or


[01/22/09 - 06:55 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, January 22
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!


MERCY (NBC, New!) - Elizabeth Heldens ("Friday Night Lights") has received a pilot order for the Peacock for a new drama about three nurses bound together in friendship by the highs and lows of their personal and professional lives. The project is set up at Universal Media Studios with Heldens executive producing.


RHI ENTERTAINMENT PROJECTS (Various) - TV movie mogul Robert Halmi Sr., who's currently celebrating his 85th birthday and his 30th year in the television business, has lined up a slew of new projects at Sci Fi and ABC. The former has already commissioned three efforts: "The Phantom," based on Lee Falk's adventure comic strip about a costumed crimefighter operating from the African jungle, is slated to begin filming in Montreal in late winter/early spring (with Paolo Barzman directing); "Riverworld," a new take on Philip Jose Farmer's book in which the human race is resurrected as illness-free immortal beings on an Earthlike planet, will begin filming in Vancouver in March (with Stuart Gillard directing); and "Alice," a contemporary retelling of "Alice in Wonderland," is on track for a May start in Vancouver (with Nick Willing directing). Meanwhile at the Alphabet, Halmi is developing "Planet Earth Conspiracy," a thriller set against the backdrop of our planet in peril because of climate change, and "Grapes of Wrath," a long-in-the-works adaptation of John Steinbeck's infamous novel. And finally, Halmi is also eyeing a sequel (or even a weekly series) based on NBC's "The Last Templar," premiering this weekend, this time set in India. Halmi is executive producing all the aforementioned projects alongside his son Robert Halmi Jr.


THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK (ABC) - The Alphabet has ordered a pilot for its small screen take on the John Updike novel, best known as the 1987 feature that starred Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeifer and Jack Nicholson. Maggie Friedman ("Related") is behind the Warner Bros. Television-based hour, which will center on three women who discover they have supernatural powers after a mysterious man comes to their small town. Friedman penned the pilot and will executive produce.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [january 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· ALICE (SYFY)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· EASTWICK (ABC)
· FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (DIRECTV)
· GRAPES OF WRATH (ABC)
· LAST TEMPLAR, THE (NBC)
· MERCY (NBC)
· PHANTOM, THE (SYFY)
· PLANET EARTH CONSPIRACY (ABC)
· RELATED (WB)
· RIVERWORLD (SCI FI)
· RIVERWORLD (SYFY)
· RIVERWORLD (SCI FI)





[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.

[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.

[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).

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[04/15/26 - 08:01 AM]
HBO Original "The White Lotus" Season 4 Begins Filming in France
The fourth season will follow a new group of White Lotus hotel guests and employees over the span of a week, taking place during the Cannes Film Festival.

[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.