or


[09/19/08 - 07:02 PM]
Development Update: Friday, September 19
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

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!


BOLDLY GOING NOWHERE (FOX) - Jonathan M. Goldstein ("The New Adventures of Old Christine") has been tapped as an executive producer on the pilot, a high-concept comedy set in the future and focused on the mundane world of a spaceship captain when he's not on a mission. RCG's Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day ("It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia") are all behind the 20th Century Fox Television-based half-hour, which is set to film this fall. FOX has also commissioned five additional scripts for the project, which is based on an idea from "Sunny" writers' assistant Adam Stein. 3 Arts Entertainment's Michael Rotenberg and Nick Frenkel also serve as executive producers.


DR. OZ (Syndication) - Sony Pictures Television has cleared the "Oprah" spin-off on stations covering 40% of the country for a fall 2009 launch. Said clearances including 13 of the top 20 TV markets, such as the Fox owned-and-operated stations in New York (WNYW), Los Angeles (KTTV) and Chicago (WFLD). Other station groups on board include Gannett, Post-Newsweek, Belo, Scripps Howard, Fisher, McGraw Hill and Hearst-Argyle. Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions is producing the project, which is being targeted for late afternoons.


FLASH FORWARD (ABC, New!) - "Threshold's" David S. Goyer and Brannon Braga have booked a pilot at the Alphabet for a new drama which chronicles the chaos that ensues after everyone in the world blacks out for two minutes, 17 seconds and has a mysterious vision of the future that changes lives forever. The network has also given a series penalty to the project, which is based on Robert J. Sawyer's novel of the same name. Goyer and Braga penned the hour, which was originally developed by HBO (who retains a piece of the backend), on spec with Goyer attached to direct. Braga however won't be involved with the day-to-day operations of the series due to his commitment to the current season of FOX/20th Century Fox Television's "24." Jessika Borsiczky Goyer ("Revelations") will also executive produce alongside Vince Gerardis and Ralph M. Vicinanza ("Jumper"), who own the rights to the book. ABC Studios is in negotiations to produce.


GOSSIP GIRL (The CW) - Wade Allain Marcus ("American Mall") has scored a multi-episode arc on the much buzzed about soap. He'll play Max, an attractive (but manipulative) 19-year-old hipster photographer with ties to the New York fashion and art world. It's not clear when his first episode will air.


LETTERS TO SANTA: A MUPPETS CHRISTMAS (NBC) - Uma Thurman and Jesse L. Martin have both joined the cast of the holiday special, in which "Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo and the rest of the gang mistakenly avert three letters from making their way to Santa Claus." Thurman will play Joy, a ticket clerk for the North Pole Airlines who also serves as Santa's flight attendant, with Martin as a singing and dancing postal worker. The pair join the previously cast Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Sirico, Steve Schirripa, Richard Griffiths and Madison Pettis. Muppets Productions is behind the hour (airing December 17), which will also feature songs by "The Muppet Movie" songwriter Paul Williams.


KATHY GRIFFIN: MY LIFE ON THE D-LIST (Bravo) - The cable channel has ordered a fifth season of the two-time Emmy winning reality series. The news comes despite rumblings Kathy Griffin would take the show elsewhere due to her at times tenuous relationship with the network. While no air date was specified for the new season, "D-List" historically has rolled out each summer since 2005.


SAVE US THEN THE WHALES (FOX, New!) - Asad Gardezi ("Mind of Mencia") has landed a cast-contingent pilot order from the network for a new comedy set at a politically incorrect nonprofit organization. 20th Century Fox Television and Peter Engel ("Last Comic Standing") are behind the half-hour, which centers on Herbie Grueber, a middle-aged wheeler-dealer who works for a nonprofit that's trying to stay current. Gardezi will pen the pilot and presumably executive produce alongside Engel.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [september 2008]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· 24 (FOX)
· AMERICAN MALL, THE (MTV)
· BOLDLY GOING NOWHERE (FOX)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DR. OZ (SYNDICATION)
· FLASH FORWARD (ABC)
· GOSSIP GIRL (CW)
· IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA (FXX)
· KATHY GRIFFIN: MY LIFE ON THE D-LIST (BRAVO)
· MIND OF MENCIA (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE, THE (CBS)
· OPRAH WINFREY SHOW, THE (SYNDICATION)
· REVELATIONS (NBC)
· SAVE US THEN THE WHALES (FOX)





[12/15/25 - 02:26 PM]
Video: First Look at the New Crime Drama "CIA," Starring Tom Ellis and Nick Gehlfuss, Now Available
When by-the-book FBI Special Agent Bill Goodman (Nick Gehlfuss) is loaned out to a clandestine CIA/FBI task force, he finds himself teamed up with secretive and roguish CIA case officer Colin Glass (Tom Ellis).

