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[12/21/07 - 06:31 PM]
Development Update: Week of December 17-21
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!
AMC ORIGINAL SERIES (AMC, New!) - The cable channel has added four new projects to its development slate. Said efforts will eventually result in one of two pilots the network plans to order next year. The other pilot will be based off its previously announced projects. As for the newcomers, they are: "Fort Smith," from "24's" Robert Cochran, about Isaiah Parker, who polices the Five Points - comprised of five different Indian tribes - with his posse in the lawless post-Civil War West; an untitled hour from Alison Anders and Terry Graham, about Comanche leader Quanah Parker, who fights the U.S. Army for the rights to his tribe's land; "Greenfields," from playwright Nicky Silver ("Raised in Captivity"), about a psychiatrist who breaks his patient out of jail; and "Uninvited Guest," from "Less Than Zero" screenwriter Harley Peyton and Mandalay's Peter Guber and Elizabeth Stephens, about a character who suffers from multiple personality disorder.
THE AMERICAN MALL (MTV, New!) - MTV is teaming with "High School Musical" producers Bill Borden and Barry Rosenbush for a romantic comedy/musical set at a mall in the vein of the Disney Channel sensation. Nina Dobrev and Rob Mayes will topline the project, about Ally, a high school grad/singer-songwriter (Dobrev), who battles to save her mother's music store and to keep the boy she loves (Mayes), a musically gifted young janitor who fronts a garage band. Autumn Reeser also stars as Ally's mean-girl adversary Madison, the spoiled and ruthless heiress to the owners of the mall, while Wade Allain-Marcus, Bianca Collins, Rodney To, Neil Haskell, Brooke Lyons, David Baum, Blythe Auffarth, Yassmin Alers, Bresha Webb, Neil Haskell and Al Sapienza round out the cast. Production is set to begin next month at a mall in Provo, Utah with Shawn Ku ("Pretty Dead Girl") directing. Borden is producing "Mall," which was originally set up as a feature at Columbia Pictures prior to "Musical's" release, with Rosenbush and Arata Matsushima serving as executive producers. "Mall" then will premiere this summer with a DVD release a couple of days later.
BACKYARDS & BULLETS (NBC) - The Peacock has opted not to move forward with the drama pilot, about a suburban Neighborhood Watch group gone awry. The news comes as a result of the network letting its options on the cast expire. The show's ensemble included Abigail Spencer, Billy Burke, Casey LaBow, Enuka Okuma, Jessalyn Gilsig, Kristen Lehman, Lou Diamond Phillips, Mathew St. Patrick and Richard Ruccolo. Charles McDougall directed the Sony Pictures Television/Pariah-based hour from a script by Ed Decter and John J. Strauss. Pariah's Gavin Polone and Jamie Tarses also served as executive producers.
COCO CHANEL (Lifetime, New!) - The cable channel is developing a biopic/mini-series about the famed fashion icon featuring Barbora Bobulova and Shirley MacLaine as the designer in the early and later periods of her life, respectively. Christian Duguay ("Human Trafficking") is on board to direct the Alchemy Television Group-based project, which is currently filming. Enrico Medioli ("Once Upon a Time in America") penned the script while Lux Vide SpA, Pampa Productions, Rai and France 2 are co-producing alongside Alchemy. The two-part effort, which is being done in cooperation with Chanel's estate, tracks her upbringing in an orphanage outside Paris through her move to reinvent herself in her 70s, after spending years in exile.
KAYA (MTV) - MTV development chief Tony DiSanto confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter this week the series, the network's first scripted effort in more than five years, won't be returning for a second season. "Kaya" opened its 10-episode run on Monday nights following "The Hills" before being banished to Saturday nights after failing to capitalize on said lead-in. DiSanto however was quick to note the network still plans to push forward in the scripted genre as several projects are in the works, including an untitled effort from Adam Ripp and Steven Wolfson as well as "Darius," from "Law & Order" veteran Michael S. Chernuchin.
SAINT OF CIRCUMSTANCE (FOX, New!) - "The Office" alum David Denman is set to topline a new single-camera comedy pilot for FOX about a man going through a midlife crisis who quits his dead-end office job to be a paramedic on the night shift. "Scrubs" star Zack Braff is in talks to direct the ABC Studios-based half-hour, which was created by Braff's brother, Adam ("Andrew Henry's Meadow"). Denman then will play the lead role of Wayne with the Braffs executive producing alongside Emile Levisetti. Production on the pilot is expected to begin after the WGA strikes concludes.
