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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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[07/30/14 - 01:05 PM]
American Heroes Channel New Original Series "Hardcore Heroes" Showcases Extraordinary Feats by Everyday People
Premiering Wednesday, August 6, this action-packed series follows these courageous fighters as they battle the elements, save hundreds of lives, and ultimately, change the course of history forever.
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[07/30/14 - 12:45 PM]
ESPN's Dan Shulman, John Kruk to Call "Sunday Night Baseball" atop Green Monster at Fenway Park Aug 3
The duo will be joined by ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney who will provide reports from the field.
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[07/30/14 - 12:38 PM]
Discovery's Hit Series "Bering Sea Gold" Returns for Its Fourth Season with Crews Battling Against Extreme Conditions and Each Other for the Ultimate Payout
The series returns Friday, August 22 at 9:00/8:00c on the cable channel.
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[07/30/14 - 12:00 PM]
TNT Renews Real-Life Crime Series "Cold Justice" for Third Season
Season three is slated for early 2015 and will feature both new states and types of cases never seen on the show before.
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[07/30/14 - 10:51 AM]
Paramount Digital Entertainment Announces New Original Comedy Series "Resident Advisors" Produced by Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman
The series will star Ryan Hansen, Jamie Chung, Alison Rich, Andrew Bachelor, Graham Rogers and features Anna Camp.
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[07/30/14 - 10:30 AM]
LMN Premieres the Second Season of the Original Series "Ghost Inside My Child" Saturday, August 16 at 9PM ET
The series features stories of children who claim to have lived before, often having died violently in a past life, and whose parents struggle to make sense of their child's memories of a former life.
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[07/30/14 - 09:59 AM]
First Lady Michelle Obama to Guest Star on the Hub Network's "Kid President(R): Declaration of Awesome" Discussing the Importance of Healthy Eating and Exercise, Airing August 9
The episode also includes celebrity appearances by Christina Applegate, Reggie Watts, Carrie Brownstein and the PS22 Chorus from New York.
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[07/30/14 - 09:43 AM]
"Squidbillies" and "Mr. Pickles" Debut September 21st on Adult Swim!
These two series are guaranteed to leave you loving Sunday night and hating Monday morning even more than you already do!
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[07/30/14 - 08:51 AM]
NBC Wins Tuesday Night in 18-49 and Total Viewers Among the Big 4
NBC spins the numbers for Tuesday, July 29.
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[07/30/14 - 08:41 AM]
"Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart," Exploring the Role of the Media in the First Murder Trial Televised Gavel-to-Gavel, Debuts Aug. 18 on HBO
An official selection of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, the project explores how the media coverage of the case may have influenced the trial and sentencing.
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[07/30/14 - 08:24 AM]
Tuesday's Broadcast Ratings: "America's Got Talent" Keeps NBC on Top
The Peacock doubles second place ABC among adults 18-49.
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[07/30/14 - 08:17 AM]
"Baseball Tonight": Trade Deadline Special Airs Thursday
ESPN.com's MLB trade deadline content will be headlined by Rumor Central and a live, interactive chat with ESPN Insiders beginning at 10 a.m. and running through 5 p.m.
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[07/30/14 - 08:16 AM]
ABC's Tuesday Unscripted Series Grow - "Extreme Weight Loss" Ties a 2-Month High
ABC spins the numbers for Tuesday, July 29.
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[07/30/14 - 07:58 AM]
NBCSN Is TV's Fastest Growing Sports Network Since Debut of Premier League on August 17, 2013
NBCSN spins the numbers for the past 50 weeks to date.
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[07/30/14 - 07:37 AM]
Giants and Bills Kick Off Preseason in NFL/Hall of Fame Game on "Sunday Night Football" This Sunday at 8 PM ET
Sunday night's telecast will also feature live interviews with members of the NFL Hall of Fame's Class of 2014.
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