or


[01/24/07 - 12:49 AM]
Development Update: Wednesday, January 24
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 signature "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!


THE CALL (ABC) - Dave Hemingson's single-camera comedy has officially been ordered to pilot. The 20th Century Fox Television-based half-hour revolves around a pair of gifted yet unconventional Los Angeles paramedics who save people's lives while screwing up one another's - all in real time. Hemingson wrote the script and is executive producing alongside Real Time's Joel Surnow, Bob Cochran and Howard Gordon.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot (previously blind six-episode commitment)
Cast: TBA
Writer: Dave Hemingson
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Bob Cochran (Real Time Productions), Dave Hemingson, Howard Gordon (Real Time Productions), Joel Surnow (Real Time Productions)
Studio: 20th Century Fox Television


CARPOOLERS (ABC) - The Alphabet has ordered Bruce McCulloch's comedy project, about a group of suburban guys who carpool to work together, to pilot. Touchstone Television is behind the half-hour, which McCulloch wrote and is executive producing alongside 3 Arts Entertainment's David Miner and DreamWorks Television's Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot (previously script)
Cast: TBA
Writer: Bruce McCulloch
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Bruce McCulloch, Darryl Frank (DreamWorks Television), David Miner (3 Arts Entertainment), Justin Falvey (DreamWorks Television)
Studio: Touchstone Television


DEEPLY IRRESPONSIBLE (A.K.A. UNTITLED VICTOR FRESCO PROJECT) (FOX) - Victor Fresco's comedy project, which now features the working title of "Deeply Irresponsible," has been given a pilot commitment. The multi-camera half-hour revolves around an uptight family that is turned upside-down when their freewheeling grandfather comes to live with them. Fresco penned the pilot script and will executive produce the project, which is based at 20th Century Fox Television.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot (previously put pilot)
Cast: TBA
Writer: Victor Fresco
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Victor Fresco
Studio: 20th Century Fox Television


ELI STONE (ABC) - "Justice" alum Victor Garber has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about a brilliant attorney (Jonny Lee Miller) at the top law firm in San Francisco who finds out he might be a prophet. Garber will play the senior partner at the firm, the most respected attorney in town who happens to be the father of Stone's fiancee.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Jonny Lee Miller (Eli Stone), Loretta Devine, Victor Garber
Writers: Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Greg Berlanti (Berlanti Television), Marc Guggenheim
Studio: Touchstone Television


FAMILY OF THE YEAR (ABC, New!) - Erica Rivinoja ("Grounded for Life") has scored a pilot order from the Alphabet for a new comedy about the Holloways, 10-time Tatum, New Mexico, "Family of the Year" winners, who are thrown for a loop when a local - and possibly more deserving - family starts encroaching on their territory. Rivinoja penned the script is executive producing alongside Pam Brady ("The Loop") for 20th Century Fox Television.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: TBA
Writer: Erica Rivinoja
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Erica Rivinoja, Pam Brady
Studio: 20th Century Fox Television


THE LIFE & TIMES OF TIM (FOX, New!) - FOX has committed to a pilot presentation for a new animated comedy from indie filmmaker Steve Dildarian ("Angry Unpaid Hooker"). Warner Bros. Television is behind the project, which revolves around the life of a twentysomething guy. Cheri Oteri ("Saturday Night Live"), Kurtwood Smith ("That '70s Show") and Matt Johnson are already on board to voice the presentation, which Dildarian write, direct and executive produce alongside Tom Werner, Eric Gold and Jimmy Miller.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot (7-10 minute presentation)
Cast: Cheri Oteri, Kurtwood Smith, Matt Johnson
Writer: Steve Dildarian
Director: Steve Dildarian
Executive Producers: Eric Gold (Werner-Gold-Miller), Jimmy Miller (Werner-Gold-Miller), Steve Dildarian, Tom Werner (Werner-Gold-Miller)
Studio: Warner Bros. Television


THE MASTERSONS OF MANHATTAN (NBC) - Natasha Richardson ("Maid in Manhattan") has been tapped as one of the lead roles in the comedy pilot, a serialized comedic soap opera revolving around two sisters, one of them played by Richardson, in a socially prominent family in New York. In addition, sitcom veteran James Burrows ("Will & Grace") has come aboard to direct the half-hour from a script by creator Gary Janetti.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Natasha Richardson
Writer: Gary Janetti
Director: James Burrows
Executive Producers: Gary Janetti
Studio: NBC Universal Television Studio


THE MIDDLE (ABC) - Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline's single-camera comedy, about the lives of a middle class, Midwestern family as told through the eyes of the mother, has been given a pilot order by the network. The pair penned the pilot script and will executive produce for Warner Bros. Television.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot (previously script)
Cast: TBA
Writers: DeAnn Heline, Eileen Heisler
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: DeAnn Heline, Eileen Heisler
Studio: Warner Bros. Television


