or


[10/17/05 - 12:00 AM]
Development Update: October 17
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!

COMEDIANS OF COMEDY (Comedy Central) - The half-hour documentary series, about the lives of comedians Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Zack Galifianakis and Maria Bamford, has been slated to premiere Friday, November 11 at 11:00/10:00c.

THE DEAD ZONE (USA) - Debmar-Mercury Entertainment has signed on to sell the repeat rights to all 67 episodes of the veteran USA series, following their successful sales of "Farscape" and "South Park" to local stations across the country this fall. Like most syndicated offerings, the company is expected to offer both five-a-week plays to cable stations (for a cash license fee) and weekend-only plays to local stations (in exchange for seven minutes per hour for national ad sales) beginning in September 2006. No specific cable networks were mentioned as being targeted however USA itself is expected to be among the contenders.

FIREFLY (FOX) - USA has purchased the broadcast rights to "Serenity," the feature film continuation of FOX's short-lived series "Firefly," from NBC Universal Domestic Television. The deal, valued in the $3 million range, will give the cable channel the non-exclusive rights to broadcast the film beginning in May of 2008, when HBO's initial window expires. Not surprisingly, USA has the option to air "Serenity" on cable sibling Sci Fi, the current home to "Firefly's" off-network run.

THE INITIATION OF SARAH (ABC Family, New!) - The cable channel has greenlit production on a remake of Robert Day's cult-classic 1978 TV movie (featuring Morgan Fairchild and Robert Hays), about a sorority sister with supernatural powers she uses against rival houses. Dan Berendsen (Disney Channel's "Twitches") wrote the script to the new version, which will begin production in January for an October 2006 air date during ABC Family's "13 Nights of Halloween" franchise.

INTERVENTION (A&E) - A&E has quietly bumped the show's second season launch back a week to Sunday, October 30 at 10:00/9:00c. No reason for the change was given.

MUD SHOW (ABC Family, New!) - Writer/producers Sandy Chanley ("Fat Actress") and Doug Shaffer ("Weakest Link") are developing a new comedy pilot at the cable channel about disgruntled circus performers. The project, which Keith Truesdell ("Fat Actress") will direct should it move forward, tracks the performers and staff of a dilapidated one-ring circus as they try to get along with their new owner - the grudging, estranged son of the previous owner. Chanley and Shaffer are writing the pilot script and will executive produce with Tom Bull ("Fat Actress").

PAINKILLER JANE (Sci Fi) - The two-hour backdoor pilot has been slated to air Saturday, December 10 at 9:00/8:00c. Here's how Sci Fi's press materials describe the project: "Based on the Event Comics series, 'Painkiller Jane' is a super-heroine for the new millennium. When Jane Browning (Emmanuelle Vaugier) is exposed to a biochemical weapon that alters her genes, she becomes endowed with incredible self-healing powers and extraordinary physical and mental abilities. Now, on the run from a sinister organization determined to replicate her powers - or destroy them - Jane joins forces with some unlikely allies to become an ultra-covert crime-fighting agent." Tate Donovan, Richard Roundtree, Eric Dane and Walker Howard also star.

STUDIO 7 ON THE SUNSET STRIP (NBC, New!) - The Peacock has emerged as the winner of a bidding war with CBS to land a new project that marks "The West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin's return to television. The project, which Sorkin wrote on spec, is described as a "Sports Night"-esque look at the lives of those that work on a long-running "Saturday Night Live"-esque sketch-comedy show based in Los Angeles. Sorkin's "West Wing" and "Sports Night" partner Thomas Schlamme is also on board to direct the pilot as well as executive produce. NBC agreed to several concessions as part of its bid to win the Warner Bros. Television-based project: the deal guarantees production of the pilot (budgeted in the $3 million range), after which it must commit to 12 additional episodes (at a new series record $2 million per episode license fee) or pay a substantial mid-seven-figure penalty.

In addition, NBC will guarantee the show a non-weekend (i.e. either Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday) time period between the hours of 9-11 p.m. eastern. Finally, NBC's contract for the show will run for only four and a half years, down from the relative standard of six to seven years. Said development means that NBC will have to renegotiate the license fee by the time the show's fifth season rolls around. As for specifics about the series, it's understood the pilot opens with a "Network"-esque meltdown of "Studio 7's" executive producer (a talented writer whose career is often compromised by cocaine use) while the "celebrity host" for that week's episode is "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman, who worked with Sorkin on both "Sports Night" and "The West Wing." Not surprisingly, the project's fictional network - UBS, a subsidiary of the equally fictional conglomerate Atlantic Media Group - is clearly a parallel to NBC itself, as are the various executive relationships. In a statement to the press, NBC's president of entertainment Kevin Reilly described it as: "Aaron Sorkin's work is truly in a class all its own, and Tommy Schlamme, time and again, has delivered exceptional television. This project is a noisy, compelling combination of bold drama and laugh-out-loud comedy."

Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [october 2005]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
      


· COMEDIANS OF COMEDY (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· DEAD ZONE, THE (USA)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· FARSCAPE (SCI FI)
· FAT ACTRESS (SHOWTIME)
· FIREFLY (FOX)
· INITIATION OF SARAH (ABC FAMILY)
· INTERVENTION (A AND E)
· MUD SHOW (ABC FAMILY)
· PAINKILLER JANE (SCI FI)
· SOUTH PARK (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· SPORTS NIGHT (ABC)
· STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP (NBC)
· WEAKEST LINK, THE (NBC)
· WEST WING, THE (NBC)





[07/10/25 - 05:03 PM]
Meagan Good Returns to Lifetime to Executive Produce and Star in the Alluring New Thriller "I'll Never Let You Go" Alongside Antonio Cupo and Thomas Cadrot, Premiering August 16 on Lifetime
Good stars as Emily Westover, a poised and successful art gallery director whose life takes a dark turn after a brief, impulsive affair with a magnetic Italian artist, Carlo (Cupo).

[07/10/25 - 12:01 PM]
"Virgin River" Is Returning for Season 8
"On behalf of myself and the whole 'Virgin River' family, we're eternally grateful to Netflix and to the fans for allowing us to continue on this journey with these beloved characters," said showrunner Patrick Sean Smith.

[07/10/25 - 12:00 PM]
ESPN "Sunday Night Baseball Presented by Capital One" Schedule Update: New York Mets to Visit San Francisco Giants on July 27
Karl Ravech will call the action with analyst Eduardo Pérez, analyst and five-time World Series Champion David Cone and reporter Buster Olney.

[07/10/25 - 11:04 AM]
Paris Berelc to Co-Star and Executive Produce Upcoming Tubi Original YA Romantic Comedy Film "Kissing Is the Easy Part"
Fawzia Mirza (The Queen of my Dreams) is set to direct the film, which is based on the popular Wattpad webnovel (currently at 31.9 million reads) of the same name by Christine Duann adapted by Rebecca Webb.

[07/10/25 - 10:30 AM]
HBO Orders Untitled American History Sketch Comedy Starring and Executive Produced by Larry David and Higher Ground
President and Mrs. Obama wanted to honor America's 250th anniversary and celebrate the unique history of our nation on this special occasion. ...But then Larry David called.

[07/10/25 - 10:10 AM]
Apple's Acclaimed Sci-Fi Series "Murderbot" Lands Season Two Renewal
The season one finale of "Murderbot" premieres globally this Friday, July 11.

[07/10/25 - 10:06 AM]
AMC Networks Returns to Comic-Con International with Dynamic Lineup of Fan-Favorite Series Panels, Screenings, A Shudder Fan Activation & More
Panels include a return to Hall H for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, featuring an exclusive first-look at the official trailer from the third season, premiering Sunday, September 7 on AMC and AMC+.

[07/10/25 - 10:01 AM]
Video: "Marc Maron: Panicked" - Official Trailer - HBO Max
He's mining for gold in a river of panic.

[07/10/25 - 09:55 AM]
"The Great Food Truck Race" Hosted by Tyler Florence Returns with New Roster of Competitors and Epic Culinary Challenges
The new season premieres Sunday, August 3 at 9pm ET/PT and streams next day on HBO Max.

[07/10/25 - 09:39 AM]
Peacock Announces September 4 Premiere Date for "The Paper"
The series premieres on Peacock with four episodes on September 4, followed by two new episodes every Thursday through September 25.

[07/10/25 - 09:34 AM]
MGM+ Unveils "Let The Devil In" Premiere Date
Premiering August 31, the four-episode documentary series is about a decades-old tragedy that destroyed one family and ignited the darkest fears of a small New Jersey town.

[07/10/25 - 09:01 AM]
Prime Video Adds Broadcast Veterans to NBA on Prime Game Coverage Lineup
The broadcast team includes award-winning play-by-play announcers Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan, Michael Grady and Eric Collins.

[07/10/25 - 09:00 AM]
Video: Starz Releases Key Art and Trailer for Timeless Romantic Drama "Outlander: Blood of My Blood," Premiering Friday, August 8
From the battlefields of World War I to the rugged Highlands of 18th century Scotland, two fated couples must defy the forces that seek to tear them apart, intersecting in surprising and unforeseen ways.

[07/10/25 - 09:00 AM]
Video: Prime Video Releases Trailer and Key Art for Season Two of "Sausage Party: Foodtopia"
All eight episodes of the animated comedy will be served all at once in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide on Prime Video August 13.

[07/10/25 - 08:13 AM]
Star Designer Bobby Berk to Host Newly Greenlit HGTV Series "Junk or Jackpot?" (wt) Produced by John Cena
Executive produced by actor, wrestler and entrepreneur John Cena, the six-episode season follows collectors as they discover the true monetary value of their massive and unusual collections.