 |
 |
[03/11/08 - 05:37 PM]
Development Update: March 10-11
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!
DRIVING AROUND WITH JONI (HBO, New!) - Jhoni Marchinko ("Men in Trees") has scored a pilot commitment from the pay channel for a new comedy about an eccentric, successful 40-year-old widow who spends her days driving around Los Angeles with her French bulldog, looking for meaning in her life after the sudden death of her husband. The project was originally set up at Warner Bros. Television where Marchinko had an overall deal prior to its termination during the WGA strike. Marchinko then will pen and executive produce "Joni" while Warner Bros. will still retain a piece of the show but not be creatively involved.
ELEVENTH HOUR (CBS) - Marley Shelton ("Grindhouse") has been tapped as the female lead in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced drama pilot, about Jacob Hood (Rufus Sewell), a special science adviser to the government who - with his feisty female bodyguard Rachel Young (Shelton) in tow - saves people from the worst abuses of science. Ashley Jensen originated Shelton's role in the U.K. version. Danny Cannon is directing the hour from a script by Mick Davis with the pair executive producing alongside Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman for Granada International and Warner Bros. Television.
HARPER'S ISLAND (CBS, New!) - Feature writer Ari Schlossberg ("Hide and Seek") has booked a pilot presentation order from the Eye and CBS Paramount Network Television for a new horror-themed drama that unfolds during the course of a season as a group of friends meet on an island off the Seattle coast for a destination wedding. "Jericho's" Jon Turteltaub is on board to direct and executive produce alongside his Junction Entertainment partners Karim Zreik and Dan Shotz. The latter pair then will serve as co-executive producers, as will Schlossberg.
MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL (CBS) - Josh Cooke ("Big Day") is set to star opposite Tim Peper in the multi-camera comedy pilot, about two best friends who own a bike shop and whose relationship becomes complicated when one (Peper) starts dating the ex-wife of the other (Cooke). Mike Sikowitz is behind the half-hour, which is set up at Sony Pictures Television.
THE SAINT (New!) - Barry Levinson, Tom Fontana, Jorge Zamacona, Bill Macdonald, Roger Moore and Geoffrey Moore are set to team to produce an independently financed two-hour TV movie/backdoor pilot based on Leslie Charteris's famed novels about debonair international thief Simon Templar. Zamacona and Macdonald previously set up the project at TNT last season (read the story) but it didn't move forward. The rights subsequently reverted back to them, after which Fontana and Levinson came aboard. Nehst Studios is behind the project while James Purefoy ("Rome") in talks to topline. Production then is set to begin next month with filming in Budapest, Hungary, New York and Puerto Rico. Since the 1997 feature starring Val Kilmer, both UPN (director John McTiernan and producer ATG in 2000) and ABC (writer Stephen Nathan and producer FremantleMedia North America in 2004) have taken stabs at developing a new small screen take.
UNTITLED NICK LACHEY PROJECT (MTV, New!) - Nick Lachey is developing a "Fame"-esque reality series set at his alma mater, the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati. The untitled project then would track its students, blending their performances with a narrative about what takes place in the school. Marc Platt and Russell Heldt are executive producing alongside Lachey.
WORST WEEK (CBS) - Erinn Hayes ("The Winner") has landed the female lead in the comedy pilot, about a guy named Sam (Kyle Bornheimer) and his rocky relationship with the parents of his fiancee (Hayes) during a family holiday. Her character, Melanie "Mel" Cook, is further detailed in the casting notice as follows: "30. Sam's fiancee. She's a beautiful, warm woman who is unaffectedly striking, even when she's not wearing any make-up. Currently in her first trimester of pregnancy, Mel is throwing up on a regular basis and just trying to soldier on until she's feeling better. Very attached to Sam, she's hoping that his visit for Dick's birthday will sweeten up her parents and set the stage for their announcement of Mel's pregnancy and engagement. However, Sam's surreal string of blunders, gaffes and boneheaded misfortunes make it very hard for Mel to convince her folks that Sam is indeed Mr. Right." Jay Malone also stars in the half-hour, which comes from Universal Media Studios and executive producers Jimmy Mulville, Marc Buckland and Matt Tarses.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
|
|
|
 [march 2008]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| | | | | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[05/01/26 - 01:33 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Jumps Back from Spring Break with Fifth Straight Week of Growth Among Both Total Viewers and Households
Dominating the New York market, "Live with Kelly and Mark" towers over its closest competition this season by double and triple digits in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54.
