 |
 |
[09/26/08 - 06:24 PM]
Development Update: Friday, September 26
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!
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
|
|
|
 [september 2008]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[09/28/26 - 09:31 AM]
"Michael Che: Shot in Minnesota" - Premiering Globally on Netflix October 13
This marks the comedian's third Netflix stand-up special.
|
[09/28/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "La Bola Negra" - Official Trailer - Netflix
The film tells the story of three generations of men whose lives are intimately connected through desire, pain, and love.
|
[09/28/26 - 07:31 AM]
Peacock to Exclusively Stream Illumination's "Minions & Monsters" Beginning October 28
The film features the voices of Pierre Coffin, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Bridges, Zoey Deutch and more.
|
[09/28/26 - 07:09 AM]
"Foul Play with Anthony Davis" Returns for Hilarious New Episodes Monday, November 2 on TBS
Hosted by NBA Champion and 10-time NBA All-Star Anthony Davis, the hidden camera series features an elite lineup of celebrities and athletes pulling the ultimate pranks on their superstar friends.
|
[09/28/26 - 07:06 AM]
"Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger" Streams Exclusively on Disney+ October 9
As the exclusive home of the critically acclaimed documentary, Disney+ will also host never-before-seen footage that includes material from the joint interview with Liam and Noel Gallagher, and full performances of songs "Wonderwall" and "Slide Away".
|
[09/28/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Beloved for blurring performance and personal crisis, Maria Bamford unpacks the mental health journey behind her fearless comedy in this documentary.
|
[09/28/26 - 06:46 AM]
Netflix Heats Up "Icebreaker" with Daisy Jelley & Connor Simos Cast as Stassie & Nate
The new college romance drama series is based on the #1 New York Times best-selling novel by Hannah Grace.
|
[09/28/26 - 06:06 AM]
Bleacher Report & WWE Reach Multi-Year Global Content Partnership
Per the agreement, Bleacher Report will hold global highlight rights across WWE's programming slate with content distributed across Bleacher Report and their associated social and digital platforms.
|
[09/28/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "Love Is Blind" Season 11: Boston - Meet the Singles - Netflix
Boston singles enter the pods to find their soulmates and get engaged sight unseen. Will they walk down the aisle or will looks get in the way of love?
|
[09/28/26 - 12:01 AM]
The Neighbours of Netflix's "Chumbak" Colony Are Back - Part 2 Premieres October 1
Part 2 brings a fresh set of mix-ups to the colony, putting friendships to a hilarious test as the whole neighborhood gets tangled up in it.
|
[09/27/26 - 05:01 PM]
Video: "Take Charge of My Heart" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A corporate heir with an artificial heart meets a woman who conducts real current. Their contract could spark his battery - and something between them.
|
[09/27/26 - 03:16 PM]
NBC Sports Names Announce Teams for MLB Wild Card Series Presented by Abbvie - Headlined by Red Sox-Yankees in Primetime - Beginning This Tues., Sept. 29 Across NBC, Peacock, and NBCSN
The 2026 MLB Wild Card Series will feature up to 12 games across four best-of-three series.
|
[09/25/26 - 02:23 PM]
ESPN Tips Off Its Coverage of the 2026 WNBA Playoffs Presented by Google Pixel
The postseason follows ESPN's most-watched WNBA regular season ever, with 29 games across ESPN networks averaging 1.37 million viewers, up 17% year-over-year.
|
[09/25/26 - 11:01 AM]
"Family Guy" Hulu Exclusive Halloween Special Premieres October 5 on Hulu
Brian and Stewie find themselves in Hell - not an annoying day, the actual underworld - paying for 24 seasons' worth of bad behavior.
|
[09/25/26 - 10:35 AM]
ESPN Delivered Its Most-Watched WNBA Regular Season Ever!
Across 29 games, the WNBA on ESPN networks averaged 1.37M viewers, up 17% year-over-year and ranking as ESPN networks' most-viewed WNBA regular season on record.
|
|
|
|
