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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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[06/30/25 - 11:02 AM] "Sinners" with Black American Sign Language (BASL) Debuts July 4 on Max in the U.S. This groundbreaking release marks the first time a streaming platform will exclusively debut a film interpreted in BASL.
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[06/30/25 - 10:38 AM] Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest to Air July 4 on ESPN Networks Returning to the iconic corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues on Coney Island is 16-time Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest champion, Joey Chestnut.
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[06/30/25 - 10:01 AM] NASA+ Is Coming to Netflix This Summer Audiences now will have another option to stream rocket launches, astronaut spacewalks, mission coverage, and breathtaking, live views of Earth from the International Space Station.
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[06/30/25 - 09:31 AM] Video: "Apocalypse in the Tropics" - Official Trailer - Netflix Through a deep examination, this documentary from Oscar nominee Petra Costa explores the profound impact of evangelism on Brazil's political landscape.
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[06/30/25 - 09:23 AM] All-New Series "Survival Mode" Premieres Monday, July 7 on NBC Across nine episodes, the series chronicles some of the most recent devastating disasters - including the Maui wildfires, the Amtrak 501 derailment, Superstorm Sandy, and the sinking of the Costa Concordia - through firsthand accounts from survivors and rare archival footage.
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[06/30/25 - 09:01 AM] Video: "Going, Going, Gone: The Magic of the Home Run" - Official Trailer - The Roku Channel This one is dedicated to the dinger. Comedian Roy Wood Jr takes us on a baseball journey all about the long ball.
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[06/30/25 - 09:01 AM] "Miley Cyrus: Something Beautiful" Visual Album Coming to Disney+ and Hulu July 16 The visual album premiered June 6 at the Tribeca Festival ahead of its one-night theatrical release in the U.S. and Canada on June 12.
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[06/30/25 - 08:01 AM] Video: "America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys" - Official Trailer - Netflix On August 19, experience the historic rise of one of the greatest teams in all of sports.
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[06/30/25 - 07:26 AM] Disney+ Adds Three New Premium Reality Commissions to Its Growing Slate of UK Unscripted Original Series Highlights include the return of Britain's original and much-loved dating series "Blind Date", reimagined for a contemporary audience.
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[06/30/25 - 07:01 AM] Video: "My Oxford Year" - Official Trailer - Netflix An ambitious American fulfilling her dream of studying at Oxford falls for a charming Brit hiding a secret that may upend her perfectly planned life.
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[06/30/25 - 06:37 AM] ESPN Reveals Special Honorees for The 2025 ESPYS Presented by Capital One Airing Wednesday, July 16, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Streaming Live on ESPN+ Oscar Robertson will receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, Katie Schumacher-Cawley will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, and David Walters and Erin Regan will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service.
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[06/30/25 - 01:01 AM] Video: Netflix Unleashes Teaser for "Troll 2" When a dangerous new troll is awakened, unleashing devastation across Norway, beloved adventurers Nora, Andreas and Captain Kris are thrust into their most perilous mission yet.
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[06/29/25 - 10:31 PM] A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curse Netflix and YRF Entertainment's "Mandala Murders" Premieres July 25 "Mandala Murders" is a first-of-its-kind mythological-crime thriller that promises to pull audiences into a world where every clue leads deeper into a long-buried prophecy.
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[06/27/25 - 11:48 PM] Development Update: Week of June 23-27 Updates include: Scott Speedman to topline ABC's "RJ Decker" pilot; Joel Kim Booster to pen latest "Pitch Perfect" spin-off at Peacock; and "Doctor Odyssey," "Grosse Pointe Garden Society" among the latest cancellations.
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[06/27/25 - 02:29 PM] "Live with Kelly and Mark" Gears Up for Summer Rising Week to Week in All Key Measures Wednesday, June 11, was the most-viewed day of the week among Total Viewers (2.164 million).
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