Syndication) - David Perler and Jill Blackstone have been named co-executive producers of the Buena Vista Television-produced talk show, which returns for its second season next week. Perler, who was a consulting producer last season, will overseeing all celebrity and comedy segments with Blackstone, late of "Pat Croce Moving In," spearheading the human-interest features and topical segments. The pair will take over for John Redmann, who has since moved on to the soon-to-launch "The Tyra Banks Show" from Warner Bros. Domestic Television.

UNTITLED DARREN STAR PROJECTS (UPN, New!) - UPN has pacted with "Sex and the City" creator Darren Star to develop two new projects for the network, one of which will ultimately go to pilot. It's understood one of the projects is a New York-based soap about a pair of orphaned teens who end up living with their wealthy New York aunt and uncle while the other wasn't specified. Feature writers Dan and Ashley McDermott (the upcoming "The Omen 666") are behind the former, while Star will executive produce both through his self-titled Sony Pictures Television-based banner. The two-for-one commitment from UPN comes on the heels of Star's pact with the WB for a Hamptons-based soap last month.

Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [september 2005]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· AVERAGE JOE (NBC)
· CELEBRITY POKER SHOWDOWN (BRAVO)
· COMEBACK, THE (HBO)
· ENTOURAGE (HBO)
· FACE THE FAMILY (LIFETIME)
· GASTINEAU GIRLS (E)
· I DID NOT KNOW THAT (TV LAND)
· PAT CROCE: MOVING IN (SYNDICATION)
· ROME (HBO)
· RON CLARK STORY, THE (TNT)
· SEX AND THE CITY (HBO)
· SIMPSONS, THE (FOX)
· TONY DANZA SHOW, THE (SYNDICATION)
· TYRA BANKS SHOW, THE (SYNDICATION)
· UNTITLED DARREN STAR PROJECT (CW)
· UNTITLED DARREN STAR PROJECT (CW)
· WIFE SWAP (PARAMOUNT)
· WUTHERING HEIGHTS (MTV)





[08/15/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Upload" - Official Trailer - Hulu
The show's first three seasons are now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

[08/14/26 - 11:31 PM]
Disney Sets the Stage for What's Next in Entertainment at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event
Other TV highlights include "Oswald," an all-new live-action animated hybrid series based on the classic character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

[08/14/26 - 11:09 PM]
Development Update: Week of August 10-14
Updates include: Starz's "SWAT: Exiles" land early renewal; Hulu cancels "Deli Boys" after two seasons; and Disney+, HBO Max pass on projects.

[08/14/26 - 09:23 PM]
Season 2 of the Emmy Award-Winning Series "Ahsoka" Premieres Exclusively on Disney+ January 20
The new season, which once again stars Rosario Dawson in the titular role, is a story set after the fall of the Empire and the rise of the New Republic, which has Ahsoka confronting what it means to be a Jedi, while the galaxy faces a formidable opponent in Grand Admiral Thrawn.

[08/14/26 - 09:02 PM]
Video: First Look at Marvel Television's "VisionQuest" on Disney+
Marvel Television's "VisionQuest," an all-new original series coming exclusively to Disney+ October 14, concludes the epic trilogy that began with 2021's groundbreaking, award-winning "WandaVision" and 2024's acclaimed "Agatha All Along."

[08/14/26 - 08:30 PM]
Video: "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" Drops Electrifying Season Three Teaser Trailer at D23: The Ultimate Fan Event
Season 3 of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" marks the first time that the third book - "The Titan's Curse" - comes to screen and is the third installment of Disney Hyperion's bestselling book series by acclaimed author Rick Riordan.

[08/14/26 - 07:58 PM]
Global Video Game Phenomenon "Kingdom Hearts" Greenlit for First-Ever Original Television Series on Disney Channel and Disney+
The series reimagines the iconic adventure with a brand-new story that will expand on the universe of Kingdom Hearts while celebrating the characters that have captured the hearts of millions of fans around the world.

[08/14/26 - 01:45 PM]
ABC News Is No. 1 on Sunday Morning and Friday Night
"20/20" saw year-to-year increases in all key target demos: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[08/14/26 - 12:01 PM]
HBO Max Renews Original Comedy Series "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe" for a Second Season
New episodes are being released weekly on HBO Max, with the season finale scheduled for release on Thursday, September 24.

[08/14/26 - 10:01 AM]
Netflix Expands Young Adult Slate with New Series "Sid & Zoey," "Sunshine Girls" and More
Plus: "Finding Her Edge" to begin production on Season 2; and Randall Park joins the cast of "Minimum Wage."

[08/14/26 - 09:01 AM]
Stream "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu" on Disney+ September 2
The galaxy's favorite duo is bringing the adventure home.

[08/14/26 - 08:47 AM]
FOX One to Live Stream IROC Presented by Chevrolet as Part of FOX Sports' Coverage of Historic Freedom 250 Weekend in Washington, D.C.
The races bring together legendary names from NASCAR and INDYCAR, including Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Rusty Wallace, Bobby Labonte, Bill Elliott, Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti, all piloting authentic historic IROC Pontiac Firebirds.

[08/14/26 - 03:22 AM]
Video: New Season Update - "Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya" - Prime Video
Seasons two and three are now in development.

[08/13/26 - 05:01 PM]
Video: "Mousetrap" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A reclusive writer wakes to find his identity stolen - and must ally with a ruthless loan shark to reclaim his life from a man known as "The Rat."

[08/13/26 - 03:39 PM]
ESPN Delivers Its Second Most-Watched WNBA Regular Season Game in 30 Years of Coverage!
The New York Liberty-Indiana Fever matchup averaged 2 million viewers on Tuesday, August 11.