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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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[07/08/26 - 01:00 PM]
"The Cheetah Girls: Next Gen" Is Ready To Take Center Stage in Africa With Official Greenlight for Disney Channel and Disney+
A new cast of talented young actresses stars in the movie, including Leah Sava' Jeffries as Galleria's daughter Faith, Carmen Sanchez as Chanel's sister Dior, Kaileen Chang as Ruby, and Sophie Lennon as Brooklyn.
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[07/08/26 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of June 29
"Elle," "Off Campus," "Every Year After," "Clarkson's Farm," and "Spider-Noir" led all original series worldwide.
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[07/08/26 - 11:36 AM]
Warner Bros. Television Group Receives 52 Nominations for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards
Highlights include an Outstanding Drama Series nomination for "The Pitt," and Comedy Series nods for "Abbott Elementary" and "Shrinking," and a Lead Actor nomination for Steve Carell's role in "Rooster."
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[07/08/26 - 11:31 AM]
The Walt Disney Company Earns 125 Emmy Award Nominations
"The Beast in Me" and "The Oscars" led the company with nine nominations each.
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[07/08/26 - 10:19 AM]
HBO Max Receives the Most Emmy Nominations with 122 Nods
"The Pitt" received 26 nominations including Outstanding Drama Series; while "Hacks" was given 25 nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series.
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[07/08/26 - 10:00 AM]
Championship June Drives Big Viewership Increases for ESPN Studio Shows
Events including the NBA Finals and Draft, the Stanley Cup Final, the Men's and Women's College World Series, FIFA World Cup and more captured the June sports scene and drove the content and discussion in ESPN's studio shows.
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[07/08/26 - 09:31 AM]
Meredith Hayden Is Coming to Netflix with a New Video Podcast
"Wishbone Kitchen," a new weekly video podcast from Meredith Hayden, is coming to Netflix in August.
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[07/08/26 - 08:31 AM]
78th Emmy Awards Complete Nominations List
"The Diplomat," "The Gilded Age," "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," "Paradise," "The Pitt," "Pluribus," "Slow Horses," and "Your Friends & Neighbors" will compete for Outstanding Drama Series.
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[07/08/26 - 08:16 AM]
Video: "You+Me - Against the World" - Official Teaser - Prime Video
The adaptation of the book by Emma Green with Vittoria Di Savoia and Lucas Barski is coming September 18 on Prime Video.
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[07/08/26 - 08:06 AM]
New Nova Series "Evolution," A BBC Studios Production with Nova and GBH for PBS and BBC, Traces the History of Life Itself
The series will premiere Wednesdays, October 14 - November 11 at 9pm ET/8c on PBS (check local listings) and stream at pbs.org/nova, NOVA on YouTube, and the PBS App.
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[07/08/26 - 07:31 AM]
Video: We TV and All Reality Unveil Key Art and Trailer for New Original Unscripted Series "Age Inappropriate"
The new unscripted series explores the real lives of modern age-gap relationships.
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[07/08/26 - 07:02 AM]
Heartstopper: "Ending on a Hi" Behind-the-Scenes Special - on Netflix July 24th
Through candid interviews and fan voices, it charts the show's creative journey, cultural impact, and lasting legacy - a love letter to the community it brought together.
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[07/08/26 - 07:01 AM]
"Beyond Society", Created by J.A. Bayona, Arrives on Netflix in 2026
The story of Flight 571 did not end on the day the survivors were rescued from the Andes.
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[07/08/26 - 06:31 AM]
Video: "Elize: Shadows of a Woman" - Official Trailer - Netflix
In this retelling of a real case, a former escort discovers her wealthy husband's infidelity and struggles to cope as betrayal poisons their marriage.
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[07/08/26 - 06:01 AM]
Optum Golf Channel Games - Featuring Rory McIlroy And Scottie Scheffler - Return this December on Golf Channel and USA Network
Scheffler and McIlroy - the No. 1 and No. 2 men's players in the world - will return as playing team captains at the 2026 Optum Golf Channel Games, following Team Scheffler's narrow victory over Team McIlroy last year.
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