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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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[04/25/25 - 10:01 AM] Video: "Earnhardt" - Official Trailer - Prime Video Start your engines. "Earnhardt" premieres May 22 on Prime Video.
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[04/25/25 - 09:12 AM] One Hell of A Week in New York City with "The Walking Dead: Dead City" Beginning Sunday, April 27 through Wednesday, April 30 AMC is partnering with iconic NYC establishments and events, including the Empire State Building, Citi Field, the NYCRUNS Brooklyn Experience Half Marathon, PopUp Bagels and more, featuring merchandise giveaways and the show's iconic Walkers.
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[04/25/25 - 09:01 AM] Video: "Sirens" - Official Trailer - Netflix Worried about her sister's too-close relationship with her billionaire boss, a scrappy everywoman seeks answers at a lavish seaside estate.
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[04/25/25 - 08:00 AM] Peacock Sets Streaming Debut Dates for Focus Features' "Black Bag" and Universal Pictures' "Love Hurts" Steven Soderbergh's "Black Bag" streams exclusively on Peacock beginning May 2; while Jonathan Eusebio's "Love Hurts" is due on May 9.
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[04/24/25 - 01:04 PM] Saddle Up! New Docuseries "Not Her First Rodeo" Lands at Hulu and Freeform From ABC News Studios, "Not Her First Rodeo" is a six-part docuseries inside the adrenaline-fueled world of professional bull riding.
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[04/24/25 - 12:12 PM] Jeffrey Dean Morgan Asks Where the X Am I? in NBC's New Travel Competition Series "Destination X," Premiering Tuesday, May 27 at 10 P.M. ET/PT Viewers can catch an exclusive sneak peek of the series after the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 3 at 8 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. CT and MT, and 7:30 p.m. PT on NBC.
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[04/24/25 - 12:00 PM] "Yellowjackets" Sets Record with Most Watched Season in Series History on Paramount+ with Showtime The series is now the number two most-streamed global Showtime original ever, only behind "Dexter: Original Sin."
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[04/24/25 - 11:00 AM] The "83rd Annual Golden Globes" to Air Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, on CBS Nominations for the Golden Globes will be announced on Monday, December 8.
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[04/24/25 - 10:31 AM] Video: "Football Parents" - Official Teaser - Netflix When it comes to their children's amateur football careers, this group of parents has no shame, no chill - and a peculiar sense of team spirit.
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[04/24/25 - 10:30 AM] FOX Unveils Its Summer 2025 Schedule, Featuring New and Returning Unscripted Series and All-New Episodes of "Animation Domination" Favorites Look for new episodes of "Bob's Burgers," "Grimsburg," "Family Guy" and "The Great North" beginning Thursday, May 29.
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[04/24/25 - 10:14 AM] Love, Desire, and Shocking Twists in TLC's New Series, "90 Day: Hunt for Love" Set in Tulum, Mexico, these love-hungry alums have loved, lost and learned a few lessons along the way.
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[04/24/25 - 10:04 AM] New Season of "Gold Rush: Mine Rescue with Freddy & Juan" Premieres Friday, May 9 at 9PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel With gold prices surging to new records, the modern-day rush is on.
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[04/24/25 - 10:01 AM] Oxygen True Crime's "Unknown Serial Killers of America" Premieres Sunday, May 18 at 7 P.M. ET/PT Each hour-long episode of "Unknown Serial Killers of America" profiles the horrific stories of these unconscionable criminals, and delves into what transformed them into evil monsters.
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[04/24/25 - 10:01 AM] Video: "Love Death + Robots" Volume 4 - Official Trailer - Netflix The Emmy-winning anthology of twisted tales from strange worlds returns, with stories featuring MrBeast and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
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[04/24/25 - 10:01 AM] "Saturday Night Live" Closes Out Milestone 50th Season with Three Back-to-Back Shows in May Walton Goggins and Scarlett Johansson will follow the previously announced Quinta Brunson as hosts.
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