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[04/04/08 - 12:00 AM]
Development Update: Friday, April 4
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!
CAN OPENERS (CBS) - Eion Bailey ("ER") is the latest addition to the drama pilot presentation, about a brain surgeon (Lauren Lee Smith) who fights to survive in the competitive boys club that is the seven-year neurosurgical residency. He's set as Dr. Pete Anderson, a chief resident at the end of his seven-year neurosurgical residency. Sony Pictures Television and Apostle Productions are behind the project, which comes from creator Elle Johnson and fellow executive producers Denis Leary and Jim Serpico. Production is set to begin shortly in New York City.
DOLLHOUSE (FOX) - Olivia Williams ("X-Men: The Last Stand") is the latest addition to Joss Whedon's upcoming drama series, about a group of young men and women, known as "Dolls," who are imprinted with different personalities for different assignments. She'll play Adelle DeWitt, who's detailed in the casting notice as follows: "40 something, any ethnicity, beautiful, sophisticated, cold as an alp. Runs the Dollhouse with an efficiency that is both ruthless and protective. Would die before she showed anyone how lonely she is." There she'll join the previously cast Dichen Lachman, Eliza Dushku, Enver Gjokaj, Fran Kranz and Tahmoh Penikett. Whedon wrote the pilot and is directing for 20th Century Fox Television.
EXIT 19 (CBS) - Matthew Lillard ("Scooby-Doo") is set to star opposite Geena Davis in the drama pilot presentation, about Gloria (Davis), a quirky Manhattan homicide detective who also is a single mom to two kids in the suburbs on Long Island. He'll play Gloria's younger brother who lives with her. Jeffrey Bell is behind the ABC Studios/CBS Paramount Network Television-based project, which also comes from fellow executive producers Gene Stein and Nina Wass.
NY-LON (CBS) - Will Kemp ("Step Up 2: The Streets") has been tapped as the male lead in the drama pilot, about a New York store clerk (Elisha Cuthbert) and a London stock broker (Kemp) who embark on a cross-continental romance. His character, Michael Antonioni, is further detailed in the casting notice as follows: "30-34, British, rakishly handsome, charming, and confident. He's a successful, ambitious broker. He has plenty of casual relationships with women but has avoided intimacy. Mostly because he has extensive responsibilities; he supports his younger sister in college, his nephew and sister-in-law, and is about to take on his newly pregnant on-again/off-again sex partner. He won't be an irresponsible father like his own dad and his deadbeat brother. He's deeply emotional but that's masked with wit, charm, and cockiness. Until he falls hard for Edie, even though he's from a different world. Then he's hooked. He likes Edie's independence; she's different from the women he knows." Stephen Moyer played said role in the U.K. original. Caterina Scorsone and Johnny Whitworth also star in the ABC Studios-based hour, which comes from creators Lara Runnels and Patti Carr. Armyan Bernstein, Chris Coelen, Laurie Zaks and Rob Pursey also serve as executive producers while Larry Shaw is directing.
SMALLVILLE (The CW) - Co-creators/executive producers Al Gough and Miles Millar are departing the veteran drama after seven seasons. "As the creators of 'Smallville' we look back at 7 amazing years. We look back at 152 episodes. We look back knowing that the show will continue into Season 8 without us. After much heartache and debate we have decided it is time for us to move on," began an open letter to the show's fans on Kryptonsite.com. In their absence, fellow executive producers Darren Swimmer, Todd Slavkin, Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson will now serve as showrunners beginning next season.
SONY PICTURES TELEVISION (New!) - Graham Yost ("Raines"), Kevin Falls ("Journeyman"), David Guarascio & Moses Port ("Aliens in America"), Josh Berman ("Vanished"), Jenny Bicks ("Men in Trees"), Bill Martin & Mike Schiff ("Cavemen") and Will Gluck ("The Loop") have all inked development deals with the studio. The pacts, ranging from blind, two-script commitments to multi-year overall deals, come after said parties were force majeured out of their previous studio pacts during the recent WGA strike. Yost, Guarascio and Port were previously based at Universal Media Studios while Bicks was at Warner Bros. Television, Martin and Schiff at ABC Studios, Gluck at CBS Paramount Network Television and Berman and Falls at 20th Century Fox Television.
SPACED (FOX) - Yara Martinez ("The Unit") has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about two strangers (Sara Rue, Josh Lawson) who pose as a married couple in order to rent an apartment. She'll play Marsha Klein, the woman's best friend. Julia Deakin originated said role in the original U.K. version. Federico Dordei also stars in the Warner Bros. Television-based half-hour, which Charles Stone is directing from a script by Adam Barr. Barr then is executive producing alongside Granada International's Robert Green and Wonderland Sound and Vision's McG and Peter Johnson.
