or


[07/31/08 - 06:55 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, July 31
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 CRU (CBS, New!) - Josh Berman ("Vanished") has booked a new drama at the Eye based on Michael Bennett, the lead character from James Patterson's 2007 novel "Step on a Crack." Berman is co-creating the hour, which has a script commitment with a penalty attached, alongside Katherine Ramsland, a professor of forensics. Bennett is a homicide detective who's thrust into the role of a negotiating team leader of the "Catastrophic Response Unit" when hostages are taken at the funeral of a former first lady. A second book by Patterson, featuring the character, is due in February. Berman then will presumably executive produce alongside Ramsland for Sony Pictures Television, where he has an overall deal.


DESTROYED IN SECONDS/DOING DA VINCI (Discovery, New!) - The cable channel has ordered a pair of projects from "Ghost Hunters" executive producer Craig Piligian. First up is "Doing Da Vinci," a new series that will try to bring to life the engineering designs of Leonardo Da Vinci, the 15th century artist who conceptualized many inventions that are now considered hundreds of years ahead of their time. The network has commissioned six hourlong episodes of the project, which will attempt to build two of the master artist's designs - which include blueprints of a helicopter, a tank, a calculator and the harvesting of solar power - in each installment with the help of a rocket scientist, a Hollywood special effects expert and an everyday in-the-garage inventor. Also on tap is "Destroyed in Seconds," a new half-hour series which features video clips of disasters where man-made constructions, from the intentional implosion of Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas to a terror attack on an Israeli marketplace, were destroyed - you guessed it - in seconds. 12 episodes will roll out on Thursday nights at 9:00/8:00c starting August 21 with Fox Sports' Ron Pitts serving as host. "Doing Da Vinci" then is expected to bow later in the year. Piligan is executive producing each effort via his Pilgrim Films and Television banner.


TIME HEALS (TNT, New!) - John Masius ("Providence") has landed a pilot order from the cable channel, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Said hour revolves around Nancy Hawthorne, "the strong but caring director of nursing at Charlotte Mercy Hospital in North Carolina, a single mother who always puts the pain of others first." The project is set up at Sony Pictures Television with Masius executive producing alongside studio-based producer Jamie Tarses.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [july 2008]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· CRU, THE (CBS)
· DESTROYED IN SECONDS (DISCOVERY)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DOING DA VINCI (DISCOVERY)
· GHOST HUNTERS (DISCOVERY)
· HAWTHORNE (TNT)
· PROVIDENCE (NBC)
· VANISHED (FOX)





[03/29/25 - 05:00 PM]
Video: "Bad Thoughts" - Tom Segura Comedy Series - Date Announcement - Netflix
In this six-episode series of dark and twisted comedy, Tom Segura brings his unfiltered musings to life within a cinematic world where nothing is as it seems.

[03/28/25 - 02:26 PM]
Universal Pictures' Global Cinematic Event "Wicked" Debuts as Streaming's #1 Film
Per preliminary Nielsen data, "Wicked" is the #1 film across all of streaming with 882 million minutes viewed for the week of March 17-23.

[03/28/25 - 02:22 PM]
ESPN's Exclusive Coverage of Milwaukee Brewers vs. New York Yankees Game on March 27 Generated Largest National Opening Day Audience in Seven Years
The Brewers vs. Yankees game averaged 1.93 million viewers, peaking with 2.23 million viewers.

[03/28/25 - 02:03 PM]
Video: "RoboForce: The Animated Series" - Official Trailer - Tubi Original
In 2089 Detroit, RoboForce is obsolete and has no hope of becoming heroes. That is until a mysterious code virus infects the UA101 bots, and no one besides RoboForce can stop them.

[03/28/25 - 10:06 AM]
Mary Steenburgen Joins Netflix's "A Man on the Inside" for Season 2
Steenburgen will play Mona Margadoff, a former musician who factors heavily in the case Charles is trying to solve.

[03/28/25 - 09:05 AM]
ESPN, Disney+ and Skydance Sports Announce New ESPN Original Series on the Kansas City Chiefs
The six-episode docuseries is expected to premiere later this year on ESPN and Disney+.

[03/28/25 - 07:07 AM]
Discovery Channel April Programming Highlights
This April, all-new series "Red Bull Soapbox Race," premieres alongside new seasons of "Expedition Files," "Ghost Adventures," "Mysteries of the Abandoned: Hidden America," and "Street Outlaws: Locals Only."

[03/28/25 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "Stranger Things: The First Shadow" - Documentary Announcement - Netflix
Before it hits Broadway this spring, experience the making of the West End phenomenon.

[03/28/25 - 06:01 AM]
Adult Swim Renews Acclaimed Series "Common Side Effects" for Second Season
The finale episode of the debut season of "Common Side Effects" will air this Sunday at 11:30/10:30c. on Adult Swim.

[03/27/25 - 11:04 AM]
Part Two of FOX Nation's "Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints" to Roll Out Through the Holy Season
FOX Nation will roll out part two of its hit docudrama series beginning on Friday, April 4 and through the Easter season.

[03/27/25 - 11:00 AM]
"Survivor" Hits Broadcast and Live Streaming Season Highs
The telecast averaged 4.50 million broadcast viewers up +7% from its season-to-date average, and up +13% from its season-to-date average live streaming on Paramount+.

[03/27/25 - 10:06 AM]
All-New Series "Red Bull Soapbox Race" Premieres Tuesday, April 29 at 9PM on Discovery Channel
Hosted by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. and motorsports announcer Mike Bagley, the series features amateur teams as they design and build one-of-a-kind, gravity-powered soapbox racers that compete - and crash - on intricate, downhill courses.

[03/27/25 - 10:01 AM]
Viral Dating Series "Pop the Balloon" Is Coming Live to Netflix
Yvonne Orji will host the live edition of the series, streaming every Thursday at 8 p.m. ET beginning April 10, only on Netflix.

[03/27/25 - 10:00 AM]
"Jeopardy! Masters" Returns Wednesday, April 30, on ABC, Following New Episodes of Pat Sajak's "Final Spin" as Host on "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune"
Hosted by "Jeopardy!" G.O.A.T. Ken Jennings, the third annual "Jeopardy! Masters" 2025 tournament will feature an expanded lineup of the top-ranked current "Jeopardy!" contestants, each competing in two action-packed games per hourlong episode for the grand prize of $500,000.

[03/27/25 - 09:34 AM]
Lifetime Announces "The 13th Wife: Escaping Polygamy" A Two Part Movie Event Starring Felicity Huffman, Olga Petsa and Eric Johnson Premiering May 31 and June 1
The film is based on the extraordinary true story of Rena Chynoweth (played by Huffman as present day Rena and Petsa as young Rena), a brave survivor and former wife of a manipulative polygamist group leader, who escaped a life of oppression and dedicated herself to freeing others.