or


[01/29/09 - 06:09 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, January 29
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!


BACK (CBS, New!) - Storyline Entertainment's Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have landed a pilot commitment from the Eye for a new drama about a man who disappeared in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks only to suddenly show up, eight years later. Dean Widenmann penned the pilot, which will track the man as he learns how to reconnect with his family and a world that moved on without him. The project is set up at CBS Paramount Network Television with Zadan and Meron executive producing and Widenmann serving as a supervising producer.


BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO) - Oscar nominee Michael Shannon ("Revolutionary Road") and Vincent Piazza ("Rescue Me") have joined the cast of the drama pilot, about the early 20th century origins of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Shannon will play Van Alden, "a dedicated senior agent with the Treasury Department who with his team has been charged with controlling bootlegging in the Prohibition era," while Piazza is set as a young Lucky Luciano, "a young associate of Arnold Rothstein, a rich, blunt New York businessman who wants in on Nucky's (Steve Buscemi) liquor production." Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt and Kelly Macdonald also star in the hour, which Martin Scorsese is directing from a script by Terrence Winter based on Nelson Johnson's book of the same name.


LET IT GO (UNTITLED LAUREN GRAHAM/ALEX HERSCHLAG PROJECT) (ABC) - The Lauren Graham-led comedy pilot has formally received a production green light. Alex Herschlag is behind the Sony Pictures Television-based half-hour, which stars Graham as a self-help guru who teaches women how to "let it go" but fails to follow her own advice when her perfect boyfriend dumps her. Tantamount's Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum and Mitch Hurwitz are executive producing the project alongside Herschlag with Graham serving as a producer.


LOST IN THE '80S (NBC) - Billy Campbell ("The 4400") is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, a family drama set in the 1980s. He'll play patriarch Pete Mobley, married with four kids and proprietor of a car dealership. Bob Brush is behind the hour, which comes from Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount. P.J. Hogan is directing.


THE NEW TWENTY (ABC, New!) - Tad Quill ("Scrubs") has scored a pilot order from the Alphabet for a new comedy about two forty-something friends who embark on very different lives - one has a newborn child, while the other has a kid heading into college. The project is set up at ABC Studios where Quill will write and executive produce.


SURVIVING SUBURBIA (The CW) - ABC is reportedly in talks to acquire the rights to the Bob Saget-led comedy, which was orphaned after The CW canceled its deal with Media Rights Capital. 13 episodes have been completed of the multi-camera half-hour, which comes from executive producers Michael Hanel, Mindy Schultheis and creator Kevin Abbott. Cynthia Stevenson, G Hannelius, Jared Kusnitz, Jere Burns and Lorna Scott also star in the project, about a misanthropic dad (Saget) who just wants to be left alone.


UNTITLED ELLEN BARKIN PROJECT (HBO, New!) - Ellen Barkin ("Ocean's Thirteen") is set to topline a potential new comedy at the pay channel about "a woman famous for her high-profile marriage who divorces and re-enters the singles market and finds herself developing a close, platonic bond with the 24-year-old son of her ex-husband." Shauna Cross is penning the half-hour and will executive produce alongside Barkin and Mosaic's Jimmy Miller with the company's Sam Hansen and Ann Blanchard also serving as producers.


UNTITLED FRANK MILITARY PROJECT (CBS, New!) - Frank Military ("The Unit") has set up a new legal drama at the Eye. The project, which has a pilot commitment, revolves around a team of federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan. Military wrote the pilot and will executive produce for CBS Paramount Network Television.


