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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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[10/13/26 - 12:01 PM]
Peacock Greenlights New Series "Assassins" from Executive Producers Scarlett Johansson, Brien Meagher & Rhett Bachner
In "Assassins," a group of players compete in a ruthless game of cunning strategy and wit inspired by the massive global phenomenon played in real life around the world.
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[10/13/26 - 12:01 PM]
Emmy-Winning HBO Original Comedy Series "Girls," Created by and Starring Lena Dunham, to Return for a Limited Run
Returning cast will include Dunham as Hannah, Allison Williams as Marnie, Jemima Kirke as Jessa, Zosia Mamet as Shoshanna, Andrew Rannells as Elijah.
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[10/13/26 - 11:08 AM]
Video: "The Holiday Spark" - Official Trailer - The Roku Channel
Joey Graziadei and Jamie Chung find a little holiday magic in "The Holiday Spark."
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[10/13/26 - 11:02 AM]
NBC Sports Announces 2026-27 Big 12 Men's Basketball Schedule Featuring 20 Games Across Peacock and NBCSN
The Big 12 conference slate begins on Wednesday, Jan. 6, with the first of three doubleheaders on Peacock and NBCSN, as Texas Tech hosts Baylor at 8 p.m. ET and UCF visits Arizona at 9 p.m. ET.
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[10/13/26 - 11:02 AM]
ESPN and the Big 12 Announce Men's Basketball TV Schedule for 2026-27 Season, Tipping Off November 6
ESPN's five-week Big Monday slate begins Monday, February 1, and continues through March 1, featuring marquee conference matchups including No. 19 Kansas at No. 18 Houston, No. 18 Houston at No. 9 Texas Tech and No. 4 Arizona at No. 20 BYU.
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[10/13/26 - 11:01 AM]
Video: "Narnia: The Magician's Nephew" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Greta Gerwig brings C.S. Lewis' beloved story to the screen for the first time in a sweeping adventure that invites dreamers of all ages to experience the creation of Narnia.
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[10/13/26 - 10:08 AM]
Mark Harmon and Michael Weatherly Reunite This Fall on the CBS Original Series "NCIS: Origins"
The episode airs Tuesday, October 20 (10:00 PM, ET/PT) on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
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[10/13/26 - 10:01 AM]
BET Launches "Nick Cannon @ Night," Bringing Candid Conversation to Late Night, Premiering Tuesday, October 20
Hosted by Nick Cannon, BET's modern late-night conversation series brings together entertainers, creators, cultural leaders, doctors, and professionals for candid, funny, and thought-provoking conversations.
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[10/13/26 - 10:00 AM]
Hulu and ESPN Announce New Documentary "Spectacle: Michael Jackson at the Super Bowl" Coming February 2027
In January of 1993, the world of sport, entertainment and broadcast was forever transformed when Michael Jackson took the stage at the Rose Bowl during the Super Bowl XXVII Halftime show.
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[10/13/26 - 09:42 AM]
"From," The Terrifying Sci-Fi Horror Series, Is Coming to Netflix
Seasons 1-3 premiere October 19 on the streaming service.
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[10/13/26 - 09:30 AM]
National Geographic Explorers Uncover Deep-Sea Wonders with Groundbreaking Tech as They Chase Critical Solutions to Dilemmas Facing Life Across All Five Ocean Basins in "Expedition: Saving Our Seas"
The one-hour special premieres Friday, November 13 at 9:00/8:00c on National Geographic and streams the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
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[10/13/26 - 09:30 AM]
FOX Entertainment and Hartbeat Form IP Development and Global Distribution Partnership
The pipeline launches with a slate of 25 live-action titles, spanning thriller, drama, and faith-based storytelling.
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[10/13/26 - 09:17 AM]
Katherine Waterston Joins the Cast of "The Best of Us" for Paramount+
Waterston will play Amy Smith, a lawyer and the soon-to-be ex-wife of Jason (Jeremy Strong).
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[10/13/26 - 09:06 AM]
Great American Media Welcomes 2027 with the 138th Rose Parade Presented by Honda
From the streets of Pasadena to living rooms across America, this treasured New Year's Day tradition will come alive with extraordinary floral artistry, stirring musical performances and spectacular pageantry.
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[10/13/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: NBC Debuts Official Trailers for Monday Night Comedies "St. Denis Medical" & "The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins"
Both series return Monday, November 2 starting at 8:00/7:00c.
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