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[01/16/09 - 06:09 PM]
Development Update: Friday, January 16
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!
ABC AT THE TCA - Alphabet chief Steve McPherson has confirmed the network won't be picking up "King of the Hill" after it completes its run on FOX. ABC flirted with the idea back in November, opening talks with producer 20th Century Fox Television to order addition scripts of the series. Meanwhile, Mike Judge's new animated comedy "The Goode Family" may not roll out until May while "In the Motherhood" is expected to bow in March, potentially as a lead out to "Dancing With the Stars." On the development side, McPherson said he hopes to shoot 10 comedy and drama pilots for next season with pick-ups set to begin as early as next week. And finally, fans looking for the remaining produced installments of axed dramas "Eli Stone," "Dirty Sexy Money" and "Pushing Daisies" will have to wait a bit longer - they could be burned off over the summer or streamed online at some point in the future.
LEGALLY MAD (NBC) - Hugh Bonneville ("Five Days") has booked the male lead in the drama pilot, about Brady Hamm (Charity Wakefield), a twentysomething woman who takes a job at her father's law firm. He'll play her father, Gordon Hamm, whom the casting notice details as follows: "Late 40s, any ethnicity. The firm's senior partner, part F. Lee Bailey, part Harold Hill of "The Music Man." Fun-loving, fast-talking, a little slick...it was either a career in law or used cars. He chose the law." Jon Seda and Kristin Chenoweth also star in the hour, which comes from Warner Bros. Television and creator David E. Kelley.
LEVERAGE (TNT) - The cable channel has quietly asked for six additional scripts of the series, which opened to 5.6 million viewers last month. The drama wraps its inaugural 13-episode run in February.
MAD MEN (AMC) - After months of negotiations, Matthew Weiner has finally closed a two-year, seven-figure overall deal with producer Lionsgate Television. The pact puts the writer/producer back at the helm of the Emmy-winning drama. He'll also develop new series projects for the studio, including a potential feature. It's understood AMC is helping fund Weiner's deal as is typical on the cable side. Production on the new season then is set to begin in time for a summer premiere.
PHIL ROSENTHAL PROJECTS (HBO, New!) - Emmy-winner Phil Rosenthal ("Everybody Loves Raymond") has lined up three projects at the pay channel - a comedy, a drama and a original movie. First up is "The Jeannie Tate Show," a comedy based on TheWB.com digital series created by Liz Cackowski and Maggie Carey about a neurotic soccer mom (Cackowski) who hosts a talk show from her minivan. Cackowski and Carey are penning the pilot and co-executive producing under Rosenthal's supervision with TheWB.com's Rich Rosenthal, Phil's brother, producing. Warner Bros. Television originally developed the project and remains a passive partner. Next is "Random Family," a drama based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc and revolves around a multigenerational family in the South Bronx. LeBlanc and Chris Terrio likewise are writing the script and co-executive producing with Rosenthal and Neal Gabler serving as executive producers. And finally there's an original movie based on portions of Raymond Arsenault's book "Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice." Wayne Kramer is in talks to write and direct the film, which "chronicles civil rights activists' harrowing ride on buses through the South that escalated to a point where segregationists threw Molotov cocktails at them." Rosenthal and Gabler are executive producing.
Separately, Rosenthal is now editing the feature-length documentary "Exporting Raymond," about his outrageous experiences while remaking his own show in Russia. The series, "Vse Lubyat Kostya" (Everybody Loves Kostya), was ordered to pilot by Russian broadcaster CTC using Rosenthal's original "Raymond" script and produced by local production company Lean-M. Sony Pictures Television International, Worldwide Pants and HBO Independent Productions are behind the export, with Rosenthal's film chronicling the casting, the prep and the shooting of the pilot in December and ending with CTC's decision on whether or not to move forward with the show. No distributor has been set for the film, although Sony is widely expecting to.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[01/12/26 - 10:01 AM]
WWE by the Numbers: Celebrating One Year on Netflix
In 2025, Netflix members watched 525M hours of WWE content.