WASHINGTON FIELD (CBS) - Edward Allen Bernero's drama for the Eye has received a pilot order from the network. The project, which comes from CBS Paramount Network Television, revolves around the FBI's Washington Field Office that houses the National Capital Response Squad, "a unit comprising elite experts in different areas who travel around the world, responding to events that concern the U.S. national interest." Bernero co-created the hour alongside brothers Jim and Tim Clemente, an FBI profiler and a former terrorism expert on NCRS, respectively. Bernero will then executive produce with the Clementes serving as producers.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [january 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· 4400, THE (USA)
· BACK (CBS)
· BEST THING EVER (ABC)
· BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· LET IT GO (ABC)
· LOST IN THE '80S (NBC)
· RESCUE ME (FX)
· SCRUBS (ABC)
· SURVIVING SUBURBIA (ABC)
· UNIT, THE (CBS)
· UNTITLED ELLEN BARKIN PROJECT (HBO)
· US ATTORNEY (CBS)
· WASHINGTON FIELD (CBS)





[12/06/25 - 04:01 PM]
Video: "The Boys" Explosive Final Season Premiere Date & Teaser Drop at CCXP Brazil
The fifth and final season will premiere exclusively on Prime Video on April 8, 2026.

[12/06/25 - 02:46 PM]
Paramount and UFC Announce New Seasons of "Dana White's Contender Series" and "The Ultimate Fighter"
Beginning in 2026, Paramount+ in the U.S., Latin America, and Australia will become the exclusive home for all episodes of both series.

[12/06/25 - 02:27 PM]
Video: "School Spirits" Returns - Paramount+ Drops First Look at Season Three Premiering January 28
The date was unveiled alongside first look images at today's Paramount+ CCXP panel in São Paolo, Brazil featuring series lead and executive producer Peyton List.

[12/06/25 - 02:12 PM]
Video: Oscar-Nominee Paul Giamatti Surprises Fans at CCXP and Reveals Exclusive Scene from "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy"
The series will premiere globally with two episodes on Thursday, January 15 on Paramount+, and in Japan on Tuesday, January 23.

[12/06/25 - 10:47 AM]
Hulu Debuts First-Look Images from "The Testaments" Out of Brazil Comic Con
"The Testaments," a new chapter from the showrunner and executive producers of "The Handmaid's Tale," is coming in April 2026 to Hulu.

[12/06/25 - 10:31 AM]
Video: Date Announcement & Teaser Debut - Hulu's "Paradise" Season 2
The second season of the Emmy Award-nominated series premieres Monday, February 23 with three episodes, followed by new episodes weekly on Hulu and Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the US and Disney+ internationally.

[12/05/25 - 03:31 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, hitting nine-week highs in both measures.

[12/05/25 - 03:30 PM]
In Anticipation of "Avatar: Fire and Ash," ABC News to Premiere Two New Specials This December
First up: "Avatar: A New Era - Special Edition of 20/20" premieres Friday, December 12 on ABC.

[12/05/25 - 02:05 PM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Best College Football Regular Season Since 2011; "College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Scores Most-Watched Season Ever
ESPN networks aired the most-watched game in 34 of 42 key Saturday windows, including seven of 14 noon windows, 13 of 14 late afternoon windows and all 14 prime windows.

[12/05/25 - 12:35 PM]
2025 CFB Viewership Surges on FOX & FS1
The 2025 regular season wrapped with big numbers for "Big Noon Saturday," "Big Noon Kickoff" and more - including year-over-year gains across the board.

[12/05/25 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Premiere Week Episodes Post Gains and Lead In Live Plus 35-Day Multiplatform Viewership
"Tracker" delivered 17.3 million viewers, up +6% versus its year-ago premiere.

[12/05/25 - 10:05 AM]
"Landman" Booms Into a Third Season Renewal and Breaks Viewing Records on Paramount+
The second season is set to be a top three series among all original content the week of November 17 and a top two series for the week of November 24 according to Nielsen preliminary data.

[12/05/25 - 09:45 AM]
Video: "Taylor" - A CW Documentary Special - Trailer
The special - airing Saturday, December 13 - explores the global phenomenon of Taylor Swift and digs deep across the musician's 20-year career, a period that has seen her transcend the realm of pop star to become a cultural icon like no other.

[12/05/25 - 08:45 AM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched Women's College Volleyball Season on Record
Said coverage averaged 190,000 viewers, up 36% from the 2024 season.

[12/05/25 - 08:31 AM]
Peacock Exclusively Streams Monkeypaw Productions' "Him" Beginning December 19
The film stars Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers, Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies and more.