SAM I AM (A.K.A. THE MEMORY TRACE) (ABC) - The Alphabet has given a pilot order to the project, a single-camera comedy about a woman who wakes up from a coma with amnesia and has to rediscover her life, her relationships and herself. Novelist Cecelia Ahern ("PS, I Love You") and writer/producer Don Todd are behind the Touchstone Television-based half-hour, which Todd wrote from a story by Ahern. Todd will also executive produce alongside Brillstein Grey Entertainment's Peter Traugott with Ahern serving as a producer.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot (previously script)
Cast: TBA
Writers: Cecelia Ahern, Don Todd
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Don Todd, Peter Traugott (Brillstein-Grey Entertainment)
Producer: Cecelia Ahern
Studio: Touchstone Television


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [january 2007]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· CALL, THE (ABC)
· CARPOOLERS (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· ELI STONE (ABC)
· FAMILY OF THE YEAR (ABC)
· GROUNDED FOR LIFE (WB)
· JUSTICE (FOX)
· LIFE & TIMES OF TIM, THE (HBO)
· LOOP, THE (FOX)
· MASTERSONS OF MANHATTAN, THE (NBC)
· MIDDLE, THE (2007 VERSION) (ABC)
· SAMANTHA WHO? (ABC)
· THAT '70S SHOW (FOX)
· UNTITLED VICTOR FRESCO PROJECT (FOX)
· WILL & GRACE (NBC)





[05/13/26 - 04:01 PM]
"The Nightmare Upstairs: What Happened to Ty and Bryn?" Begins Streaming May 19 on Hulu
What starts as a whirlwind romance and Vegas wedding spirals into a bitter custody battle marked by allegations of abuse and parental alienation.

[05/13/26 - 03:01 PM]
Six New Cast Join the Fifth and Final Season of "The Lincoln Lawyer"
Amy Aquino, Angela Trimbur, Elpidia Carillo, Nate Corddry, Tricia Helfer, and Keir O'Donnell are all on tap.

[05/13/26 - 12:08 PM]
The 151st Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show to Make Its Debut on Netflix Live from NYC in February 2027
Seven highly respected group judges will make their selections over two nights at Madison Square Garden, with their winning dogs advancing to the Best in Show competition.

[05/13/26 - 12:06 PM]
Video: "The Hawk" - Official Teaser - Netflix
Lonnie Hawkins, (Will Ferrell) 2004's number one golfer, struggles on the back nine of his career to recapture his magic.

[05/13/26 - 12:03 PM]
Video: "East of Eden" - Official Teaser - Netflix
This fresh interpretation of Steinbeck's masterpiece will explore the multigenerational saga of the Trask family, focusing new attention on its indelible antihero, Cathy Ames, played by Florence Pugh.

[05/13/26 - 12:02 PM]
Netflix Announces New Drama Series "The Retrievals"
Inspired by the Peabody Award-winning New York Times podcast, "The Retrievals" follows one woman's crusade against Yale Fertility Center after she (and almost 100 other women) were operated on without anesthesia - because a nurse stole their fentanyl.

[05/13/26 - 12:01 PM]
"Running Point" Renewed for Season 3 on Netflix
Season 2 recently debuted in the Global Top 10, where it has remained since release, and its return also brought Season 1 back onto the chart, with the show surpassing 60M views across both seasons.

[05/13/26 - 12:00 PM]
Netflix Renews "Quarterback" for Season 3 Premiering Globally July 14, 2026
Jayden Daniels, Baker Mayfield, Cam Ward, and Joe Flacco are this year's subjects.

[05/13/26 - 11:59 AM]
Netflix Unites Harlan Coben & David E. Kelley on New Drama Series "Myron Bolitar" - Extends Creative Partnership with Harlan Coben
After an injury ends his NBA dreams, Myron Bolitar reinvents himself as a sports agent - using charm, smarts, and a ruthless partner to navigate the high-stakes and dirty world of sports, where saving his clients often means risking himself.

[05/13/26 - 11:58 AM]
"My Life with the Walter Boys" Renewed for Season 4 on Netflix
Season 3 is set to premiere in 2026, while season 4 will premiere in 2027.

[05/13/26 - 11:57 AM]
"Love Is Blind" to Return with Season 11 Set in Boston
Hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey, the series returns this fall.

[05/13/26 - 11:56 AM]
Netflix Announces New YA Drama Series "Calabasas" - Forges Creative Partnership with Chris Van Dusen
At an elite private school in the country's most exclusive town, the headmaster's ambitious daughter is destined to have it all - until she's swept into a forbidden romance with the one boy determined to burn down her glittering world instead of play by its rules.

[05/13/26 - 11:55 AM]
Netflix Renews "Big Mistakes" for Season 2 - Extends Creative Partnership with Dan Levy
Said Levy: "Season 2 is already in the works and it's going to be WILD. I can't wait to get it out there to everyone as soon as humanly possible."

[05/13/26 - 11:54 AM]
Netflix Announces "Barbaric"; A New Medieval Fantasy Drama
A ruthless and crass barbarian is cursed to only use his violence for good, which sends him, his talking axe and a young witch on a road of self discovery, redemption and revenge.

[05/13/26 - 11:53 AM]
Nick Cannon Is Getting Real About Fatherhood and Fame in New Docuseries
In a new docuseries coming to Netflix later this year, the superstar is giving an intimate look at his wildly unconventional life, as he raises 12 children and co-parents with six different moms.