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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!
AMERICAN FAMILY (ABC) - John Fortenberry ("It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia") has signed on to direct the comedy pilot, about a modern family that does what it takes to maintain appearances for the neighbors despite the chaos and challenges that are part of raising a family.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: TBA
Writers: Dave Ronn, Jay Scherick
Director: John Fortenberry
Executive Producers: Dave Ronn, Jay Scherick
Studio: Sony Pictures Television
AREA 52 (NBC) - Matthew Lillard ("Without a Paddle") has been tapped for the lead role in the comedy pilot, about a group of government employees in the Arizona desert who watch over an alien from outer space. He'll play Colonel Steven Isaac, who's detailed in the casting notice as follows: "Early-Mid 30s, ambitious, enthusiastic and optimistic. He graduated with honors from West Point and has been moving quickly up the Air Force food chain. Sees himself as "leadership material." There's no telling how far he can go in his own mind... and yet there's something a little vulnerable about him which he hasn't yet learned to conceal."
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Jane Lynch (Irene Maloof), Matthew Lillard (Colonel Steven Isaac)
Writer: Mike Armstrong
Director: Dean Parisot
Executive Producers: David Latt, Dean Parisot, Mike Armstrong
Studio: NBC Universal Television Studio
DASH 4 CASH (The CW, New!) - Boyce Bugliari and Jamie McLaughlin ("Quintuplets") have scored a pilot order from the network for a new single-camera comedy that follows six teams participating in a racing reality competition that tests their mettle and brings out the best and worst in each of them. The pair will serve as co-executive producers on the project, which is based at CBS Paramount Network Television and Grammnet Productions. The latter company's Kelsey Grammer and Steve Stark then will executive produce.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: TBA
Writers: Boyce Bugliari, Jamie McLaughlin
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Kelsey Grammer (Grammnet Productions), Steve Stark (Grammnet Productions)
Co-Executive Producers: Boyce Bugliari, Jamie McLaughlin
Studio: CBS Paramount Network Television
K-VILLE (FOX) - Anthony Anderson ("The Shield") has been tapped as one of the leads in the drama pilot, about cops in post-Katrina New Orleans. He'll play an experienced officer, an idealist who deeply believes that if they all pull together, they can bring the city back.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Anthony Anderson, Cole Hauser
Writer: Jonathan Lisco
Director: Deran Sarafian
Executive Producers: Jonathan Lisco
Studio: 20th Century Fox Television
PHILADELPHIA GENERAL (FOX) - Katheryn Winnick ("Failure to Launch") has joined the cast of the pilot, a comedic drama about the lives and loves of a team of nurses. She'll play Eve Miller, the show's central character, who's described as follows: "Early-Mid 20s, Caucasian, our newbie. Natural good looks, inviting eyes, youthful energy, wise beyond her years. She's strong but has vulnerability. A former screw-up who's starting over, trying to turn over a new leaf, returning to, of all places, the hospital her father runs. She's had her share of partying and wrong guys, so she's been around the block and is wise beyond her years. Deep down, she's a good girl who just wants a relationship with her father. The fact that her arrogant stepbrother, Kurt, is also a doctor on staff at the hospital, complicates matters a bit, not to mention erodes Eve's self-confidence to a dangerous degree. However, when Eve heroically resuscitates a dying patient, she realizes that she's good at what she's doing - and she's exactly where she's meant to be."
