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[10/07/08 - 06:24 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, October 7
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!
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS (FOX, New!) - Christine Zander ("Samantha Who?") is developing a domestic take on the infamous U.K. comedy, about the friendship of two boozy, over-40 best friends who are desperate to stay hip and youthful. The project, which has script commitment with a penalty attached, is set up at Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum's Sony Pictures Television-based Tantamount banner. Jennifer Saunders, the mind behind the U.K. original, along with Ian Moffitt will also executive produce via BBC Worldwide Productions. ABC was the last network to take a stab at importing the show nearly a decade ago with Roseanne Barr and Carrie Fisher in the roles made famous by Saunders and Joanna Lumley.
THE RICHES (FX) - The cable channel confirmed this week the Minnie Driver/Eddie Izzard-led drama won't return for a third season. The news had been widely expected as its strike-shortened sophomore run experienced a significant 44% drop in the key 18-49 demographic. Dmitry Lipkin was behind the hour, which was co-produced by Fox Television Studios, FX Productions and Maverick Television.
THE WASHINGTONIENNE (HBO) - Rachael Taylor, Amanda Walsh and Bitsie Tulloch have scored the lead roles in the Sarah Jessica Parker-produced comedy, about the professional and personal lives of three smart, sophisticated 28-year-old girls working on Capitol Hill. Taylor will play Jackie, "a recent transplant from New York who has decided to pursue a career as a speechwriter but first must work her way up from the intern desk"; with Tulloch as April, her mentor friend from college "who has been on the Hill since graduation and lives a prematurely middle-age lifestyle with a boyfriend who seems more in love with his flashy senator boss than with her"; and Walsh as Laura, "a small-town girl whose workaholic ways often come at the expense of a social life and who is constantly defending her Republican views to her liberal friends." Also signing on is David Furr as April's boyfriend Tom, an aide to a charismatic senator. Susanna Fogel and Joni Lefkowitz penned the pilot script based on Jessica Cutler's semi-autobiographical book. Vanessa Taylor was previously attached to pen the adaptation. Parker, Parker's producing partner Alison Benson, Sarah Condon and Stacy Traub are the executive producers.
WIPEOUT (ABC) - Japanese broadcaster Tokyo Broadcasting System has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against ABC, alleging "Wipeout" is "a blatant copycat" of several of its classic Japanese competition series, including "Takeshi's Castle," "Sasuke" and "Kuniochi." Spike TV's "MXC" and G4's "Ninja Warrior" feature footage from "Castle" and "Sasuke," respectively, here in the U.S. "ABC's willful and wrongful use of Plaintiff's shows to create 'Wipeout' is egregious, inexcusable and not to be tolerated," the complaint reads. Among its claims: ABC bought search terms such as "MXC" on Google to help drive traffic to the official "Wipeout" page and a memo from Alphabet executive VP Howard Davine indicating producers to "carefully scrutinize" whether licensing foreign formats "is necessary or appropriate." A separate lawsuit against producer Endemol is also said to be pending.
THE WISHING WELL (Hallmark, New!) - Ernest Borgnine, Jordan Ladd and Sally Kellerman are set to star in a new original movie at the cable channel about a reporter (Ladd) sent to Slow Creek, Illinois, to write a fluff piece on the local wishing well, which ends up having an impact on her life. Borgnine then plays a local innkeeper with Kellerman as a waitress/the unofficial town therapist. David Jackson is directing the movie, from a script by Steven H. Berman with Larry Levinson executive producing and Brian Gordon and Susan McGuire producing.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[06/25/25 - 08:11 AM]
Video: "Maigret" Preview
Mark your calendars - "Maigret" premieres Sunday, October 5 at 9:00/8:00c on PBS.
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[06/25/25 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Amy Bradley Is Missing" - Official Trailer - Netflix
This true-crime series investigates the 1998 disappearance of a 23-year-old woman from a Caribbean cruise and her family's tireless search for answers.
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[06/25/25 - 07:58 AM]
ABC News Primetime Special "Karen Read: The Verdict - A Special Edition of 20/20" Ranks #1 Across All of Broadcast and Cable in Adults 18-49
Plus: "Karen Read: The Verdict" placed No. 1 based on views among all titles on Hulu on Thursday (6/19), Friday (6/20) and Saturday (6/21).
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[06/25/25 - 07:02 AM]
Video: "Almost Family" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A Brazilian dad meets his match in his daughter's Argentine in-laws - where a trip to Bariloche spirals into a comedy of local pride and competition.
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[06/25/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Community Squad" Season 2 - Official Trailer - Netflix
A ragtag civilian patrol squad created to improve the image of the police inadvertently put their lives at risk when confronting some strange criminals.
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[06/25/25 - 06:16 AM]
Video: "Critical: Between Life and Death" - Official Trailer - Netflix
From critical emergencies to the operating room, this documentary series follows London's trauma units as they treat the most severely injured.
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[06/25/25 - 05:46 AM]
Video: "Hitmakers" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Creativity and ego collide in this all-access reality series that follows a group of gifted songwriters as they pen hits for music's biggest stars.
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[06/25/25 - 04:30 AM]
ESPN Signs New Five-Year Media Rights Agreement and Expands Relationship with Premier Lacrosse League
The deal begins with the 2026 season and encompasses all Premier Lacrosse League regular season, All-Star, Playoff and Championship games, Maybelline Women's Lacrosse League games, as well as future PLL and WLL Drafts.
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[06/25/25 - 01:13 AM]
Video: Netflix Drops the Trailer for "Aap Jaisa Koi" - a Melodic and Visual Masterpiece
Shrirenu lives by tradition. Madhu lives unapologetically. When their paths cross, a tender romance unfolds - awkward, sweet but shadowed by patriarchy.
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[06/24/25 - 05:01 PM]
Video: Teaser for Action Thriller Series "Trigger" Unleashes Tension as Firearms Surface in a Gun-Free Nation - Premieres July 25
As illegal firearms flood into a gun-free South Korea, a resolute cop and a cunning arms broker find themselves at odds in a tense showdown.
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[06/24/25 - 03:03 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Target Demos 18-49 vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" for 2nd Consecutive Week, and Claims Top Spot in Total Viewers for the 5th Straight Week
On Monday (6/16/25), "Nightline" scored its most-watched telecast (1.112 million) in 5 months.
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[06/24/25 - 01:31 PM]
CBS and MTV Announce Van Toffler's Return to the Video Music Awards (VMAs)
CBS will present the 2025 Video Music Awards for the first time, airing LIVE from UBS Arena, Sunday, September 7 (8:00-11:00 PM, ET/5:00-8:00 PM PT), and streaming on Paramount+.
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[06/24/25 - 12:41 PM]
Amazon MGM Studios Casts Xavier Molyneux in the Lead Role of Erik Bloodaxe in the New Original Series "Bloodaxe"
"Bloodaxe" is an epic historical drama that chronicles the rise of one of history's most famous Viking warriors, Erik Bloodaxe, and his formidable wife, Gunnhild, Mother of Kings.
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[06/24/25 - 12:02 PM]
What's New on Max This July
Feature films making their streaming premieres include "Sinners," "On Becoming a Guinea Fowl," "Opus," "Death of a Unicorn," and "I Love You Forever."
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[06/24/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of June 16: "Tyler Perry's Straw" Leads Top 10 for Third Week, "The Waterfront" Swims to No. 1
Plus: "Ginny & Georgia" Season 3 racked up another 8.1 million views and felt peachy keen at No. 2, while Season 2 landed at No. 8 and Season 1 at No. 10, with an additional 2.7 million views each.
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