or


[05/12/06 - 12:00 AM]
Development Update: May 9-12
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 branded "Devwatch" section. There visitors can view our listings by network, genre, studio and even development stage (ordered to pilot, cast-contingent, script, etc.). It's updated every day!

BIG SHOT (Showtime, New!) - Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner's Hazy Mills Productions is developing a new unflinching drama at the pay channel about pop icon Billy Joel's early years. Paul Chart ("Children of Men") is on board to write the pilot script, which opens in the mid-1970s and follows Joel's first marriage to his then-business manager Elizabeth Weber. Hayes, Milliner and Andrew Harrison Leeds - along with Joel himself - then will serve as executive producers. No other details were given.

CABLE RATINGS ROUND-UP (Various) - HBO's "The Sopranos" continued its cable dominance for the week of May 1-7 with 8.5 million viewers tuning in. Lead-out "Big Love" drew 4.0 million viewers, taking seventh place overall for the week. Outside the top 15, Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Orange County" signed off with a series-high 923,000 viewers on May 2 while "Nashville Star" closed its fourth season to the tune of 3.0 million viewers that same night (down 11.76% from its season three finale).

CROSSING JORDAN (NBC) - Jon Cowan, Robert Rovner and Kathy McCormick have been tapped as co-showrunners of the Peacock drama. They'll take over for creator Tim Kring, who's moving on to his new NBC drama "Heroes." The trio will serve alongside fellow returning executive producers Alan Arkush and Dennis Hammer. As part of the promotions, Cowan and Rovner have each signed two-year overall deals with producer NBC Universal Television while McCormick has inked a one-year deal. The former pair then is expected to focus on development for the second year of the pact.

EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (ABC) - Denise Cramsey ("House Wars") has been upped to executive producer/showrunner on Endemol USA's veteran alternative series. Cramsey, who had been a co-executive producer since 2004, will take over Tom Forman, who's leaving as part of a new overall deal at CBS Paramount Network Television.

FAST INC. (MTV) - Promos currently running on the cable channel indicate the series, about the company of the same name as they "utilize their connections, craftiness, and charisma to field vintage and muscle car requests from celebrities, models, and eccentric millionaires," will launch on Monday, June 5 at 10:30/9:30c.

GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC) - Writer/producer Debora Cahn ("The West Wing") has inked a two-year overall deal with Touchstone Television. The pact, financial details of which weren't specified, calls for Cahn to join "Grey's Anatomy" next season as a supervising producer as well as develop new projects for the studio.

HBO ORIGINAL PROJECTS (HBO, New!) - The pay channel is said to be close to issuing pilot orders to two projects - "12 Miles of Bad Road," a comedy series about a Dallas matriarchy, and an untitled hour from "Deadwood" creator David Milch and author Kem Nunn ("Tapping the Source") set in the world of surfing. The former project comes from creators/executive producers Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason ("Emeril") while the latter will be co-written by Milch and Nunn with the pair also executive producing alongside Howard Rosenman. Surf legend Herb "Herbie" Fletcher and wife Dibi are also expected to serve as consultants. No specifics however were released about either project. Meanwhile, pre-production reportedly has begun on "In Treatment," a serialized drama told from the point of view of therapists and their patients. HBO is in talks to order five episodes of the series, which is based on the Israeli series "BeTipul." Hagai Levi and Steve Levinson are the executive producers.

KINGS OF SOUTH BEACH (A&E) - "Boomtown" alums Donnie Wahlberg and Jason Gedrick are set to topline the original movie, about the true story of nightclub impresario Chris Paciello, who revived the South Beach scene with aid of the mob. Tim Hunter ("Cold Case") is directing the project, which begins production this month in Puerto Rico, from a script by Nick Pileggi ("Goodfellas"). Sonny Grosso and Larry Jacobson's Grosso-Jacobson Communications is producing the movie in association with Sony Pictures Television. Delia Fine and Clay Kahler also serve as executive producers.

Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [may 2006]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· 12 MILES OF BAD ROAD (HBO)
· BIG LOVE (HBO)
· BIG SHOT (SHOWTIME)
· BOOMTOWN (NBC)
· COLD CASE (CBS)
· CROSSING JORDAN (NBC)
· EMERIL (NBC)
· EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (HGTV)
· FAST INC. (MTV)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· HEROES (NBC)
· HOUSE WARS (USA)
· IN TREATMENT (HBO)
· JOHN FROM CINCINNATI (HBO)
· KINGS OF SOUTH BEACH (A AND E)
· NASHVILLE STAR (NBC)
· REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY, THE (BRAVO)
· SOPRANOS, THE (HBO)
· WEST WING, THE (NBC)





[01/09/26 - 12:02 PM]
A New Season of Hilarie Burton-Morgan's Documentary Series "True Crime Story: It Couldn't Happen Here" Returns February 19 on SundanceTV and Streaming Across AMC+ and All Reality
The new six-episode season examines the challenges and complexities of small-town justice, spotlighting cases that range from unsolved missing persons and wrongful convictions, to death while in police custody.

[01/09/26 - 12:01 PM]
Video: "Eternity" - Official Trailer - Apple TV
"Eternity," starring Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen and Callum Turner, premieres February 13 on Apple TV.

[01/09/26 - 11:01 AM]
"Love Island: All Stars" Returns to Peacock as Season Three Premieres on January 14
The first episode premieres exclusively in the U.S. on Wednesday, January 14, with new episodes streaming on Peacock every day at 9:00/8:00c.

[01/09/26 - 09:05 AM]
Ohtani, Judge, Yankees-Red Sox, Dodgers-Yankees, Cubs-Cardinals, and Additional Premium Matchups Headline "Sunday Night Baseball" Schedule as Major League Baseball Returns to NBC and Peacock
Highlights include the special July 5 "Star-Spangled Sunday" featuring all 15 MLB games exclusively presented nationally on Peacock and NBC.

[01/09/26 - 09:00 AM]
CBS Program Advisory: "Harlan Coben's Final Twist"
Beginning Tuesday, January 13, "Harlan Coben's Final Twist" will air original episodes Tuesdays at 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT, with encore episodes airing Wednesdays at 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT.

[01/09/26 - 08:47 AM]
ESPN's Second Most-Watched NBA Regular Season Ever
Through 21 games, the NBA on ESPN networks is averaging 2.6M viewers, up 35 percent from last season.

[01/09/26 - 08:31 AM]
Video: Peacock Releases Official Trailer, Key Art and New Images for "The 'Burbs"
All 8 episodes will premiere on Peacock Sunday, February 8, 2026.

[01/09/26 - 02:35 AM]
Paapa Essiedu Returns for "The Capture" Series 3 with New Pictures and Further Casting for the Hit Thriller Announced
The BBC has released new pictures from the series which show Paapa alongside Holliday Grainger who leads the cast as Rachel Carey.

[01/08/26 - 06:01 PM]
Video: "Undercover Miss Hong" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A tenacious investigator goes undercover at a securities firm to expose corruption, but her mission is complicated by its new CEO - her former lover.

[01/08/26 - 02:00 PM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Record-Breaking Viewership for 2025-26 FCS Playoffs and Championship
The 2026 FCS Championship Game averaged 2.3 million viewers on ESPN, ranking as the third-best FCS Championship audience ever.

[01/08/26 - 01:17 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Demos
In fact, "Nightline" is ranking No. 1 in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 for the 3rd straight year.

[01/08/26 - 01:16 PM]
ABC News' Primetime Special "The Year: 2025" Earns Nearly 4 Million Total Viewers - Growing by Double Digits Over Last Year in Multiplatform Viewing
The 15th annual year-end special earned 3.857 million Total Viewers, growing impressively over last year's performance by +37% (vs. 2.818 million), after three days of viewing on ABC, Disney+, Hulu and digital platforms.

[01/08/26 - 01:15 PM]
"Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV" Premieres Wednesday, Jan. 14, on ABC and Streams Next Day on Disney+ and Hulu
By exploring the psychological forces that shaped the talk TV genre, the series reveals how these shows transformed from trusted confessional spaces into lightning rods of controversy, leaving a lasting impact on culture, media and the people caught in the chaos.

[01/08/26 - 12:07 PM]
Hulu Acquires Rights to All Seasons of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" from Versant, Expanding the Kardashian Universe Offering of Series and Specials
All titles will be available to stream on Hulu beginning February 17, 2026.

[01/08/26 - 12:01 PM]
Video: Paramount+ Releases Official Trailer for New Docuseries "Handsome Devil: Charming Killer"
The three-part docuseries premieres Tuesday, January 20, exclusively on Paramount+.