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[08/07/08 - 07:01 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, August 7
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!
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? (FOX) - The network has ordered nine additional episodes of the series, bringing its third season total to 22 hours. Mark Burnett Productions and Zoo Productions are behind the project, which shifts to Friday nights starting September 5. Jeff Foxworthy hosts.
THE CONVERSATION (AMC) - Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 feature is once again being eyed for the small screen, this time at AMC. Christopher McQuarrie ("The Usual Suspects") and Erik Jendresen ("Band of Brothers") are penning the latest adaptation, following their previous pass for ABC/ABC Studios in 2006. Tony Krantz and Coppola are also returning via their respective companies Flame Ventures and American Zoetrope for Sony Pictures Television. McQuarrie, Jendresen and Heather McQuarrie then will executive produce alongside Krantz. As for specifics, the new incarnation will center on electronic surveillance expert Harry Caul (played by Gene Hackman in the film) as he works as an eavesdropper with a larger, ongoing storyline about who's monitoring him as he hears conversations he shouldn't be privy to. The AMC version will also bet set in the 1970s, unlike the ABC version which was set in present day. Prior to ABC, Krantz sold a version to NBC in 1995 as an agent, with Ron Bass writing and Kyle MacLachlan attached to star.
DROP DEAD DIVA (Lifetime) - Golden Brooks ("Girlfriends") and April Bowlby ("Two and a Half Men") are the latest additions to the drama pilot, about Deb, a dead aspiring actress-model who is reincarnated in the body of Jane (Brooke Elliott), a chubby, brilliant attorney. Brooks is set as Kim Kastle, who's detailed via the casting notice as: "Late 20s-Mid 30s, all ethnicities, in a Michael Kors suit, with a blue Hermes bag. Kim is a partner at the same law firm as Jane. Confident, savvy, manipulative and rather bitchy, she is not as smart as Jane, or as well liked by the clients, but she does know how to play the office politics game. For Kim, "everything's a competition. Every woman, a threat. Every man, a conquest"." And Bowlby then is playing Stacy Punt: "Early 20s, all ethnicities, "Sports Illustrated swimsuit sexy," a vapid but sweet young woman. She is Deb's best friend. Shallow, but with a gushy, fun personality, she is offended when Deb suggests she get a job and tells her, "I'm a model." Later, Stacy is the only person in whom Jane (Deb) confides about her rather unusual situation." Jackson Hurst and Margaret Cho also star in the Sony Pictures Television-based hour, which James Hayman is helming from a script by Josh Berman.
THE INFORMANT (FOX, New!) - Tom Szentgyorgyi ("Journeyman") is developing a domestic take on the Australian series of the same name, about Richard Button, a regular middle-class suburban dad who works as a police informant for an elite federal investigative agency. Greg Haddrick was behind the original version. 20th Century Fox Television and Alchemy Entertainment are co-producing.
LOVELAND (FOX, New!) - The network is reportedly close to importing the upcoming U.K. dating series, in which participants select their dates based on interactions with computer-generated versions of potential suitors. Jo Pine created the format, which comes from Tom Gutteridge's Standing Stone Productions. Antwerp animation house Nazooka is behind the technology used in the show, which is set to roll out on Sky One later this season, as is a web-based version of the format.
SHAWN RYAN PROJECTS (Various, New!) - "The Shield" creator Shawn Ryan has set up three new projects around town - "The Lead Sheet" at A&E, "Millionaires Club" at FOX and an untitled hour at FX. That's in addition to "Confessions of a Contractor" at CBS, which was announced earlier this week. All four stem from his overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television. "Sheet," created by author James Ellroy, chronicles the hunt for the infamous Hillside Strangler - a prolific serial killer who tortured, raped and killed young women in 1977-78 in the hills above Los Angeles. The series then follows three police officers and two DAs as they investigate the killer, with each episode of the crime procedural starting with a tip leading to a violent crime that may or may not be related to the Strangler. Ellroy is penning the hour and executive producing alongside his manager Joel Gotler. As for "Club," the single-camera comedy revolves around a ragtag group of wannabe millionaires who keep coming up with ill-fated plots to get rich. "Semi-Pro" helmer Kent Alterman attached to direct the half-hour from a script by Ryan. And finally, Ryan is teaming with "Ocean's Eleven" writer Ted Griffin for the FX project, which is billed as a comedic drama about a private eye. Ryan is executive producing each via his MiddKid Productions banner with 20th producing the broadcast projects and Fox 21 shepherding the cable projects.