|
[05/01/26 - 12:36 PM]
VH1 Marks 15 Years of Love & Hip Hop with "The Final Chapter," A Six-Part Event Series Premiering on VH1 in Fall 2026
For 15 years, Love & Hip Hop built stars, sparked conversation, and helped define the modern reality television era.
|
[05/01/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: Trailer Debut - Hulu Original - "Lisa Ann Walter: It Was An Accident"
Lisa Ann Walter's long-awaited debut comedy special takes on feral Gen-Xers, self-loathing, and navigating a backsliding America, via the no-filter lens of a grown-ass woman who has been paying attention.
|
[05/01/26 - 10:00 AM]
FOX Announces "Marriage Market," A High-Stakes Arranged Marriage Experiment, Hosted by Whitney Cummings
The series welcomes singles - who are officially over swiping, ghosting, and endless first dates - into an actual Marriage Market, where they're up for trying something radical... putting their love lives in the hands of family members that know them best and risking it all for one shot at forever - in an arranged marriage.
|
[05/01/26 - 09:01 AM]
Avery Anna, Blake Shelton, Carter Faith, Dan + Shay, Ella Langley, Jordan Davis, Kane Brown, The Red Clay Strays, Thomas Rhett, Tucker Wetmore, and Zach Top Added to 61st Academy of Country Music Awards Performance Lineup
They join previously announced superstar performers Cody Johnson, Kacey Musgraves, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, and Riley Green.
|
[05/01/26 - 08:31 AM]
Video: "El Encargado" - Official Trailer - Hulu
The perfect superintendent... if you don't look too closely.
|
[05/01/26 - 08:05 AM]
NBC Sports' NBA Playoff Viewership on NBC & Peacock Up 58% vs. Comparable Coverage Last Year Through First 13 Games
This is the first time in 24 years that NBC Sports is presenting the NBA Playoffs.
|
[05/01/26 - 08:00 AM]
Video: We TV and All Reality Unveil Key Art and Trailer for New Original Unscripted Series "This Is Poly"
"This Is Poly" premieres Friday, May 29 at 9:30 PM ET/PT, immediately following the season premiere of "Love After Lockup" at 8pm ET/PT.
|
[05/01/26 - 07:01 AM]
"The Mystery of Richard Simmons: A Diane Sawyer Special" to Premiere Tuesday, May 12, on ABC and Streams Next Day on Disney+ and Hulu
The new hourlong special is a joyful and revealing portrait of an American superstar.
|
[05/01/26 - 06:02 AM]
Video: "Marty, Life Is Short" - Official Trailer - Netflix
The definitive documentary on beloved comedian Martin Short, using beautiful, intimate, never-before-seen archive.
|
[05/01/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: The Gustavo Cerati Documentary - Netflix
The intimate portrait reveals the musician's most quiet and human sides, drawn from exclusive testimonies and unreleased material.
|
[04/30/26 - 02:17 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers Sunday Morning and in Late-Night
ABC News' "Nightline" ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers (931,000) for the week of April 20.
|
[04/30/26 - 11:01 AM]
UP Faith & Family to Exclusively Premiere Season Eight of the Police/K9 Procedural Hit Series "Hudson & Rex" Beginning June 11
In the eighth season, Detective Mark Hudson (Luke Roberts) joins the team.
|
[04/30/26 - 10:31 AM]
Meet the Six Contestants Competing on "Fear Factor: 48 Hours of Fear," Where Fear and Sleep Deprivation Are Guaranteed!
The two-week special event airs Thursday, May 14 and May 21 on FOX.
|
[04/30/26 - 10:01 AM]
Netflix Announces New Series "Minimum Wage," Set to Debut Later This Year
Based on the breakout American High Shorts series of the same name, which has drawn over 30 million views across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram since launching in May 2024 and will debut exclusively on Netflix later this year.
|
|
|
|
