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)





[03/05/26 - 11:16 AM]
Netflix Announces New Comedy Series "I Suck at Girls" Based on Justin Halpern's Bestselling Autobiography
The series will star Kayo Martin, Jeremy Ray Taylor, and Laila Pruitt.

[03/05/26 - 11:05 AM]
ABC Renews "9-1-1, "9-1-1: Nashville" and "High Potential"
The Alphabet confirmed all three moves on social media today.

[03/05/26 - 11:04 AM]
More Stars Take the Stage To Present at the 98th Oscars
Will Arnett, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Hathaway, Paul Mescal and Gwyneth Paltrow are among the latest additions.

[03/05/26 - 11:01 AM]
Sandra Bernhard, Vincent Cassel, Dylan Ennis, Corentin Fila, Ari Graynor, and Nadia Tereszkiewicz Join Season 4 of "The White Lotus"
New reservations continue to fill up.

[03/05/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: "Harry Styles. One Night in Manchester." - Official Trailer - Netflix
In a special one off concert in Manchester, recorded on the evening of March 6, Harry Styles will play his new album, "Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally." for the very first time.

[03/05/26 - 09:47 AM]
Paramount+ Announces Unscripted Relationship Series "Making Love" (w/t) to Release in 2027
From the producers of "Love Is Blind" and "Married at First Sight" comes a bold new relationship experiment, where singles take their destiny into their own hands and attempt to turn their desires into a lifetime of love.

[03/05/26 - 09:31 AM]
Video: Apple TV Debuts Imaginative Trailer for Season Two of "Wonder Pets: In the City"
Produced by Nickelodeon Animation and developed by Emmy Award winner Jennifer Oxley, the new 13-episode season is set to premiere globally on Apple TV on March 20, 2026.

[03/05/26 - 09:28 AM]
Paramount+ Announces Additional Casting for "Frisco King"
Asa Germann, Kai Caster, Lilah Pate and Savanna Gann will join previously announced series lead Samuel L. Jackson.

[03/05/26 - 09:18 AM]
ID Sets March Premiere Date for Powerful, New "Evil Lives Here" Spinoff Series
"Evil Lives Here: My Child the Killer" will premiere Tuesday, March 31 at 9:00/8:00c on ID, with new episodes airing weekly.

[03/05/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: Tensions Rise in the Official Trailer for New British Mystery Series "The Feud on Shelbury Drive"
Season one consists of six episodes and premieres Monday, March 30 exclusively on Acorn TV in the US and Canada, with subsequent episodes releasing weekly on Mondays.

[03/05/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: The Beginning of the End - "The Boys" Releases Final Season Official Trailer
Season five of the multi-Emmy Award-winning series will premiere on April 8, 2026, with two episodes, followed by a new episode each week, culminating in the unforgettable series finale on May 20, 2026.

[03/05/26 - 09:00 AM]
Stream This Year's Must-Watch Oscar Nominees on Peacock - Including "Bugonia," "Hamnet" and "Song Sung Blue"
"Hamnet" comes to the service this Friday, March 6.

[03/05/26 - 08:31 AM]
Netflix Announces Straight-to-Series Drama "Alexander"
Jacob Tierney, the creator and showrunner of "Heated Rivalry," is set to write, direct, and executive produce the upcoming series, a period piece that explores the little-known story of Alexander the Great and his tutor, Aristotle.

[03/05/26 - 07:35 AM]
Paramount+ to Premiere Emmy-Nominated Drama Series "Anderson Spider Silva"
The series chronicles Anderson's path to becoming one of the most important athletes in the sport of MMA.

[03/05/26 - 07:11 AM]
BritBox Announces May 6th Premiere for "The Other Bennet Sister" in North America
Based on Janice Hadlow's acclaimed novel, the new drama brings Mary Bennet - the oft-overlooked middle sister in Pride and Prejudice - into the spotlight.