TREME (HBO) - Khandi Alexander ("CSI: Miami") and "The Wire" alums Wendell Pierce and Clarke Peters are the first to be cast in the drama pilot, a post-Katrina-themed drama which chronicles the rebuilding of New Orleans through the eyes of local musicians. David Simon and Eric Overmyer are behind the hour, which is also executive produced by Nina Noble for Simon's Blown Deadline Productions. As for specifics, Pierce will play Antoine Batiste, "an accomplished jazz trombonist who is now scratching for gigs, trying to support a live-in girlfriend and a new baby, while still carrying a torch for a failed marriage to Ladonna Batiste (Alexander), the mother of his two children, who is single-handedly keeping her bar afloat," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Peters then is set as Albert Lambreaux, a big chief of the White Feather Nation trying to bring the tribe's members home.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[07/21/26 - 09:03 AM]
The History Channel's "The Mega-Brands That Built America" Returns for Season 4 on Sunday, August 2 at 10/9c
Executive produced by Peyton Manning, the series delves into the surprising origin stories of the trailblazing founders behind some of the world's biggest brands and innovations, and their profound influence on our nation.
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[07/21/26 - 09:02 AM]
Video: Official Trailer for "Camp Rock 3" Turns the Music All the Way Up
When Connect 3 loses their opening act for a major reunion tour, they return to their beloved Camp Rock to discover the next big thing.
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[07/21/26 - 09:01 AM]
Neon Announces Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol's Beloved Comedy Series "Nirvanna The Band The Show" to Stream July 24 on Hulu in the U.S. and August 7 on Disney+ in Canada
On Hulu, the release will also be accompanied by the U.S. streaming debut of Matt and Jay's subsequent 2026 feature length film, "Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie."
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[07/21/26 - 09:00 AM]
"NASCAR Americana" - A Three-Part Docuseries Exploring NASCAR's Unique Place in the American Story - Premieres on USA Network August 9 Following NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350
Each episode homes in on a theme which reveals how a regional pastime evolved into an American cultural phenomenon.
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[07/21/26 - 08:03 AM]
HBO and NFL Films Present "Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Seahawks," Debuting August 4
This will be the first time since "Hard Knocks" launched in 2001 with the Baltimore Ravens that the series will document the defending Super Bowl champion.
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[07/21/26 - 08:00 AM]
AMC Global Media Acquires Exclusive U.S. Streaming Rights to Catherine Zeta-Jones Revenge Thriller, "Kill Jackie"
The eight-episode series is slated to premiere this fall, exclusively on AMC+.
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[07/21/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: Apple TV Unveils Thrilling Trailer for Season Two of "Women in Blue" ("Las Azules")
Season two will make its global debut on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 on Apple TV, followed by one episode weekly through September 30.
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[07/21/26 - 06:06 AM]
Lost Pan Am Airliner Clipper Endeavor Found After Decades by Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, Eco Minerals, and Discovery Channel's "Expedition Unknown"
This landmark discovery sheds new light on the fate of the aircraft whose tragic legacy forever transformed modern air travel.
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[07/21/26 - 02:01 AM]
Video: "Umthetho" - Official Trailer - Netflix
To keep their youngest brother alive, an idealistic state prosecutor is forced to become a double agent in her imprisoned older brother's gang.
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[07/20/26 - 05:01 PM]
Video: "Take a Hike!" - Official Teaser - Netflix
Dragged into the freezing cold, beginner hikers Car, the garden, DOWOON, Lee Chae-min, and TARZZAN face the brutal reality of a snowy mountain climb.
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[07/20/26 - 04:01 PM]
Video: "Badly in Love" Season 2 - Official Trailer - Netflix
School is back in session for what promises to be the most hype event of the summer.
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[07/20/26 - 01:01 PM]
Video: "My Brilliant Career" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Philippa Northeast stars as Sybylla, a fiercely modern young woman with one burning ambition: to be a writer, even as her family pushes her toward marriage.
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[07/20/26 - 10:46 AM]
"Myron Bolitar" Adds Jabari Banks, Chloe Fineman, Jamie McShane, Along with Ben McKenzie to the Cast
Previously announced cast includes Colin Woodell, KJ Apa, and Diane Guerrero.
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[07/20/26 - 10:00 AM]
CBS Leads Broadcast Series in Multiplatform Viewing for the 2025-2026 Season
Against broadcast competition, CBS finishes the season with four of the top five series.
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[07/20/26 - 09:49 AM]
TLC's Dynamic Duos Take Over Tuesday Nights with All-New Seasons of "1000-lb Sisters" and "1000-lb Roomies"
The new season of "Roomies" premieres Tuesday, August 25 at 10 PM ET/PT, followed by the return of "Sisters" on Tuesday, September 1 at 9 PM ET/PT.
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