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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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[07/18/25 - 09:09 AM]
"Bobby's Triple Threat" Is Back With Brand-New Addition to Bobby Flay's Hand-Picked Trio of Culinary Titans
The 10-episode season premieres Tuesday, September 2 at 8pm ET/PT on Food Network and streaming the next day on HBO Max.
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[07/18/25 - 08:06 AM]
Jaw-Dropping Custom Builds and Outrageous Family Antics Collide in "Truck Dynasty" Premiering Tuesday, August 12 at 9PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel
Florida's Apocalypse Manufacturing owner Joe Ghattas is a self-made boss in the custom truck industry, known for his bold designs and loyal following that includes hardcore enthusiasts, world-famous rappers, sports superstars, and elite supermodels.
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[07/18/25 - 08:01 AM]
Hallmark Channel Adds Hit Series "Gilmore Girls" to Its Lineup Beginning August 25
Just in time for the fall, the Gilmore family and the beloved residents of Stars Hollow will add twice the warmth and joy to Hallmark Channel's widely adored slate of heartfelt programming.
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[07/18/25 - 07:36 AM]
Peacock Exclusively Streams Wes Anderson's "The Phoenician Scheme" Beginning July 25
From Oscar-nominated writer and director Wes Anderson, the film stars Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton and Michael Cera.
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[07/18/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford - Official Teaser Trailer - Netflix
Two of boxing's most dominant forces, Saul "Canelo" Álvarez and Terence Crawford will face off in a once in a lifetime fight for the unified Super Middleweight championship on Saturday, September 13 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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[07/17/25 - 10:01 PM]
Video: "Final Draft" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Twenty-five athletes, most retired, compete to win 30M yen to launch their second career. Can they overcome tough physical and psychological challenges?
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[07/17/25 - 07:04 PM]
Video: Preview - Summer Nights 2025 - Coming in August
Tune in for all-new movie premieres this August on Hallmark Channel Saturday nights at 8/7c!
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[07/17/25 - 04:15 PM]
"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" to End After 2025-26 Broadcast Season
Colbert announced the news during tonight's taping at the Ed Sullivan Theater.
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[07/17/25 - 02:17 PM]
Thrilling True Crime Docu-Series, "True Crime Story: Smugshot," Returns to SundanceTV Thursday, August 14
Created and executive produced by award-winning documentary filmmakers Amy Bandlien Storkel and Bryan Storkel, the six-episode series spotlights entitled individuals involved in elaborate criminal behavior.
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[07/17/25 - 01:31 PM]
Netflix: What We Watched the First Half of 2025
This report, which captures ~99% of all viewing in the first half of 2025, shows that people watched a lot of Netflix - over 95B hours - spanning a wide range of genres and languages.
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[07/17/25 - 01:16 PM]
Freida Pinto to Star in Netflix's "Unaccustomed Earth"
Inspired by the internationally beloved Jhumpa Lahiri short story collection of the same name, "Unaccustomed Earth" is an epic, soapy, and culturally vibrant drama about a tight-knit Indian American community navigating love, desire, and belonging.
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[07/17/25 - 01:06 PM]
Samuel L. Jackson to Headline His First TV Series As Paramount+ Greenlights "NOLA King," The First Spinoff of the Hit Series "Tulsa King"
Jackson's character, Russell Lee Washington Jr., will be introduced in the upcoming, highly anticipated third season of "Tulsa King," slated to premiere in September.
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[07/17/25 - 12:53 PM]
New Series "The Mother Flip" Premieres Saturday, August 16 at 12pm ET/PT on A&E's HomeMadeNation
Best friends and savvy flippers Kristy Etheredge and Rebecca Franchione, along with contractor Roy Salinas, transform the worst homes in Texas' Hill Country into big profits.
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[07/17/25 - 12:11 PM]
AMC Networks' August Highlights Include "Nautilus," "Irish Blood," "Kidnapped," "The Furry Detectives" and More!
The month also features new seasons of Sundance TV's "True Crime Story: Smugshot," and We TV's fan-favorite series "Life After Lockup."
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[07/17/25 - 11:35 AM]
ESPN "Sunday Night Baseball Presented by Capital One" Schedule Update: Division Leaders Collide as Detroit Tigers Visit Philadelphia Phillies on August 3
This marks the third "Sunday Night Baseball" appearance of the 2025 regular season for the Tigers and the fourth appearance for the Phillies.
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