 |
 |
[04/22/08 - 05:10 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, April 22
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!
THE GLASS SEAGULL (Hallmark, New!) - Lesley Ann Warren and Meredith Baxter are set to topline a new original movie for the cable channel about two lifelong friends struggling with the news that one has cancer. Said event forces one friend (Baxter) to make a decision over whether to tell her daughter she is really the daughter of the other (Warren), a Broadway star. David Cass Sr. is directing the project from a script by Darrell V. Orme Mann. Production is underway for a spring 2009 premiere with Larry Levinson, Randy Pope, Dan Gross and Michael Moran serving as executive producers and Lincoln Lageson and Traceigh Scottell producing.
MY NAME IS EARL (NBC) - Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, a supervising producer on the series, has inked a two-year, seven-figure overall deal with Universal Media Studios. During the first year of the pact, Sanchez-Witzel will be loaned out to the 20th Century Fox Television-produced "Earl," where she'll be upped to co-executive producer next season. Additionally, she'll develop new series projects for the studio.
THE PHILANTHROPIST (NBC) - Executive producer Tom Fontana has departed the upcoming drama, which received a blind series commitment back in September. Fontana's exit is reportedly due to creative differences with the network over the show's direction. The Universal Media Studios-based project centers on a renegade billionaire who uses his wealth, connections and power to help people in need no matter what the risks or costs. Fontana penned the pilot script based on an idea by Original Media's Charlie Corwin. It's understood Fontana wanted to focus on social issues as immigration, drug addiction and the use of children soldiers in parts of world, while the network was looking for a more escapist and fantastical approach. In any case, the search is underway for a new showrunner. Fontana's producing partner Barry Levinson is also departing, leaving Corwin as the sole executive producer for the time being. It's not clear if the network plans to thrown out any of the show's six completed scripts.
THE WENDY WILLIAMS SHOW (Syndication) - Debmar-Mercury is set to launch a test run of the talk show in four markets beginning July 14. The participating stations - WNYW New York, KTTV Los Angeles, KDFW Dallas and WJBK Detroit, all Fox owned-and-operated - will carry a six-week, 30-episode run of the show with an eye toward a nationwide rollout in the fall of 2009. In addition, Rob Dauber ("Martha") has been tapped to co-executive produce the New York-based series - which will feature Williams's commentary on celebrity gossip and news events, as well as interviews, fashion and advice segments - alongside Williams and her husband/manager Kevin Hunter. Said stations will pay an unspecified cash license fee as well as hand over four minutes of ad time for national ad sales by Debmar-Mercury.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
|
|
|
 [april 2008]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[03/17/26 - 12:02 PM]
Hudson Williams, Jennifer Grey, Terry Chen, Elizabeth Adams, Hannah Galway, and William Mapother Join the Cast of "The Altruists"
The Netflix series tells the story of Sam Bankman-Fried (Anthony Boyle) and Caroline Ellison (Julia Garner), two hyper-smart, ambitious young idealists who tried to remake the global financial system in the blink of an eye...before they were accused of stealing $8 billion.
|
[03/17/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of March 9 - "One Piece" Season 2 Sets Sail for No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Proving that demand for prehistoric beasts will never go extinct, docuseries "The Dinosaurs" landed at No. 2 on the English TV list with 9.6 million views.
|
[03/17/26 - 12:01 PM]
Next on Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN - April 2026
New series include "Dear Killer Nannies," "Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair," "The Testaments," and "Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord."
|
[03/17/26 - 10:05 AM]
Chloe Bennet, Max Greenfield, Charlie Hall, Kumail Nanjiani, and Jarrad Paul Join Season 4 of "The White Lotus"
More arrivals await.
|
[03/17/26 - 10:01 AM]
"Stranger Things: Tales from '85" Coming to Select Theaters on April 18
The screenings of the first two episodes of the new series will take place on April 18 at 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM local time, in 34 theaters in the U.S. in partnership with AMC Theatres.
|
[03/17/26 - 09:31 AM]
Netflix Announces New True-Crime Documentary "The Crash" Premiering May 15
Gareth Johnson directed the film, produced by RAW (an All3Media company).
|
[03/17/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: Sweet Niblets! Official Trailer Drops for "Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special"
The special will be released on Disney+ and Hulu on Tuesday, March 24 - 20 years to the day that the original series debuted on Disney Channel.
|
[03/17/26 - 08:24 AM]
Hulu Renews Hit Drama Series "Paradise," from Dan Fogelman and Starring Sterling K. Brown, for a Third Season
The show continues to resonate with audiences worldwide, amassing over 30M hours for S2 and nearly 12 billion minutes streamed globally across its first two seasons.
|
[03/17/26 - 08:01 AM]
"The Chi" Signs Off: First Look at the Eighth and Final Season on Paramount+
Production on the new season began in January, kicking off the road to the show's highly anticipated farewell.
|
[03/17/26 - 07:01 AM]
BritBox Announces Additional Casting, Start of Production for Season Three of Jimmy McGovern's Award-Winning Drama Series "Time"
The three-part drama will be led by David Tennant as Prison Officer Bailey with Siobhan Finneran reprising her role as Marie-Louise, a prison chaplain.
|
[03/17/26 - 07:01 AM]
Apple TV Announces "My Brother the Minotaur," Premiering April 24
A thrilling mix of folklore, mystery and adventure about a young minotaur - half boy, half bull - found and raised in the human world.
|
[03/17/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War" - Official Teaser - Prime Video
Jack Ryan returns in a major movie event. Stream "Ghost War" - May 20 on Prime Video.
|
[03/17/26 - 06:45 AM]
Video: Paramount+ Reveals Trailer & Key Art for Men's College Basketball Docuseries, "Made for March"
The docuseries chronicles two of college basketball's most renowned programs - Kansas Jayhawks and Michigan Wolverines--this season in their bid for a national championship.
|
[03/17/26 - 06:31 AM]
Video: "Love on the Spectrum U.S." - Season 4 Official Trailer - Netflix
New and familiar faces star in this heartfelt documentary series that follows singles on the autism spectrum as they search for true love.
|
[03/17/26 - 06:01 AM]
New Four-Part Series "Shared Planet" Premieres Wednesdays, April 29-May 20, 2026 on PBS and PBS.org
In an age of serious environmental challenges, this four-part global series offers a look at an alternative and more hopeful future.
|
|
|
|
