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[03/12/08 - 05:50 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, March 12
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!
DISCOVERY PLANETGREEN SERIES (New!) - TLC will celebrate the upcoming launch of Discovery PlanetGreen (formerly Discovery Home Channel) with a handful of "green"-themed episodes of its current series as well as previews of the rebranded network's original series. Said newcomers include "Wasted" (Tuesday, April 15 at 8:00/7:00c), "Greenovate" (Tuesday, April 15 at 8:30/7:30c) and "Gadget's Electric Garage" (Wednesday, April 16 at 8:00/7:00c). Further details about the projects will be announced in the coming weeks. As for TLC, "Little People, Big World" (Monday, April 15), "What Not To Wear" (Friday, April 18) and "Date My House" (Saturday, April 19) are among the participating series.
DIVORCE COURT/THE HUGHLEYS (TV One) - TV One has scored the off-network rights to Twentieth Television's comedy "The Hughleys" and its long-running court show "Divorce Court." The former will launch with a 10-hour marathon on Saturday, April 5 starting at 8:00/7:00c with episodes regularly airing weekdays at 6:30/5:30c and 11:30/10:30c. As for "Court," the cable channel has been showcasing 120 "best of" episodes featuring Judge Mablean Ephriam weekdays at 4:00/3:00c and 4:30/3:30c since last month. No financial details were released about either deal, which is for three years.
ER (NBC) - Aida Turturro ("The Sopranos") has signed on while Australian actor David Lyons is in talks to play recurring roles on the veteran medical drama. The news comes as the Peacock and producer Warner Bros. Television enter negotiations to bring the series back for a 15th - and final - season. Industry insiders suggest the pickup hinges on a reduction on "ER's" license fee. The series traditionally gets a jump on filming its subsequent season, so production on the first four episodes of season 15 would follow on the heels of the completion of season 14's last six installments. As for the actors, Turturro will play a car accident victim while Lyons is being eyed as a handsome new doctor who lacks a conscience.
THE FBI (FOX) - The network has passed on the Brian Grazer-produced drama despite giving it a hefty series commitment back in August. No reason was given for the decision, which has led Imagine Television and 20th Century Fox Television to begin shopping the series to other networks, including CBS and TNT. Chap Taylor penned the pilot script, which centers on an Iraq War vet who is appointed as the new head of the FBI's Critical Incidents Response Group. John Eisendrath and David Nevins are executive producing alongside Grazer and Taylor.
NASHVILLE STAR (NBC) - Grammy winner John Rich, one half of the multiplatinum duo Big & Rich, will be a judge/mentor on the show's upcoming sixth season. In addition, producer Reveille has formed a joint venture with AEG Live and Warner Bros. Records to promote a "Nashville Star" concert tour across North America and release songs from this season's winner and other contestants, respectively. Billy Ray Cyrus is hosting the series, which launches its first NBC aired season on Monday, June 9.
SIT DOWN, SHUT UP (FOX, New!) - Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum's Tantamount has landed its first pilot order, an animated take on the Australian live-action series of the same name. The project, which is being co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Granada International, focuses on the lives of seven staff members at a high school in a small northeastern fishing town who are preoccupied with their own needs and agendas, meaning the students always come second. It's understood much like "The Pitts," a table read of the show for the network's executives will serve as its de facto pilot. Brendan Reed and Tim McLoughlan created the Australian version, which ran on Channel Ten in 2001.
SPACED (FOX) - Australian actor Josh Lawson has been tapped for the male lead in the comedy pilot, about two strangers who pose as a married couple in order to rent an apartment. It's understood the network had been putting the finishing touches on a talent holding deal with the actor prior to his casting. Simon Pegg played said role in the U.K. version. Adam Barr is adapting the U.S. incarnation of the project, which is set up at Warner Bros. Television, McG's Wonderland Sound & Vision and the ever-busy Granada International.
UGLY BETTY (ABC) - Showrunner Silvio Horta has inked a two-year, mid-seven-figure overall deal with ABC Studios. The pact, the first major one announced since the close of the WGA strike, will cover his duties on the Thursday night entry as well as call for him to develop new series projects for the studio.
