 |
 |
[12/21/07 - 06:31 PM]
Development Update: Week of December 17-21
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) |
|
|
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
|
|
|
 [december 2007]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| | | | | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[01/14/25 - 12:31 PM]
Prime Video's First-Ever NFL Playoff Game Attracted the Most Concurrent Viewers Ever to the Service
Said news caps off a historic 2024-2025 campaign for the service.
|
[01/14/25 - 12:00 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Jan. 6: "Squid Game" Season 2 Keeps Winning, While "Missing You" Doesn't Miss
"American Primeval" - the historical drama based on real-life events during the 1857 Utah War - arrived at the No. 2 spot with 10.4 million views.
|
[01/14/25 - 11:01 AM]
"Waitress: The Musical" Begins Streaming on Max on February 14
Featuring the Broadway debut of acclaimed Tony-winning singer, songwriter, and actress Sara Bareilles in the lead role, the musical is based on a motion picture of the same name also available on the platform starting February 1, written by the late Adrienne Shelly and starring Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion.
|
[01/14/25 - 11:01 AM]
Video: "Apple Cider Vinegar" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Two young women advocate for wellness remedies to cure deadly illnesses, unraveling their lives as they unknowingly - and knowingly - mislead the world.
|
[01/14/25 - 10:01 AM]
"We Live in Time" Begins Streaming Exclusively on Max February 7
The film stars Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh.
|
[01/14/25 - 10:01 AM]
NBC Renews Its Hit Freshman Comedy Series "St. Denis Medical" for a Second Season
Across all platforms, "St. Denis Medical" has reached 21.4 million total viewers for the season to date.
|
[01/14/25 - 09:18 AM]
"90 Day Fiance" Returns with New Couples, Shocking Relationship Twists and the Show's First-Ever Throuple on Sunday, February 16
The top-rated series, which attracted 11.3 million viewers last season and was one of the highest-rated unscripted cable series of 2024, captures the riveting journeys of intercultural couples as they navigate the thrilling complexities of love, cultural differences, and societal pressures.
|
[01/14/25 - 09:12 AM]
New Season of "History's Greatest Mysteries" and New Series "History's Most Shocking" to Premiere on the History Channel on Jan. 27
From the world's most enigmatic unsolved mysteries to the most shocking moments ever captured on camera.
|
[01/14/25 - 09:01 AM]
The CW Network Sets Broadcast Team for 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Season
Veteran broadcaster Adam Alexander will serve as lead play-by-play announcer and will be joined by Dayton 500 Champion Jamie McMurray and NASCAR driver Parker Kligerman as race analysts.
|
[01/14/25 - 09:00 AM]
"Hollywood Squares" Will Air at a Special Time Sunday, Jan. 19 Following the AFC Divisional Playoff Game
As announced last week, the series premieres shifted one week to this Thursday, January 16 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT).
|
[01/14/25 - 08:40 AM]
FOX Sports Unveils Broadcast Team for NTT IndyCar Series
FOX Sports has named veteran broadcaster Will Buxton to handle play-by-play with James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell offering race analysis for the inaugural season of coverage on FOX beginning with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 2.
|
[01/14/25 - 08:24 AM]
Jamal Crawford Joins NBC Sports' NBA Coverage as Game Analyst
Crawford is expected to work one or more games per week when NBC Sports' NBA coverage begins in October 2025.
|
[01/14/25 - 08:03 AM]
U.K. Series "Love Island: All Stars" Returns to Peacock Exclusively for a Second Season
The first episode premieres exclusively on Peacock on Wednesday, January 15, with new episodes streaming every day at 6 pm PT/9 pm ET.
|
[01/14/25 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "The Witcher: Sirens of The Deep" - Official Trailer - Netflix
When human sailors are attacked by mysterious creatures of the deep, only one person can stop the war between land and sea: the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia.
|
[01/14/25 - 07:43 AM]
FOX Delivers Most-Watched Telecast of the Week with NFL Wild Card Game
The audience peaked with 39,510,000 viewers from 7:00-7:15 PM ET.
|
|
|
|