STYLEDOME (The CW, New!) - BermanBraun ("Duel") and Super Delicious Productions ("Amne$ia") have scored a pilot commitment from the network for a new reality project which combines the traditional beauty makeover series with a race-against-the-clock competition show. The former's Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun are executive producing the hour alongside the latter's Joanna Vernetti, Cara Tapper and Adam Cohen. As for specifics, each week well-known stylists will head up a team of makeover artists as they attempt to give new looks to three worthy contestants. A live audience vote following the reveal then determines the winner. No prize however was mentioned.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[03/16/26 - 03:05 PM]
College Basketball Crown Reveals Full Field and Bracket for Premier Postseason Tournament
With an NIL prize pool of $500,000 raising the stakes for every game, the College Basketball Crown provides fans with more elite competition and compelling storylines during the most exciting time of the year.
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[03/16/26 - 01:35 PM]
FOX Sports' Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen to Call Inaugural Fanatics Flag Football Classic
As previously announced, actor and comedian Kevin Hart will serve as the event's host alongside actor and comedian Druski.
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[03/16/26 - 11:12 AM]
Starz to Premiere "The Housemaid" on April 1 in Its Exclusive Streaming Debut Following Blockbuster Theatrical Run
Directed by Paul Feig, "The Housemaid" is a gripping psychological thriller set in a world where perfection is an illusion, and nothing is as it seems.
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[03/16/26 - 11:06 AM]
TNT Sports to Debut "4.7 Seconds: For the Championship" on March 16, Reliving Greatest Finish in NCAA Tournament History
The special will also be available on demand on HBO Max throughout the duration of the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, and will also re-air on Saturday, March 28 on TBS after the conclusion of TNT Sports and CBS Sports' NCAA Men's Elite 8 coverage that night.
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[03/16/26 - 11:01 AM]
Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan and Riz Ahmed Announced as First Three Hosts of "Saturday Night Live UK"
Wet Leg, Wolf Alice, and Kasabian will be their respective musical guests.
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[03/16/26 - 10:56 AM]
"CNBC Cures: Defying Rare Disease" with Becky Quick to Premiere on Thursday, March 19 at 7PM ET
The special spotlights the families dealing with rare diseases and the scientists, advocates, and innovators fighting to change their futures.
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[03/16/26 - 10:31 AM]
"Free Bert" Renewed for Season 2 on Netflix
Bert Kreischer will appear at Netflix is a Joke Festival 2026, performing the "Bert and Shaq's Crowd Work Show" at The Comedy Store on May 8 and hosting "2 Bears 5K" with Tom Segura and Jelly Roll at The Rose Bowl on May 9.
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[03/16/26 - 10:31 AM]
Things Are About to Get Wild When "Primate" Streams on Paramount+ March 25
The film follows a group of friends' fight for survival after their pet chimpanzee, Ben, goes on a violent rampage, turning a tropical homecoming into a primal tale of horror and survival.
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[03/16/26 - 10:01 AM]
CBS Presents "The Neighborhood: A Farewell Special," An Entertainment Tonight Production, Monday, April 6 on CBS
The special celebrates the acclaimed CBS comedy's final season, honoring eight seasons, 156 episodes, and eight unforgettable years of laughter, heart and community, leading up to the series finale on May 11.
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[03/16/26 - 09:31 AM]
Haley Baylee to Host "Win the Mall" - A High-Stakes New Reality Competition Show Coming to Netflix Fall 2026
Part shopping spree, part social strategy, this high-gloss reality competition drops players into a living mall where they'll fight to outshop, outsmart, and outlast one another - and only one will walk away with the keys to the ultimate prize.
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[03/16/26 - 09:01 AM]
Nate Diaz Vs. Mike Perry Join Most Valuable Promotions' Massive Triple-Headliner Professional MMA Event on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California, Live Globally Only on Netflix
The bout joins the recently announced heavyweight clash between lineal heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou vs. Brazil's Philippe Lins and the historic women's main event between former UFC champion and Olympic medalist Ronda Rousey vs. combat sports trailblazer Gina Carano.
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[03/16/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord" - Official Trailer - Streaming April 6 on Disney+
Let us have our revenge.
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[03/16/26 - 06:00 AM]
ESPN Announces Commentator Pairings for Exclusive Coverage of NCAA March Madness Women's Basketball
For the first time ever, all four ABC sites in the first and second rounds will feature a reporter, with Holly Rowe, Alyssa Lang, Molly McGrath and Jess Sims joining the calls.
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[03/16/26 - 05:31 AM]
Netflix's "Assassin's Creed" Casts New Recurring Roles
Noomi Rapace, Ramzy Bedia, Sean Harris, and Corrado Invernizzi are among the latest additions.
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[03/16/26 - 05:01 AM]
Great American Media Announces "One More Christmas," Starring Candace Cameron Bure and Jonathan Scarfe, New Original Film for Great American Christmas 2026
Bure will headline two original films for Great American Christmas 2026 and will also serve as executive producer on an additional holiday feature to be announced soon.
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