X-TERMINATORS (Discovery, New!) - Reality guru Thom Beers ("Deadliest Catch") will roll out his latest original series, "X-Terminators," on Monday, April 14 at 10:00/9:00c. The series revolves around a team of pest control technicians. Leading into the newcomer will be new episodes of "Dirty Jobs" at 9:00/8:00c.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[02/09/26 - 08:31 AM]
Peacock to Exclusively Stream Focus Features' "Song Sung Blue" Beginning February 13
Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, in her Academy Award, Golden Globe and Actor Award-nominated role, star in Focus Features' unforgettable romance alongside Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, Mustafa Shakir and more.
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[02/09/26 - 08:00 AM]
Callum Vinson Signs on to Play Atreus in Prime Video's "God of War" from Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios
Atreus, the ten-year old son of Kratos, grew up in a remote forest cabin, isolated from the rest of the world and raised almost entirely by his mother Faye.
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[02/09/26 - 07:31 AM]
Video: "Virgin River" Season 7 - Official Trailer - Netflix
Newly married, Mel and Jack pursue their dream of adopting a baby, while old loves smolder and new threats challenge Virgin River.
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[02/09/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: More "Sesame Street" Coming to Netflix - Vol. 2 Official Trailer - Netflix Jr
Miley Cyrus brings us a new song and EVEN MORE fun with Sesame Street, dropping on Netflix, March 9.
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[02/09/26 - 04:00 AM]
HBO Max to Launch in the UK & Ireland on Thursday, March 26
Already available in over 110 territories worldwide, HBO Max offers the ultimate mix of best-in-class series, movies, extraordinary real-life stories and, via TNT Sports in the UK, live sport.
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[02/08/26 - 11:23 PM]
A Home for World-Class Filipino Entertainment: The Journey and What's Next on Netflix Philippines in 2026
After 10 years of being part of Filipino entertainment culture, Netflix Philippines enters 2026 with a slate that marks a striking new chapter - bigger in ambition, deeper in creative partnerships, and unmistakably Filipino at its core.
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[02/06/26 - 11:39 PM]
Development Update: Week of February 2-6
Updates include: Joshua Jackson, Ray Romano to lead HBO Max's "How to Survive Without Me"; FOX extends "The Floor" through season seven; and Craig Mazin to bring "Baldur's Gate" to HBO.
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[02/06/26 - 12:49 PM]
TBS Unveils First Superstar Guests for "Foul Play with Anthony Davis" with More A List Names to Come
LeBron James, Draymond Green, Jordan Chiles, and Rickea Jackson will kick off series premiere on Monday, April 6.
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[02/06/26 - 09:16 AM]
Netflix's "Untamed" Heads to Hawaii for Season 2
Season two of the hit mystery thriller series will take place in Hawaii, as a new case brings Eric Bana's Kyle Turner to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.
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[02/06/26 - 08:00 AM]
All Six Seasons of "Schitt's Creek" Arrive on HBO Max Tomorrow in the U.S.
The beloved comedy follows rich video-store magnate Johnny Rose, his soap-star wife Moira, and their two kids, son David and socialite daughter Alexis.
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[02/06/26 - 07:36 AM]
Peacock Exclusively Streams "Wicked: For Good" Beginning March 20
The feature's Peacock debut will be accompanied by a sing-along version of the film and a full collection of bonus content.
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[02/06/26 - 07:12 AM]
"Disaster: The Chernobyl Meltdown" Coming Soon from CNN Original Series, National Geographic International and Windfall Films
Co-produced by CNN Original Series, National Geographic EMEA and Windfall Films, the series will premiere with two episodes on Sunday, March 1 at 9:00/8:00c.
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[02/06/26 - 07:01 AM]
NHL on ESPN Networks: Viewership Up Nearly 40% Year-Over-Year Through First Four Months
Through 22 games, the NHL on ESPN networks is averaging 795K viewers, +39% YoY.
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[02/06/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "Strangers in the Park" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A former communist militant and a "live and let live" man form an unlikely friendship on a park bench, sharing their life stories with humor and heart.
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[02/06/26 - 12:31 AM]
Next on Netflix Thailand 2026: The Widest Variety of Thai Stories, All in One Place
Netflix is deepening its commitment to Thai storytelling with its most ambitious slate to date: three new series, four films, and Netflix's first local documentary feature.
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