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[09/26/08 - 06:24 PM]
Development Update: Friday, September 26
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!
BUNKER HILL (A.K.A. MORSE CODE) (TNT) - The Donnie Wahlberg-led drama has been given a pilot commitment by the network. Wahlberg plays Mike Moriarty in the project, "a crime drama about a young war hero/Drug Enforcement Administration officer who works in his hometown of Boston." Walon Green and Jon Avnet are behind the Warner Horizon Television-based hour, which Avnet is directing from a script by Green. Wahlberg himself is also executive producing.
LIFE ON MARS (ABC) - Director Gary Fleder, who most recently helmed the pilots to ABC's "Finnegan" and "Life on Mars," has reupped his overall deal with sibling ABC Studios. Under the pact, he's developing an untitled hour with "Jericho" co-creator Jonathan Steinberg about a 25-year-old who becomes a senator. He'll executive produce the project via his Mojo Films banner alongside the company's development chief Mary Beth Basile. Earlier this week, Fleder signed on to direct The CW pilot "Light Years" from creator Liz Tigelaar.
THE NEW MCTOMS (FOX, New!) - Boyce Bugliari and Jamie McLaughlin (The CW's "Dash 4 Cash") are developing a new hybrid multi- and single-camera half-hour about a conservative matriarch who must face the reality of her three children marrying ethnically diverse spouses. The project is set up at Salma Hayek and Jose Tamez's ABC Studios-based Ventanarosa banner. Bugliari, McLaughlin, Hayek and Tamez then are executive producing the comedy, which has a script commitment from the network.
PROJECT RUNWAY (Bravo/Lifetime) - In a surprise move to all parties involved, a New York judge has granted a preliminary injunction on the Weinstein Co., temporarily barring the show's move from Bravo to Lifetime or marketing any such move. Said decision could derail the show's sixth season launch in January on Lifetime. Production nevertheless is continuing in Los Angeles. Lifetime inked a blockbuster five-year, $150 million deal with the Weinstein Co. back in April to acquire the series (read the story), which included 10 additional cycles of "Runway" (two 14-episode seasons per year) as well as spin-offs "The Models of Project Runway" and "Project Pygmalion" (14 episodes each) not to mention the broadcast rights to 70 Weinstein movies. NBC Universal subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Weinstein Co. claiming it didn't give NBC Universal-sibling Bravo proper notification that another party had made an offer for "Runway." The claim stems from a January 2007 agreement which reportedly gave Bravo the right of first refusal for any outside bid. In any case, Judge Richard Lowe III has ordered NBC Universal to post a minimum $20 million bond as part of the trial proceedings. A timetable on how the case will proceed is expected to be set in the next month.
TRUE BLOOD (HBO) - Mehcad Brooks, Todd Lowe, Deborah Ann Woll and Michelle Forbes have been named series regulars on the show's recently ordered second season. All four actors currently recur on the inaugural season - Brooks as Benedict "Eggs" Talley, a mellow, guitar-strumming refugee from a hard life; Lowe as Terry Bellefleur; Woll as Jessica; and Forbes as Maryann.
UNTITLED DAVID GUARASCIO/MOSES PORT PROJECT (FOX, New!) - "Aliens in America" alums Moses Port and David Guarascio have booked a new single-camera comedy at the network about a twentysomething man who starts taking a mood enhancer called Blisstilan and, after snapping out of his funk, takes a job at the pharmaceutical company behind the product. The man must now navigate working for his new boss, a high-powered female executive who boasts the nickname "The Velvet Hammer." No studio was listed as being attached. Port and Guarascio will pen the pilot and executive produce.
UNTITLED DOUG JUNG PROJECT (TNT, New!) - The cable channel is in final negotiations with Jerry Bruckheimer for a new drama pilot from creator Doug Jung ("Big Love") based on an original idea by Danny Cannon. The untitled hour, which Cannon will direct from a script by Jung, is described as a "character-based police drama that follows a squad of young undercover LAPD officers as they walk the line between doing their job and being seduced into the easy money and corruption of the crime world." Cannon, Jung and Bruckheimer then will executive produce alongside Jonathan Littman for Warner Horizon Television.
