|
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!
HEROES (NBC) - Entertainment Weekly reports Robert Forster ("Karen Sisco") has been cast as Arthur Petrelli, the presumed-dead father of Nathan and Peter Petrelli. It's not clear if said role will be played in flashback or in typical "Heroes" fashion - a "surprise" resurrection. It's believed he'll make his first appearance in the show's second episode this season.
HUNG (HBO) - Thomas Jane ("The Punisher") has been cast in the lead role of the drama pilot, about Ray (Jane), a well-endowed struggling middle-age high school basketball coach who figures out a way to use his best asset. Oscar winner Alexander Payne is helming the project from a script by "The Riches" creator Dmitry Lipkin and Colette Burson. Lipkin, Burson, Payne and Blueprint Entertainment's Michael Rosenberg, John Morayniss and Noreen Halpern are executive producing.
LIFE ON MARS (ABC) - "The Cosby Show" alum Lisa Bonet has scored a role on the upcoming drama, a domestic take on the U.K. entry of the same name. She'll play Maya Daniels, the present-day girlfriend of series lead Jason O'Mara, according to Entertainment Weekly. Stephanie Jacobsen originated said role in the original pilot, which went through a complete recast save for O'Mara. Gretchen Mol, Harvey Keitel, Jonathan Murphy and Michael Imperioli also star.
LOST & FOUND (NBC, New!) - "Law & Order's" Dick Wolf and Chris Levinson are reteaming for a new drama at the Peacock about Tessa, a quirky, offbeat female LAPD detective who, after butting heads with the higher-ups, is sent as a punishment to the basement to work on John Doe and Jane Doe cases. The project, which has a cast-contingent pilot commitment, was originally set up at the network prior to Ben Silverman taking over the entertainment division's reigns. Silverman's team subsequently resurrected the hour, which is based at Universal Media Studios, where both Levinson and Wolf have overall deals. Levinson penned the script and is executive producing alongside Wolf and his Wolf Films principals Nena Rodrigue and Peter Jankowski.
THE PAPER (MTV) - Executive producers Sam Simmons and Jessica Chester have inked an overall deal with the cable channel. The pact calls for the duo to develop new series projects for the network, where they previously worked as producers of unscripted programming at MTV News & Docs. In addition to "The Paper," they created two pilots for MTV - the unscripted "Grounded" and the scripted "Daily Pops."
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
|