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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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[07/05/25 - 02:11 PM]
Yeeee-haw! "My Life with the Walter Boys" Season 2 Premieres August 28
Netflix confirmed the news on social media this afternoon.
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[07/05/25 - 01:31 PM]
From Action-Packed Adventures to Chilling Supernatural Tales: Netflix Invites Viewers to Discover Their Next Favorite Anime
In addition to debuts for "BEASTARS" Final Season, "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2," "Record of Ragnarok III" and "My Melody & Kuromi," Netflix offered sneak peeks at "The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity," "The Summer Hikaru Died" and "SAKAMOTO DAYS," with new episodes launching weekly beginning July 14.
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[07/05/25 - 01:01 PM]
First Look at "Reasonable Doubt" Season 3 Premiering September 18 on Hulu
Jax is coming in red hot.
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[07/04/25 - 03:31 PM]
Video: Tyler Perry's "Miss Governor" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Tyler Perry's comedy series "She The People" starring Terri J. Vaughn returns with all the laughs and a new name.
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[07/04/25 - 02:31 PM]
Video: Tyler Perry's "Beauty in Black" Season 2 - Official Teaser - Netflix
As she takes the reins of the Bellarie empire, Kimmie confronts a vicious family power struggle, where betrayal, greed and danger lurk at every turn.
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[07/03/25 - 02:33 PM]
ABC News Same-Day Primetime Special "Verdict: The Diddy Trial" Is No. 1 in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54
Versus the competition in the time period, "Verdict: The Diddy Trial" outperformed NBC by +40% in Adults 18-49 (212,000 vs. 151,000) and +22% in Adults 25-54.
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[07/03/25 - 10:00 AM]
Video: "In the Lost Lands" - Official Trailer - Hulu
In the ghostly wilderness of the Lost Lands, a sorceress (Milla Jovovich) and mysterious drifter (Dave Bautista) must join together in order to survive against the supernatural forces which threaten their world.
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[07/03/25 - 09:01 AM]
"Digman!" Season Two to Premiere Immediately After "South Park" Wednesday, July 23rd at 10:30PM ET/PT on Comedy Central
Season two will feature guest voice appearances from a wide array of fan-favorite talent.
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[07/03/25 - 08:01 AM]
Nat Geo's Nine-Time Emmy Award-Winning Series "Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller" Returns with Powerful New Season Exploring the World's Deadliest Underground Markets
The new season kicks off with a groundbreaking look into the operations of Mexican cartels inside the United States.
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[07/03/25 - 07:01 AM]
Get Ready for Even More Action! Netflix Has Confirmed the Third Season of the Brazilian Original Series "Criminal Code"
Fans can expect even more intense scenes and conflicts - after all, last season's finale made it clear that new showdowns between cops and criminals (not to mention revenge!) are on the way.
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[07/03/25 - 06:12 AM]
Video: "The Idaho Student Murders" - Official Trailer - Peacock Original
A feature documentary focuses its lens on the pre-trial case against Bryan Kohberger, a young criminology student accused of brutally stabbing to death four University of Idaho coeds.
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[07/03/25 - 02:01 AM]
Video: "The Assassin" Sets Premiere Date in the UK and Ireland with Explosive New Trailer
Retired assassin Julie (Keeley Hawes) is reunited with her estranged son, Edward (Freddie Highmore), but her dangerous past begins to catch up with them.
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[07/03/25 - 01:01 AM]
Video: "Catalog" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A recently widowed workaholic clumsily navigates life with his kids, guided by his late wife's online tips. Can he ace this crash course in parenthood?
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[07/03/25 - 12:01 AM]
Video: "Diary of a Ditched Girl" - Meet the Cast - Netflix
Here they are: the boys of Malmö. Watch "Diary of a Ditched Girl" September 11 to see if she manages to get a second date with one of them.
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[07/02/25 - 07:01 PM]
Video: "The Nice Guy" - Teaser Trailer - Disney+
Lee Dongwook is back and this time, it's romantic.
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