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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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[04/15/26 - 01:00 PM]
CBS Announces Its 2026-2027 Fall Primetime Schedule
Highlights include the newly announced "NCIS: New York," airing on Tuesday nights this fall.
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[04/15/26 - 12:01 PM]
NBC to Air Pilot of Peacock Drama Series "M.I.A." for Special Telecast on Thursday, May 14
The series premieres Thursday, May 7 on the streaming service.
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[04/15/26 - 11:38 AM]
ESPN's Most-Watched NBA Regular Season in Seven Years
Through 80 telecasts, the 2025-26 NBA regular season on ABC & ESPN averaged 1.9 million viewers, up 11 percent from last season (1.7M viewers).
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[04/15/26 - 11:01 AM]
BritBox Debuts First Look at Season Two of Award-Winning Comedy Detective Series "Ludwig," Starring David Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin
The photos feature a first preview of new series regulars Mark Bonnar and Sian Clifford, who join the cast this season.
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[04/15/26 - 10:01 AM]
"Perfect Match" Season 4 - Meet the Singles & Premiere Date & Key Art Reveal
Season four premieres May 13, only on Netflix.
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[04/15/26 - 10:01 AM]
Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" Three-Part Reunion Begins Thursday, April 23 at 8 P.M. ET/PT
Host Andy Cohen joins Erika Jayne, Dorit Kemsley, Kyle Richards, Bozoma Saint John, Sutton Stracke, and new housewives Amanda Frances and Rachel Zoe as they reflect on an emotional season 15 marked by shocking revelations, shifting alliances, and friendships tested like never before.
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[04/15/26 - 09:35 AM]
U.S. Premiere-Packed May Slate: Nordic Noir Finale, Eurovision Doc & Award-Winning European Series on Viaplay
Highlights include the final season of "Black Sands," due on Thursday, May 14.
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[04/15/26 - 09:30 AM]
Lawrence Jones, Co-Host of FOX News Channel's "FOX & Friends" to Appear on Live Documentary Series "On Patrol: Live" Friday, April 17
Jones will sit in as a guest on the show alongside Host Dan Abrams and analysts Sgt. Sean "Sticks" Larkin, retired Tulsa Police Department lieutenant, and Captain Tom Rizzo from the Howell Township Police Department in New Jersey.
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[04/15/26 - 09:30 AM]
CBS Series Deliver Strong Results vs. Broadcast and Streaming Originals in Live Plus 28-Day Multiplatform Viewership
CBS series make up six of the top 20 most-watched series among all broadcast and streaming competition - more than any broadcast competitor, according to Nielsen.
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[04/15/26 - 09:02 AM]
A&E's New Original Series "Squatters" Follows Flash Shelton and His Team of Specialists as They Take on High-Stakes Missions to Help Victims Reclaim Their Homes
"Squatters" sheds light on the complex legal challenges surrounding property rights and showcases Shelton's unconventional strategies to resolve these conflicts.
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[04/15/26 - 09:00 AM]
Video: AMC+ & Shudder Reveal Haunting Trailer & Key Art from "The Terror: Devil in Silver" Premiering Thursday, May 7
Dan Stevens stars as Pepper - a working-class moving man who, through a combination of bad luck and a bad temper, finds himself wrongfully committed to New Hyde Psychiatric Hospital - an institution filled with those society would rather forget.
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[04/15/26 - 08:20 AM]
Video: Two New Sneak Peeks from Eagerly Anticipated Series "Zorro," Starring Oscar Winner Jean Dujardin, to Premiere June 30 on MHz Choice
"Zorro" premieres June 30 exclusively in the U.S. and Canada on MHz Choice, with two new episodes, followed by weekly premieres on Tuesdays through August 11, along with a "making of" special.
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[04/15/26 - 08:16 AM]
Cheryl Miller to Join NBC Sports as WNBA Studio Analyst Beginning This May
NBC Sports' presentation of the WNBA begins in May and includes the 2026 WNBA Finals on NBC and Peacock.
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[04/15/26 - 08:01 AM]
HBO Original "The White Lotus" Season 4 Begins Filming in France
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[04/15/26 - 08:00 AM]
TLC's "Baylen Out Loud" Returns May 19
The series follows Baylen Dupree, a vibrant young woman living with extreme Tourette Syndrome, as she and fiancé Colin Dooley enter one of the biggest chapters of their lives.
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