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[05/18/07 - 05:15 PM]
Development Update: Week of May 14-18
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) |
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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!
THE ANATOMY OF HOPE (A.K.A. UNTITLED TOM SCHULMAN/RAFAEL YGLESIAS PROJECT) (HBO) - Chris Messina, John Ortiz, Simon Callow, Valerie Pettiford, Matt Craven, Deepti Daryanani, Daryl Edwards, Diego Klattenhoff, Kerry Condon and Sarah Knowlton have all been cast in the pilot, a hospital drama that explores cancer battles from the patients' point of view. In addition, executive producer J.J. Abrams has confirmed he'll direct the hour from a script by Tom Schulman and Rafael Yglesias. As for specifics, Messina will play an oncologist who goes between being overly friendly and aloof; Ortiz will play a recent cancer survivor; Callow is set as one of the top oncologists in the U.S.; Pettiford is playing a terminally ill cancer patient; Craven will play a hyper guy who may have prostate cancer; Edwards will play a patient with advanced cancer; Klattenhoff is playing a recently engaged young man with bone cancer in his leg with Condon as his fiancee; Daryanani is set as a beautiful young doctor; and Knowlton will play a nurse who runs the chemo ward. Abrams, Schulman and Yglesias then are executive producing alongside Bad Robot's Bryan Burk via the company's overall deal with Warner Bros. Television.
BIG LOVE (HBO) - The pay channel has commissioned a trio of three-to-five minute mini-episodes of the series collectively dubbed "Big Love: In the Beginning." All three installments will feature the regular cast and crew as well as fill in various elements of the backstory of the Henricksons. The first, "Post-Partum," is set five years ago when Bill's wife Nicki (Chloe Sevigny) suffers a breakdown after her child is born; the second "Meet the Babysitter," takes place three years ago when youngest wife Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) comes into the picture; and the last, "Moving Day," focuses on an incident set a little over a year ago when the family considers a move to the suburbs. HBO on Demand subscribers will have access to the episodes starting Monday, June 4 before they're actually broadcast on the channel itself on Sunday, June 24 at 7:45/6:45c.
FAMILY MAN (TNT, New!) - William H. Macy ("The Wool Cap") has been tapped to star in a potential new drama series for the cable channel, about a man who organizes charity drives by day and cracks the safes of major corporations by night. Macy himself will co-write the script with longtime collaborator Steven Schachter (who will also direct) as well as executive produce alongside Craig Zadan and Neil Meron via their Sony Pictures Television-based Storyline Entertainment. As for specifics, it's understood the story will be told with the use of flash forwards, with Macy's character seen in prison in the future.
JOURNEYMAN (NBC) - Alex Graves, who helmed the drama pilot to the series, has inked a one-year overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television. The pact calls for Graves to continue on as an executive producer for the first 13 episodes of the project as well as develop new series projects for the studio.
JUDGMENT DAY (Lifetime) - Graham Norton ("The Graham Norton Show") has been tapped to host the pilot, which is described as an in-studio popularity contest where seven women are voted off one by one by a female audience based on how they handle a series of questions and challenges, demonstrating how people all too often judge a book by its cover. Production on the hourlong project, from Simon Andreae ("Ebaum's World") and Fox Television Studios, is set to begin next month in Los Angeles.
MR. & MRS. SMITH (ABC) - Regency Television reportedly is set to begin shopping the pilot to other networks as early as next week. The project, which was co-produced by Doug Liman's Dutch Oven banner, didn't make the cut for ABC's 2007-2008 schedule this week. It's understood creator Simon Kinberg and co-stars Jordana Brewster and Martin Henderson are all still attached to the pilot, however no option length was given.
UGLY BETTY (ABC) - Executive producers Salma Hayek and Jose Tamez have signed a new two-year overall deal with the show's producer ABC Studios. The pact sets up their Ventanarosa Productions at the studio where they'll develop new series projects as well as continue with their duties on "Betty."