[12/15/25 - 01:01 PM]
Video: "This is I" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Bullied for wanting to be an idol, Kenji finds belonging in a cabaret and help from a trailblazing doctor, emerging onstage as her true self, Ai Haruna.

[12/15/25 - 12:30 PM]
Video: Inside Look at "Memory of a Killer" with Patrick Dempsey - FOX TV
The series will launch with a special two-night premiere event beginning Sunday, January 25 immediately following the NFC Championship Game.

[12/15/25 - 11:01 AM]
Zachary Hart Joins the Cast of "Assassin's Creed," The New Live-Action Series Adaptation of Ubisoft's Best-Selling Video Game Franchise
Toby Wallace and Lola Petticrew also star in the Netflix series.

[12/15/25 - 09:31 AM]
Most Valuable Promotions and Netflix Announce On-Air Talent for MVP's Jake vs. Joshua: Judgment Day, Live Only on Netflix on Friday, December 19 from Kaseya Center in Miami
On Friday, December 19, the Jake vs. Joshua preliminary card begins at 4:45pm ET / 1:45pm PT on Netflix's Tudum and MVP's YouTube Channel, with the main card starting at 8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT, live only on Netflix.

[12/15/25 - 09:19 AM]
Driven by Strong November Viewership, ESPN Earns Third Straight Month of Year-Over-Year Audience Growth for Weekday Studio Programming
Highlights include "The Pat McAfee Show" having its most-viewed November of all time across linear and YouTube with 445,000 average viewers per show and "NFL Live" reaching its second most-watched November since 2016 with 445,000 average viewers.

[12/15/25 - 09:02 AM]
TNT Sports to Present Wall-to-Wall Coverage of Saturday's College Football Playoff First Round
Saturday's game crews will include Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer, Katie George and Quint Kessenich calling Tulane/Ole Miss, with Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick, Kris Budden and Stormy Buonantony assigned to JMU/Oregon.

[12/15/25 - 09:00 AM]
CBS Announces All-New Special, "Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion Pt. 2," to Air Monday, Dec. 22 on CBS
This one-hour show gives viewers who loved the first special another opportunity to reminisce and revisit the laughter and joy from the original CBS series.

[12/15/25 - 08:01 AM]
Renovation Superstars Drew and Jonathan Scott Return in New Episodes of "Don't Hate Your House with the Property Brothers" Premiering Monday, Dec. 29, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Home renovation and real estate superstars Drew?and Jonathan Scott will help more people love their home again in eight new episodes.

[12/15/25 - 08:01 AM]
The Wasteland Comes Bearing Gifts... "Fallout" Season Two Surprises with Early Release Date
The premiere episode will debut one day earlier on Tuesday, December 16, at 6:00 p.m. PT.

[12/15/25 - 07:01 AM]
USA Sports Announces Wednesday Night Primetime Schedule for 2026 LOVB Season on USA Network
USA Network's Match of the Week coverage begins with the first serve of the 2026 season on Wednesday, January 7, at 6 p.m. ET, featuring a rematch of the 2025 Championship when LOVB Nebraska faces defending champion LOVB Austin.

[12/15/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: Peacock Releases Official Trailer, Key Art and New Episodic Imagery for "Ponies"
All eight episodes of espionage thriller series starring Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson will debut Thursday, January 15 on Peacock.

[12/15/25 - 07:00 AM]
Golden Globe-Nominated "One Battle After Another" - Including Best Picture - Begins Streaming Exclusively on HBO Max December 19
The film stars Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe winners Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, and Golden Globe nominees Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti.

[12/15/25 - 05:41 AM]
Video: "Stranger Things 5" - Volume 2 Trailer - Netflix
With Hawkins' children ensnared by Vecna, the party faces unimaginable peril as they fight to bring them home.

[12/13/25 - 10:02 AM]
Flex Game! LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Lakers Host Cade Cunningham and Eastern-Conference Leading Pistons on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 10:30 P.M. ET on NBC and Peacock
NBC Sports' NBA coverage on December 23, December 29, and December 30 will now feature nationwide doubleheaders, with the entire country getting both games on NBC and Peacock.