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Katheryn Winnick (Eve Miller), Ramon Rodriguez (Patrick Quinn), Sara Rue (Chris Korenek)
Writers: Andy Stern, Samantha Goodman
Director: P.J. Hogan
Executive Producers: Ann McManus (Shed Productions), Barry Josephson (Josephson Entertainment), Eileen Gallagher (Shed Productions), P.J. Hogan
Co-Executive Producers: Andy Stern, Samantha Goodman
Studio: 20th Century Fox Television
THE RETURN OF JEZEBEL JAMES (FOX) - Parker Posey ("Boston Legal") has scored the lead role in the comedy pilot, about a successful children's book editor (Parker) who is newly single and, after learning she won't be able to conceive, asks her estranged younger sister to carry her baby for her.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Parker Posey (Coco), Scott Cohen (Marcus)
Writer: Amy Sherman-Palladino
Director: Amy Sherman-Palladino
Executive Producers: Amy Sherman-Palladino (Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions), Daniel Palladino (Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions)
Studio: Regency Television
SEE JAYNE RUN (ABC) - Will MacKenzie ("Reba") has signed on to direct the half-hour comedy pilot, about a businesswoman who's successful at work but struggles at home as a single mom.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: TBA
Writer: Alana Sanko
Director: Will MacKenzie
Executive Producers: Alana Sanko, Peter Traugott (Brillstein-Grey Television)
Studio: ABC Television Studio
STATE OF MIND (Lifetime) - "The Nine" co-creator K.J. Steinberg has inked a two-year, seven-figure overall deal with Warner Bros. Television. The pact calls for the writer/producer to develop new series projects for the studio. In addition, she's joined the producing ranks of Lifetime's upcoming series "State of Mind," from Warner Bros.'s sibling company Warner Horizon Television.
Commitment: Ordered to series
Cast: Derek Riddell (James Le Croix), Devon Gummersall (Barry White), Kevin Chamberlin (Fred Smedresman), Lili Taylor (Ann Bellows), Lolita Davidovich (Cordelia Banks), Mido Hamada (Taj Kalid)
Writer: Amy Bloom
Director: Michael M. Robin
Executive Producers: Amy Bloom, Greer Shephard (The Shephard-Robin Company), K.J. Steinberg, Michael M. Robin (The Shephard-Robin Company)
Studio: Warner Horizon Television
SUPREME COURTSHIPS (FOX) - John Eisendrath ("Alias") has signed a two-year, seven-figure overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television. In addition, he's come aboard as an executive producer/showrunner on the FOX drama pilot "Supreme Courtships," about the personal and professional lives of six Supreme Court clerks and their supervisors. As for his 20th pact, the deal covers his duties on the pilot as well as any future development.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Kurtwood Smith (Justice Henry Greenberg), Leslie Odom, Jr., Shane West (Tony), Zachary Knighton
Writer: Gary Tieche
Director: Ion Toynton
Executive Producers: Gary Tieche, John Eisendrath, Marty Adelstein (Adelstein Productions), Michael Thorn (Adelstein Productions)
Studio: 20th Century Fox Television
UP ALL NIGHT (A.K.A. UNTITLED SCOTT SILVERI PROJECT) (CBS) - The Eye has greenlit production on the comedy pilot, about a group of people who hang out at a bar from midnight-6 a.m. Scott Silveri is behind the multi-camera half-hour, which is based at Warner Bros. Television.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot (previously put pilot)
Cast: TBA
Writer: Scott Silveri
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Scott Silveri
Studio: Warner Bros. Television
UNTITLED DAVE CAPLAN PROJECT (TBS, New!) - Dave Caplan ("The George Lopez Show") is developing a new sitcom at the cable channel, about the life of a woman who manages to get through the day with surprising good humor despite what look like impossible circumstances: her husband walks out, leaving her with two kids and a struggling lumberyard. Sony Pictures Television and Original Films are behind the half-hour, which Caplan will write and executive produce alongside Original Film's Neal H. Moritz. It's understood Caplan is basing the premise on his own life where his single mother brought him and his two sisters up while running a business.
Commitment: Script
Cast: TBA
Writer: Dave Caplan
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Dave Caplan, Neal H. Moritz (Original Film)
Studio: Sony Pictures Television
WILDLIFE (A.K.A. UNTITLED DAVID ISRAEL/JIM O'DOHERTY PROJECT) (NBC) - Christopher Sieber ("It's All Relative") is the first to be cast in the pilot, a workplace comedy set in a wildlife animal park. He'll play the head zookeeper, a remarkably eccentric and egomaniacal character. Sieber's involvement lifts the cast contingency off the pilot's production.
Commitment: Ordered to pilot (previously cast-contingent)
Cast: Christopher Sieber
Writer: David Israel, Jim O'Doherty
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Conan O'Brien (Conaco Productions), David Israel, David Kissinger (Conaco Productions), Jeff Ross (Conaco Productions), Jim O'Doherty
Studio: NBC Universal Television Studio
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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