THE WONDERFUL MALADYS (HBO, New!) - Sarah Michelle Gellar ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") is set to topline and executive produce a potential new comedy at the pay channel about the dysfunctional lives of three adult siblings in New York who lost their parents at a young age. Feature writer Charles Randolph ("The Interpreter") is behind the half-hour, which he penned on spec last year. Gellar's character then is detailed as having "a kind of zealous immaturity - like a drug addict with a to-do list." It's understood HBO is fast-tracking the project to begin production early next year. Gellar and Randolph are executive producing alongside Brillstein Entertainment Partners.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[07/14/26 - 12:00 PM]
FOX Sets Fall 2026 Premiere Dates for a Season of Returning Favorites, Iconic Franchises, and Big Television Moments
The network's fall season kicks off Monday, September 21 with the return of "Celebrity Name That Tune" and "Celebrity Weakest Link."
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[07/14/26 - 11:00 AM]
"Big Brother" Delivers Most-Watched Premiere Since 2021
On social media, the premiere was the most-engaged and most-viewed premiere since 2020.
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[07/14/26 - 10:52 AM]
Lifetime Reteams with Angie Harmon to Star and Executive Produce Two New Installments of "Buried in Barstow"
The wheelhouse of movies follow former assassin Hazel King (Angie Harmon) as she tries to build a quiet life for herself and her daughter but her dark past keeps coming back to haunt her.
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[07/14/26 - 10:03 AM]
New Original Competition Series "Cocktail Wars" Hosted by Lance Bass and Joey Fatone to Premiere on August 18 on E!
In a series of themed challenges, "Cocktail Wars" pits America's buzziest mixologists against each other in a lively, high-stakes competition with $10,000 on the line in every episode.
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[07/14/26 - 10:02 AM]
Ruiz Jr. Faces Knyba at Prudential Center, Newark, NJ on September 4 - Live on TNT and DAZN
The third headline show of TNT Sports and DAZN's "The Fight," the new monthly live boxing series, will be broadcast co-exclusively in the U.S. on TNT, truTV?and DAZN and worldwide on DAZN.
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[07/14/26 - 09:43 AM]
CBS Leads 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Nominations with 48
"Beyond the Gates" and "The Young and the Restless" both received nominations for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series.
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[07/14/26 - 09:31 AM]
Netflix and Mythical Partner Up to Bring "Good Mythical Morning," "Mythical Kitchen" and "Last Meals" to Netflix
Beginning September 7, the same day as "Good Mythical Morning's" season 30 premiere, members can watch new episodes dropping day-and-date alongside YouTube and a library of episodes from these iconic series, giving fans more ways to enjoy their daily dose of Mythical entertainment.
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[07/14/26 - 09:06 AM]
"The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only Live" - Premiere Event Performance to Make Streaming Debut on AMC+ on August 23
Additionally, highlights from the electrifying premiere event, featuring original songs from series composer Daniel Hart and performed by Sam Reid, will be screened for fans in Hall H at Comic Con International on Friday, July 24.
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[07/14/26 - 09:01 AM]
FOX Nation Teams Up with Conor McGregor and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship for New Competition Series "World's Baddest Man"
Premiering in summer of 2027, the series is hosted by McGregor, who is prominently featured throughout as elite domestic and international fighters compete in a high-stakes, bracket-style tournament for the chance to be crowned the World's Baddest Man.
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[07/14/26 - 08:42 AM]
ESPN to Air 2026 WNBA All-Star Draft Featuring Legends Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon on July 15
The 2026 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game will be played in Chicago at United Center on Saturday, July 25, and broadcast on ABC and Disney+ (8:30 p.m. ET).
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[07/14/26 - 08:01 AM]
First Look at Suspenseful New Thriller Series "Below" - On Netflix October 8
Calvin Penney (Josh Hartnett) is a big hearted but stubborn fisherman living in a small Newfoundland town, who's still haunted by his father's mysterious death from decades ago.
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[07/14/26 - 08:00 AM]
TLC's New Series "Double Lives of Suburban Wives" Reveals Secrets Behind Everyday Suburban Lives
The series follows these couples as they navigate the complexities of marriage, parenthood and suburban life alongside careers in adult content creation.
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[07/14/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "The Shards" - Official Trailer - FX
Set against the vivid backdrop of 1980s Los Angeles, the series follows a group of privileged high school seniors at an elite prep school as they navigate identity, sex, jealousy, obsession and the dangers lurking beneath the surface of American adolescence.
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[07/14/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "The Whisper Man" - Official Trailer - Netflix
When his young son vanishes, a widower enlists help from his estranged father, a retired detective who put away the serial killer now linked to the case.
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[07/14/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: Apple Original Films Unveils Trailer for Action-Packed "Mayday"
Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh team up in "Mayday," a genre-bending, action-packed buddy comedy that flips the spy thriller on its head.
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