or


[10/31/05 - 12:00 AM]
Development Update: October 27-31
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!

AMERICAN CRIME (FOX, New!) - Uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer is returning to FOX as the network has ordered a drama pilot from the Warner Bros. Television-based Jerry Bruckheimer Television for a new legal drama set in the world of high-powered Los Angeles lawyers. Tyler Bensinger ("Cold Case") and David McNally ("Coyote Ugly") are on board to respectively write and direct the project as well as executive produce along with Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman. As for plot specifics, it's understood the show will focus on the forensics of law, examining how "celebrity" lawyers go about freeing their clients, most of whom are either very rich or involved in high-profile cases.

CHEERLEADER (MTV, New!) - The cable channel has ordered a pilot for a new reality series that follows a year in the life of an ultracompetitive cheerleading squad in Kentucky. Laurie Girion ("R U the Girl With T-Boz and Chili") is behind the project, which is set up at Fox TV Studios. Girion recently signed an overall deal with the company. No other details were specified.

FUTURAMA (Comedy Central) - The cable channel has purchased the off-network rights to all 72 episodes of the animated comedy from Twentieth Television. The five-year pact, valued at an impressive $400,000 per episode, calls for the network to take over the show's off-network run from the Cartoon Network beginning in January of 2008. The deal however is only exclusive to cable television as Twentieth still has the option to sell "Futurama" reruns to local broadcast stations across the country. The "Futurama" pact comes on the heels of Comedy Central's off-network purchase of Buena Vista Television's "Scrubs" earlier this year (read the story).

GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC) - Writer/producer Jim Parriott ("Threat Matrix") has signed a seven-figure, multi-year overall deal with the show's producer Touchstone Television. The pact calls for him to continue his role as showrunner on the hit medical drama as well as develop new series projects for the studio. Said deal replaces the previous pact Parriott inked with Touchstone prior to "Grey's" launch earlier this year.

HIM AND US (A.K.A. UNTITLED ELTON JOHN PROJECT) (ABC) - The long-in-the-works Elton John-produced project has received an official green light to produce a pilot. The single-camera comedy revolves around the relationships between the fictional rock star Max Slash (an amalgam of "male divas" such as Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, David Bowie and John himself) and the people near him (including manager Freddy Lazarus). Cindy Chupack ("Sex and the City") wrote the pilot script and will executive produce alongside John, Michael Edelstein ("Desperate Housewives"), John's business manager Bob Halley and songwriter Bruce Roberts. John and longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin will also write original music for the series (the title "Him and Us" comes from John's recent CD "Peachtree Road," a track he wrote specifically for the TV project).

JAKE IN PROGRESS (ABC) - Charlotte Ross ("N.Y.P.D. Blue") has joined the cast of the John Stamos-led comedy, which will return for its second season in January. She'll play Annie, the previously unseen ex-fianc�e of Stamos's character, whose unexpected arrival causes him to have thoughts about settling down, even though Annie is engaged to someone else. No other details were given.

JUDGE MARIA LOPEZ (A.K.A. UNTITLED JUDGE MARIA LOPEZ PROJECT) (Syndication) - Sony Pictures Television has cleared the Maria Lopez court series in 35% of the country for a September 2006 launch. So far "Lopez" has been cleared in seven of the top 10 markets - WPIX-TV New York, WCIU-TV Chicago, KYW-TV/WPSG-TV Philadelphia, WBZ-TV/WSBK-TV Boston, KBHK-TV/KPIX-TV San Francisco, KTVT-TV/KTXA-TV Dallas and WUPA-TV Atlanta - with additional clearances expected to be announced shortly. The project is a result of a talent holding deal Lopez, the first female Hispanic judge appointed to the Massachusetts Superior Court, signed with Sony earlier this year.

KNIGHTS OF THE SOUTH BRONX (A&E) - The Ted Danson-led telefilm, about an English teacher who struggles to better the lives of poor children from the South Bronx, has been slated to premiere Tuesday, December 6 at 8:00/7:00c.

LIFE OF LEISURE (ABC, New!) - Guy Shalem (TBS's "Worst-Case Scenario") has set up a new improvised comedy (a la "Curb Your Enthusiasm") at the Alphabet about a depressed twentysomething man who decides to move back in with his parents and discovers they've settled into a retirement community for active seniors. Producer Fox TV Studios shot a 12-minute pilot presentation on spec with ABC then committing to an outline of the show's full first episode.

MY BIG BREAK (TV Land, New!) - Scott Sternberg Productions (A&E's "Spying on Myself") has booked a six-episode order from the network for a "Before They Were Stars"-esque series about a celebrity's first big break in showbiz. Actors Katey Segal and Jim Belushi were featured in the pilot to the half-hour project, which is expected to bow sometime next year.

MY NAME IS EARL (NBC) - Writer/producer Barbie Adler ("Arrested Development") has inked a two-year overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television. The pact calls for Adler to continue in her role as a co-executive producer on the hit comedy "My Name Is Earl" as well as develop new projects for the studio.

UNTITLED JOHN HEFFRON PROJECT (ABC, New!) - Former "Last Comic Standing" winner John Heffron has inked a six-figure talent holding/development deal with ABC and Touchstone Television. The pact calls for the network and studio to develop a comedy project around the comedian or cast him in one of its existing projects in development. Heffron and his manager Peter Rosegarten will also serve as executive producers on the project should the former scenario play out. Heffron previously had a development deal at NBC and NBC Universal Television as part of his prize for winning "Standing's" second season.

Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [october 2005]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
      


· ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT (NETFLIX)
· CHEERLEADER NATION (LIFETIME)
· COLD CASE (CBS)
· CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (HBO)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· FUTURAMA (HULU)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· HIM & US (ABC)
· JAKE IN PROGRESS (ABC)
· JUDGE MARIA LOPEZ (SYNDICATION)
· JUSTICE (FOX)
· KNIGHTS OF THE SOUTH BRONX (A AND E)
· LAST COMIC STANDING (NBC)
· LIFE OF LEISURE (ABC)
· MY NAME IS EARL (NBC)
· NYPD BLUE (ABC)
· R U THE GIRL WITH T-BOZ & CHILLI (UPN)
· SCRUBS (ABC)
· SEX AND THE CITY (HBO)
· SPYING ON MYSELF (A AND E)
· THREAT MATRIX (ABC)
· UNTITLED JOHN HEFFRON PROJECT (ABC)
· WORST-CASE SCENARIO (TBS)





[10/17/25 - 01:16 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Audience Performance Since July
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 139 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[10/17/25 - 10:38 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues Historic Hot Streak - Rising for Fourth Straight Week Since Premiere with 6 Million Total Viewers
Plus: "High Potential" dominated the 10 p.m. hour with 4.15 million Total Viewers and a 0.33 rating among Adults 18-49.

[10/17/25 - 10:01 AM]
51st Season of "Saturday Night Live" Continues with Three Back-to-Back Shows in November
Miles Teller is on tap to host on November 1, followed by Nikki Glaser on November 8, and Glen Powell on November 15.

[10/17/25 - 09:05 AM]
All-New Season of "The Last Woodsmen" Premieres Friday, November 14 at 9PM ET/PT on Discovery
Deep in the untamed wilderness of the Pacific Northwest, veteran logger Jared Douglas returns to put everything on the line in the new season.

[10/17/25 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia" - Sneak Peek - Netflix
A brutal mob war between John Stanfa and Joey Merlino plunges '90s Philadelphia into chaos and bloodshed in this captivating true-crime series.

[10/17/25 - 08:31 AM]
Video: "Me late que si" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A desperate, ordinary man, fed up with his misfortune, hatches a daring heist and assembles a very unusual group to attempt the impossible: stealing a live lottery jackpot.

[10/17/25 - 08:00 AM]
"Weapons" Begins Streaming Exclusively on HBO Max October 24
When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at 2:17 a.m., a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.

[10/17/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "My Secret Santa" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A vivacious single-mom (Alexandra Breckenridge) in need of a job decides to disguise herself as a man in order to get hired as the seasonal Santa at a luxury ski resort.

[10/17/25 - 07:01 AM]
"Euphoria" Season 3 Is Coming Spring 2026
Newly announced cast members include Gideon Adlon, Bill Bodner, Colleen Camp, Danielle Deadwyler, Homer Gere, Jessica Blair Herman, Natasha Lyonne, Hemky Madera, Kwame Patterson, Trisha Paytas, Rebecca Pidgeon, Bella Podaras, Cailyn Rice, Eli Roth, Madison Thompson, Jack Topalian, Sam Trammell, Matthew Willig.

[10/17/25 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "Eloa the Hostage: Live on TV" - Official Trailer - Netflix
This gripping documentary explores the case of a teenage girl who was kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend in one of Brazil's most shocking hostage situations.

[10/17/25 - 06:01 AM]
Apple Is the Exclusive New Broadcast Partner for Formula 1 in the U.S.
Apple TV will deliver comprehensive coverage of Formula 1, with all practice, qualifying, Sprint sessions, and Grands Prix available to Apple TV subscribers.

[10/16/25 - 02:11 PM]
Video: National Geographic Unveils First Look at "Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember" - A Powerful and Heartfelt Special Featuring the Global Movie Star on His Most Personal Journey Yet
The one-hour documentary, from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa, Jane Root's Nutopia, and Chris Hemsworth and Ben Grayson's Wild State, premieres November 23 at 9:00/8:00c on National Geographic and streams the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.

[10/16/25 - 12:58 PM]
Lifetime Announces Annual "It's a Wonderful Lifetime" Holiday Movie Slate Kicking Off November 29th
Featured talent this year includes Brandy Norwood, Kane & Katelyn Brown, Loretta Devine, Debbi Morgan, Arielle Kebbel, Tyler Hilton, James Lafferty, Vivica A. Fox, Jackée Harry, Sy'Rai Smith, Nischelle Turner, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, and others.

[10/16/25 - 12:31 PM]
Video: "The Witcher" Season 4 - Character Trailer - Netflix
Scattered to fates unknown, Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri traverse the war-torn Continent and its countless enemies in the hope of finding each other again.

[10/16/25 - 11:32 AM]
A+E Global Media and Rachael Ray's Free Food Studios Cook Up Expanded Programming Partnership with Over 100 New Episodes Ordered
The network has ordered 110 new episodes of Ray's programming, including new episodes of "Meals in Minutes," that will continue to focus on her approachable and comforting cooking style.