 |
 |
[10/07/08 - 06:24 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, October 7
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!
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
|
|
|
 [october 2008]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[05/20/13 - 06:00 PM]
Grammy Award-Winning Artist Kelly Rowland and Global Pop Sensation Paulina Rubio Join Demi Lovato and Simon Cowell on "The X Factor"
"It's taken more than a decade, but I'm delighted to finally be on a panel with three girls," Cowell said.
|
[05/20/13 - 04:36 PM]
ABC Confirms "666 Park Avenue" Return on Saturday, June 22
The show's remaining episodes will air at 9:00/8:00c following fellow short-lived drama "Zero Hour," which returns the week prior.
|
[05/20/13 - 04:04 PM]
Friday's Cable Ratings: "Sons of Guns," "WWE Smackdown" Lead Demo Race
Plus: numbers for Starz's "Da Vinci's Demons," Animal Planet's "Swamp'd!" and VH1's "Best Week Ever."
|
[05/20/13 - 03:05 PM]
CBS Pulls Tonight's "Mike & Molly" Due to Tornado Storyline
The episode featured a related storyline to the tragic events this afternoon in Oklahoma.
|
[05/20/13 - 01:37 PM]
Investigation Discovery Asks "Where Are They Now?" in Update Edition Week, with Episodes Airing Nightly at 8 PM Beginning May 27
In-house crime expert Pat LaLama will provide updates to cases that have already been profiled on ID.
|
[05/20/13 - 01:17 PM]
Discovery Channel's May 19 Premiere of "North America" Grabs 3.4 Million Viewers
Discovery spins the numbers for Sunday, May 19.
|
[05/20/13 - 12:58 PM]
Orange County Choppers and Paul Senior Are Back at It with a Brand New Series on CMT
The new eight-episode series is produced by Pilgrim Studios and will premiere on CMT later this year.
|
[05/20/13 - 12:41 PM]
"Web Therapy" to Premiere Tuesday, July 23rd at 11 P.M. ET/PT on Showtime(R)
The show's third season was previously slated to launch the night prior.
|
[05/20/13 - 12:32 PM]
History(R) Announces New Season of "Ice Road Truckers" Premiering Sunday, June 9 at 10PM ET/PT
This season: after a year on hiatus, the queen of the road, Lisa Kelly, returns and chooses a side.
|
[05/20/13 - 12:25 PM]
Bruce Boxleitner Added to Cast as Series Regular in Hallmark Channel's "Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove"
Andie MacDowell, Dylan Neal and Teryl Rothery also star in the series, premiering Saturday, July 20.
|
[05/20/13 - 12:25 PM]
The Cast of ABC Family's "Baby Daddy" to Participate in Live Premiere Night Tweet-Off Wednesday, May 29th
Greg Grunberg will moderate the event, in which the cast will compete for new Twitter followers.
|
[05/20/13 - 12:17 PM]
2013 14-Game WNBA Regular-Season Schedule Begins Next Monday with Memorial Day Doubleheader
Plus: the Boost Mobile WNBA All-Star Game returns on Saturday, July 27, at 3:30 p.m. on ABC from Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.
|
[05/20/13 - 12:08 PM]
"The Big Bang Theory" Delivers Its Largest-Ever L+7 Day Lift in Viewers and Adults 18-49
CBS further spins the numbers for the week of April 29-May 5.
|
[05/20/13 - 12:02 PM]
NBC Kicks Off 2013 Search for the Nation's Funniest Comics
Since the inception of the program, many participating comics have gone on to sign with top Hollywood managers, agents, and met with leading casting executives.
|
[05/20/13 - 11:56 AM]
"Street Outlaws" Races Onto Discovery Channel This June
The series will air Mondays at 10:00/9:00c following new episodes of "Fast N' Loud."
|
|
|
|
