or


[01/05/09 - 07:13 PM]
Development Update: Monday, January 5
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!


THE AMAZING MRS. NOVAK (Lifetime) - Variety's Liz Smith reports the Amy Pietz-led drama pilot - about a supermarket manager, wife and mother of two who, through a series of unexpected circumstances, becomes governor of New Jersey - won't be moving forward. Said hour, which also starred Kristin Dattilo and Tom Verica, rose to prominence in the media due to its pseudo-parallels to Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the current governor of Alaska. Vanessa Taylor was behind the hour, which came from Kudos Film & Television, Shine and Warner Horizon Television.


LEGALLY MAD (NBC) - British actress Charity Wakefield ("Sense and Sensibility") has been tapped for the lead role on the drama pilot, about a twentysomething woman who takes a job at her father's law firm and quickly becomes the practice's center. The casting notice details her character, Brady Hamm, as follows: "Late 20s, any ethnicity. Lawyer/den mother/babysitter/she is the center of this warped universe; in fact, she is the lifeline to everyone else's semblance of sanity. Easygoing, popular with friends and foes alike; she disarms with charm. Offered several prestigious clerkships out of law school, she instead chose to work for her father, who she remains deeply devoted to. Deadpan funny, it's often through her bemused eyes that we experience all the madness." Also signing onto the Warner Bros. Television-based hour is Jon Seda ("Close to Home") as Joe Matty: "30s, any ethnicity. Rugged, grumpy, abrupt, offensive, no reason for anybody to like him; everybody does. We loves Joe, we simply don't know why." Kristin Chenoweth also stars in the project, which comes from David E. Kelley.


SHAMELESS (HBO, New!) - "ER" executive producer John Wells is looking to import the British drama for the pay channel. The series, which has aired domestically on both BBC America and the Sundance Channel, revolves around a dysfunctional working-class clan led by an alcoholic patriarch. Original creator Paul Abbott is on board to co-write the U.S. incarnation with Wells for Warner Bros. Television. Wells and company have reportedly been trying to import the show for four years with Woody Harrelson rumored for the lead at one point at NBC. The sixth season of the U.K. "Shameless" begins on Channel 4 later this month with another season due in 2010.


SOUNDTRACK (NBC, New!) - Jared Bush ("All of Us") is developing a new drama at the Peacock about a misguided man whose life begins being accompanied by the music in his head. The project is set up at Universal Media Studios and Mosaic Television, with the latter's Jimmy Miller and Sam Hansen executive producing. As for specifics, the lead character has lost his job and his ex-girlfriend has gotten engaged to someone else. It's then he starts to hear the music - the same iconic song, over and over again, which won't go away until he figures out its significance. The following week, a new song will be featured and so forth. Dana Sano ("Dan in Real Life") has been tapped to oversee the project's music.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [january 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· ALL OF US (CW)
· AMAZING MRS. NOVAK, THE (LIFETIME)
· CLOSE TO HOME (CBS)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· ER (NBC)
· LEGALLY MAD (NBC)
· SHAMELESS (SHOWTIME)
· SOUNDTRACK (NBC)





[09/18/25 - 09:10 AM]
CBS and Dick Clark Productions Announce New "Golden Eve" Primetime Special, Honoring Golden Globes Cecil B. DeMille and Carol Burnett Award-Recipients, Airing Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026
The special will air as a marquee event during Golden Week, a new dynamic week-long experience across Paramount platforms as well as celebratory kick-off events ahead of the 83rd Annual Golden Globes, the first major awards show of the season, airing live Sunday, January 11, 2026.

[09/18/25 - 09:02 AM]
Video: "Chad Powers" - Eli Manning + Glen Powell Sneak Peek - Hulu
A sneak peek brought to you by the "Chad Powers" multiverse...

[09/18/25 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "The Chair Company" - Official Trailer - HBO Max
Ron witnessed a problem. It was a big problem.

[09/18/25 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "The Lost Bus" - Official Trailer 2 - Apple TV+
Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera star in a gripping fight for survival.

[09/18/25 - 09:00 AM]
Prime Video Unmasks the Star-Studded Voice Cast for DC's Animated Action-Comedy Series "BAT-FAM"
Reprising their roles from the hit "Merry Little Batman" film are Luke Wilson as the voice of Bruce Wayne, Yonas Kibreab as the voice of Damian Wayne, and James Cromwell, who returns to voice Alfred Pennyworth.

[09/18/25 - 08:15 AM]
Critically-Acclaimed, Award-Winning Feature Film on Love and Self-Discovery "Little Did I Know" Film Starring Popular Swedish Actress Alexandra Rapaport Makes Exclusive US Debut Thursday, October 16, 2025 on Viaplay
Martina Haag's critically-acclaimed, award-winning feature film follows one woman's intertwined journeys of self-discovery at ages 50 and 15, offering a painful, yet hopeful and illuminating view on love.

[09/18/25 - 08:07 AM]
TLC Unveils Two Powerful New Medical Series Premiering This October: "Dangerously Obese" and "About Face"
From morbidly obese patients fighting to reclaim their health to those seeking transformative facial reconstruction after years of enduring extreme facial deformities, both series offer intimate, emotional journeys of resilience and renewal.

[09/18/25 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "True Haunting" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Acclaimed master of horror James Wan brings his chilling cinematic vision to real supernatural stories.

[09/18/25 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "The Diplomat" Season 3 - Official Trailer - Netflix
Caught in a whirlwind of crisis diplomacy, Kate must navigate a fragile new administration and a deadly threat with world-shaping consequences.

[09/18/25 - 06:01 AM]
Video: Apple TV+ Debuts Trailer for Action-Packed Thriller "The Last Frontier"
The 10-episode thriller will make its global debut on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on Friday, October 10 followed by new episodes every Friday through December 5.

[09/18/25 - 03:02 AM]
Netflix Premieres the Documentary "Mare Branca: The Surreal Story of Rabo de Peixe" on October 17
The documentary's debut coincides with the premiere of the second season of the hit series "Rabo de Peixe" ("Turn of the Tide"), giving viewers the opportunity to delve into the true story that inspired the fiction.

[09/18/25 - 03:01 AM]
Video: "Mrs Playmen", Teaser Trailer of the New Series With Carolina Crescentini, on Netflix on November 12th
Betrayed by her husband, a woman must step up and run an erotic magazine that becomes a symbol of empowerment in '70s Rome. Inspired by true events.

[09/17/25 - 09:01 PM]
Video: "The Time That Remains" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Surrounded by a string of deaths, an older woman relives her romance with a mysterious, ageless lover as an inspector closes in on their dark secret.

[09/17/25 - 05:01 PM]
Video: Three Wishes and a Deadly Bet - Main Trailer Drops for "Genie, Make a Wish"
After a millennium, a flamboyant genie returns to grant wishes to a stoic woman. Can his magic turn her routine-bound world into one of love and fantasy?

[09/17/25 - 03:15 PM]
Nexstar ABC Affiliates to Preempt "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Indefinitely Beginning Tonight
The company's owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will preempt "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" for the foreseeable future beginning with tonight's show.