UNTITLED CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER PROJECT (ABC) - ABC Studios has extended the options on the entire cast of the multi-camera comedy pilot, about a family man (Cedric the Entertainer) who always has been the proud breadwinner but has difficulty adjusting when his wife's (Regina Hall) hobby turns into a multimillion-dollar enterprise. Production on the project, which also stars Charles Malik Whitfield, Jasmine McNeal, Melissa Peterman, Peter Mackenzie and Steven Wash, Jr., was completed in October. Ken Whittingham directed from a script by co-creators Cedric the Entertainer, Michael Soccio and Rock Reuben.
WIFE SWAP (ABC) - Lifetime's purchase of the show's off-network rights from Disney-ABC Domestic Television on Tuesday (read the story) is said to be valued at $250,000 per episode. The four-year pact, which begins in October, gives the cable channel the right to play reruns of the series twice a day.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[12/05/13 - 04:00 PM]
It's a Cool Yule on VH1 with the Cable Premiere of the "Lady Gaga & The Muppets' Holiday Spectacular" Saturday, December 7th at 7:00 PM ET/PT
Originally broadcast Thanksgiving night by ABC, the special delivers a seasonal twist on the ultimate mash-up of music + pop culture + nostalgia.
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[12/05/13 - 03:08 PM]
Wednesday's Cable Ratings & Broadcast Finals: "Modern Family," "Survivor" Top Charts
Plus: numbers for TNT's "Mob City," TLC's "Half-Ton Killer: Transformed" and HGTV's "Buying and Selling."
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[12/05/13 - 03:06 PM]
CBS Makes the Holidays Bright with a Very Merry "Millers" Marathon on Thursday, Dec. 26
The episodes featured are "The Mother is In," "Plot Twists" and "Stuff."
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[12/05/13 - 02:40 PM]
Season-to-Date: ABC Is #1 in Non-Sports Adults 18-49 Ratings - "Scandal" Emerges as the #1 Drama in C3
ABC spins the numbers for the first 10 weeks of the season.
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[12/05/13 - 01:46 PM]
Dust Off Your Dinner Jackets! Bravo Media's "Watch What Happens Live" Welcomes the Cast of "Downton Abbey" to the Clubhouse Tuesday, December 10 at 11PM ET/PT
Laura Carmichael, Rob James Collier, Allen Leech and Lesley Nicol are all scheduled to visit the series.
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[12/05/13 - 01:30 PM]
"Steve Harvey" Notches Four Consecutive Weeks of Series-High Ratings
NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution spins the numbers for the week of October 28 through the week of November 18.
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[12/05/13 - 01:22 PM]
Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Series "HitRecord on TV" Chosen as Sundance Film Festival Official Selection with a "New Frontier" Screening Event on January 17
Pivot will launch the series with two back-to-back episodes on Saturday, January 18 at 10:00/9:00c.
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[12/05/13 - 01:12 PM]
Fuse Sets Premiere Date for New Season of "Funny or Die's Billy on the Street"
Guests this season include Rachel Dratch, Lena Dunham, Neil Patrick Harris, Sean Hayes, Lindsay Lohan, Joel McHale, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Paul Rudd and Olivia Wilde.
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[12/05/13 - 01:08 PM]
Bravo Media Offers Up a Double Dose of "Shahs of Sunset" Next Week on Sunday, December 8 at 9PM ET/PT and Tuesday, December 10 at 10PM ET/PT
Regular Sunday, 9:00/8:00c time period holder "Thicker Than Water" will return the following week on December 15.
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[12/05/13 - 01:02 PM]
Shhhh! TLC Invites You to a "Secret Wedding" on Friday, December 27 at 10/9c
Cat Deeley hosts the one-hour special, in which a very special bride is surprised with the wedding she's always dreamed of.
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[12/05/13 - 12:12 PM]
National Geographic Channel Finds the "Forrest Gump of Middle Earth" in "The Legend of Mick Dodge"
The newcomer launches Tuesday, January 7 at 10:00/9:00c with back-to-back episodes.
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[12/05/13 - 11:57 AM]
CBS Sports Features College Football Championship Doubleheader on Saturday, Dec. 7
Highlights include the inaugural Mountain West Championship in primetime beginning at 10:00/9:00c.
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[12/05/13 - 11:23 AM]
Crime Drama Series "Cracked" and "King" Return to Reelz for Second Seasons Starting Monday, January 6, 2014
They'll air back-to-back on Mondays at 11:00/10:00c and midnight/11:00c, respectively.
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[12/05/13 - 11:05 AM]
Brand New "E! Entertainment Special Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" Hosted by E! News' Giuliana Rancic Premieres December 18th at 9:00PM ET/PT
She is joined by stars Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, James Marsden, Meagan Good and Adam McKay as they spill on the long-awaited sequel.
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[12/05/13 - 10:46 AM]
News Flash: "Arrow" Matches Series Highs in 18-34 Demos
The CW spins the numbers for Wednesday, December 4.
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