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[01/12/26 - 10:01 AM]
"In Snooki We Trust" - Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi Heads North in New Series, "Canada Shore"
Polizzi will bring her small stature and big personality to the Shore house, making several powerhouse guest appearances during the first season, premiering January 22 on Paramount+ in all markets globally.
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[01/12/26 - 09:46 AM]
Netflix Forges Creative Partnership with Shane Gillis and John McKeever
As part of a new overall deal, they will develop film, series, and unscripted projects with Gillis to star in and produce two new stand-up specials, exclusively for Netflix.
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[01/12/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "On the Edge with Juanpa" - Official Trailer - The Roku Channel
Watch Juanpa Zurita train with wingsuiters, cliff divers, big-wave surfers, slackliners, Baja racers, and whitewater kayakers, all before daring the ultimate feat himself.
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[01/12/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "One Piece" Season 2 - Official Teaser - Netflix
Netflix's epic high-seas pirate adventure returns for Season 2 - unleashing fiercer adversaries and the most perilous quests yet.
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[01/12/26 - 06:08 AM]
Paramount Provides Update to Warner Bros. Discovery Shareholders on Actions It Is Taking to Advance Its Superior $30 Per Share All-Cash Offer
The company intends to nominate directors for election at the WBD 2026 Annual Meeting and solicit against the approval of the Netflix transaction.
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[01/12/26 - 06:01 AM]
Nominees Announced for the "57th NAACP Image Awards" Airing Live from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium Saturday, February 28th at 8 PM ET/ 8 PT on BET and Simulcasting on CBS
"Sinners" leads in motion picture categories with 18 nods, followed by "Highest 2 Lowest" with nine nominations.
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[01/11/26 - 05:54 PM]
A Historic Fan-Powered Celebration: "Survivor 50 Challenge" Grand Prize Revealed
"Challenge" winners selected from eligible entries in all 50 states will earn an exclusive invitation to attend the live finale in Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 20.
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[01/11/26 - 08:02 AM]
Video: "The Bluff" - Official Teaser - Prime Video
As her tranquil life is shattered by the return of her vengeful former captain, a skilled ex-pirate must confront her bloody past to save her family.
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[01/09/26 - 07:01 PM]
Connection and Youth Defined: "The Ramparts of Ice" Brings a Heartwarming Story of Friendship to Netflix This April
This series is based on Kocha Agasawa's popular manga series "The Ramparts of Ice," which has received 160 million total views on the LINE Manga digital service (as of August 2025).
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[01/09/26 - 12:02 PM]
A New Season of Hilarie Burton-Morgan's Documentary Series "True Crime Story: It Couldn't Happen Here" Returns February 19 on SundanceTV and Streaming Across AMC+ and All Reality
The new six-episode season examines the challenges and complexities of small-town justice, spotlighting cases that range from unsolved missing persons and wrongful convictions, to death while in police custody.
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[01/09/26 - 12:01 PM]
Video: "Eternity" - Official Trailer - Apple TV
"Eternity," starring Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen and Callum Turner, premieres February 13 on Apple TV.
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[01/09/26 - 11:11 AM]
Siena Agudong, Brec Bassinger and Aliyah's Interlude to Star in Upcoming Tubi Young Adult Horror Comedy Original Movie "Buzzkill"
When a group of sorority sisters find themselves trapped with a vengeful killer, party-girl Nora knows that the drunker she gets, the more her tipsy memories start revealing clues about who's murdering her friends.
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[01/09/26 - 11:01 AM]
"Love Island: All Stars" Returns to Peacock as Season Three Premieres on January 14
The first episode premieres exclusively in the U.S. on Wednesday, January 14, with new episodes streaming on Peacock every day at 9:00/8:00c.
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[01/09/26 - 09:05 AM]
Ohtani, Judge, Yankees-Red Sox, Dodgers-Yankees, Cubs-Cardinals, and Additional Premium Matchups Headline "Sunday Night Baseball" Schedule as Major League Baseball Returns to NBC and Peacock
Highlights include the special July 5 "Star-Spangled Sunday" featuring all 15 MLB games exclusively presented nationally on Peacock and NBC.
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