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[06/13/26 - 12:01 PM]
FOX Sports Soars Into Record Books with Most-Watched USMNT Telecast Ever
15,986,000 viewers watched the USMNT defeat Paraguay 4-1 across FOX, FOX One and Tubi.
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[06/12/26 - 02:38 PM]
ABC Delivers Most-Watched NBA Finals Through Four Games Since 1998
Game 4 averaged 20.9 million viewers and peaked with 23.2 million viewers at 11:15 p.m. ET.
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[06/12/26 - 01:11 PM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Is No. 1 Across Late-Night with Best Numbers Since Season Premiere Week
Rising week to week in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" matched a season best in the key Adult demo of premiere week, while drawing its largest overall audience since its season premiere week eight months ago.
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[06/12/26 - 12:31 PM]
FOX Sports Scores Record Viewership with FIFA World Cup 2026 Opening Match
6,309,000 viewers watched Mexico top South Africa 2-0 across FOX, FOX One and Tubi.
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[06/12/26 - 11:01 AM]
"Married at First Sight" Season 20 Arrives July 12 on Peacock
See you at the altar.
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[06/12/26 - 10:01 AM]
"CMA Fest Presented by SoFi" Reveals Lineup for Primetime Concert Special Airing Thursday, June 25, at 8/7c on ABC and Next Day on Hulu
The three-hour event showcases unforgettable performances, exciting collaborations and standout moments captured during the 2026 CMA Fest in Nashville, bringing fans front-row access to one of Country Music's most star-studded weekends.
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[06/12/26 - 08:15 AM]
"Nightline" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board and Posts Increases Both Week to Week and Year to Year in All Key Target Demos
"Nightline" posted week-to-week increases in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, delivering its strongest numbers in both key Adult demos in nearly 2 1/2 years.
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[06/12/26 - 07:01 AM]
Netflix's "The God of the Woods" Starts Production in Upstate New York
The highly-anticipated series adaptation of Liz Moore's New York Times' bestselling novel is now filming upstate in both the Hudson River Valley and the Adirondacks.
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[06/12/26 - 06:01 AM]
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from "Villaflor," Santiago Mitre's New Film
Based on true events, this political thriller blends espionage and historical drama, following two stories in 1977 that move in opposite directions.
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[06/12/26 - 03:01 AM]
Video: "Sidemen Presents: Side-Menu" - Official Trailer - Prime Video
Ready, steady, chaos! Join the Sidemen and friends in a brand new series where they pair up to take on national dishes, judged by a special guest, to determine which contestant will become the star chef of the series.
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[06/12/26 - 01:31 AM]
Video: "Gram Chikitsalay" Season 2 - Official Trailer - Prime Video
The young, idealistic and brilliant Dr. Prabhat, takes charge of a neglected Primary Health Centre in a North India Village hoping to bring about much needed changes only to realise it is he who will have to change before anything else.
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[06/12/26 - 12:01 AM]
Video: "Inside the Trustor Scandal" - Official Clip - Netflix
Joachim Posener, alongside key insiders, revisits the snowballing financial scandal that followed the illegal purchase of a Swedish investment firm in the '90s - and who exposed it.
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[06/11/26 - 06:01 PM]
FX's "Adults" Releases Standalone Prequel Episode Revealing Paul Baker's Origin Story
The special episode entitled "Marathon Day" will be available for fans everywhere on Friday, July 31 on FXX and Hulu at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT.
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[06/11/26 - 05:01 PM]
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World Into the Spirit Realm in "The East Palace", Premiering July 17
Netflix's new Korean series asks: what if the only way to stop a royal curse was to cross into a realm of spirits?
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[06/11/26 - 03:51 PM]
ESPN's Presentation of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final Game 4 Draws Largest Audience Since 2017
Game 4, which saw the Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3 in Las Vegas to even the series at 2-2, averaged 5.3 million viewers on ABC and drew the largest Game 4 audience since 2017.
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