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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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[10/17/18 - 02:01 PM]
Warning: This May Make You Cry - "Orange Is the New Black" - The Final Season, 2019
Netflix revealed the news on social media this afternoon.
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[10/17/18 - 02:00 PM]
Joshua Bassett Lands the Lead Role in "High School Musical: The Musical"
The series for Disney's upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service will be filmed in Salt Lake City, Utah, in a single camera documentary style.
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[10/17/18 - 12:30 PM]
ABC Gives a Full-Season Order to Hit New Comedy "Single Parents"
On average through its first three episodes, the ABC freshman comedy is drawing an audience of 5.6 million viewers and is delivering a 1.6/7 in Adults 18-49.
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[10/17/18 - 10:32 AM]
"People Magazine: Sexiest Chef Alive" to Be Revealed in Primetime Special on Food Network
Host Jess Cagle gives viewers an up-close look at 10 rising culinary stars who are in the running for the title.
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[10/17/18 - 10:14 AM]
Netflix Announces Multi-Generational Live Action Family Comedy Series "Family Reunion," Co-Starring Loretta Devine and Tia Mowry
In the Netflix original series, Mowry plays Cocoa McKellan, a free spirited mother from Seattle.
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[10/17/18 - 09:30 AM]
Season Five of Disney Junior's Groundbreaking Animated Series "Doc McStuffins" Premieres Friday, Oct. 26, on Disney Channel
The new season will bring the series to a total of more than 150 episodes, shorts and specials.
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[10/17/18 - 08:15 AM]
Tuesday's Broadcast Ratings: NBC Holds Off Demo Push by ABC Debuts
The Alphabet's premiere of "The Conners" leads all programs last night among adults 18-49.
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[10/17/18 - 08:11 AM]
Reclaimed Materials Get New Life in DIY Network Series "Heritage Hunters"
San Francisco-based salvage expert Michael "Bug" Deakin and his team of craftsmen hunt for history-rich materials to repurpose into timeless pieces for clients' homes.
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[10/17/18 - 07:32 AM]
Garth Brooks to Premiere His New Television Special, "Garth: Live at Notre Dame!" Dec. 2 on CBS
The special will capture Brooks while he performs the first live concert ever held at the legendary Notre Dame Stadium, at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, on Saturday, October 20.
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[10/17/18 - 07:16 AM]
Investigation Discovery's Hit Series "People Magazine Investigates" Returns for a Thrilling Third Season
Returning Monday, November 5, the 15-episode season takes viewers to the epicenter of America's most compelling crimes.
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[10/17/18 - 06:55 AM]
MTV to Honor Janet Jackson as 2018 "Global Icon" at "MTV EMAs" Airing Worldwide on November 4
Jackson will perform a medley of her greatest hits including her recent smash single, "Made for Now."
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[10/17/18 - 06:32 AM]
Video: "Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj" - Studio Spot - Netflix
In a never before seen sneak peek of the weekly topical show, Minhaj treated viewers via Instagram to a hint of the show's high tech, interactive set.
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[10/17/18 - 06:17 AM]
"Elite" Has Been Renewed for Season 2!
The streaming service announced said pick-up via social media this morning.
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[10/17/18 - 06:00 AM]
CBS to Premiere "The World's Best" Immediately Following CBS Sports Broadcast of "Super Bowl LIII"
James Corden hosts the series, with Drew Barrymore, RuPaul Charles and Faith Hill as the three American judges.
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[10/17/18 - 12:46 AM]
MTV Studios and Facebook Watch Join Forces to Reimagine MTV's "The Real World" Around the World with Three All New Seasons
Drawing on Facebook's global platform, the new seasons will be native productions in Mexico, Thailand and the United States, respectively, to explore friendship, and the cultural and social environment in each.
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