or


[02/02/09 - 06:26 PM]
Development Update: Monday, February 2
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!


ARRANGED MARRIAGE (CBS, New!) - Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth ("Project Runway") have booked a series commitment from the Eye for a potentially controversial reality series in which four singles - all anxious to get married - enter into a marriage arranged by their friends and family. The series would then track their lives after said unions. The project marks the second series green light by the network's new reality chief Jennifer Bresnan (the first being "There Goes the Neighborhood"). Lipsitz and Cutforth are executive producing via their Magical Elves banner.


DATING IN THE DARK (ABC, New!) - The Alphabet has ordered a new reality series from Endemol USA in which participants go through all the usual mating rituals without ever actually setting eyes on each other. Production is set to begin on six episodes of the project, which is being co-produced by Talpa Content USA. It's understood "Dark" is based on the Netherlands format "Blind Love," in which scientifically matched singles go about the usual dating rituals in complete darkness. At the end of each self-contained episode, the participants are revealed to each other and must decide whether to move forward with a relationship. ABC reportedly ordered a pilot for "Dating" last year and are now moving forward with the series. Endemol's David Goldberg and Talpa Content's Jon de Mol are the executive producers.


FIRST & LAST (TNT, New!) - Phil Gurin and Marc Jansen are developing a new reality series at the cable channel which documents the first and last time people experience a particular event. For example, one installment may follow the first time a couple brings home their baby from the hospital then switch to a fireman's final day on the job upon retiring after 50 years. Emmy-winning filmmaker June Beallor ("Survivors of the Holocaust") is on board to serve as a co-executive producer on the project, which has a pilot commitment and is based on a European format, with Gurin and Jansen executive producing.


THE FISH TANK (CBS, New!) - Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith ("'Til Death") have scored a cast-contingent pilot order from the Eye for a new comedy about a teenager who finds himself living the dream when his parents give him the house to himself five days a week. Sony Pictures Television is behind the half-hour, which Yuspa and Goldsmith wrote and will executive produce.


HOUSE RULES (CBS, New!) - Producer Mark Gordon and writer Michael Seitzman have landed their second pilot commitment this season, this time for a new drama which follows a freshman class of congressmen as they begin their careers in Washington, D.C. Last week, the pair earned a green light from ABC for "Empire State" however "House Rules" is in first position for Seitzman, who penned the pilot. Gordon and Seitzman then are executive producing alongside Deborah Spera for ABC Studios.


HUMAN TARGET (FOX) - Simon West ("Keen Eddie") has been tapped to direct the drama pilot, about a mysterious security freelancer who assumes the identities of those in life-threatening danger. He'll work from a script by Jon Steinberg based on the DC Comics title of the same name. Steinberg and McG are executive producing for the latter's Warner Bros. Television-based Wonderland Sound and Vision.


KYLE XY (ABC Family) - The cable channel has confirmed the series will wrap after three seasons on Monday, March 16. "Kyle" opened its season to just 1.5 million viewers on January 12 (with a 0.4 rating among adults 18-49), despite a significant lead in from "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" (3.1 million viewers, 1.1 rating among adults 18-49). The news was announced as ABC Family unveiled its plans for the rest of 2009, including new seasons of "Greek" and "Lincoln Heights" as well as new series "Ruby and the Rockits," "Perfect 10" and "10 Things I Hate About You."


LOST IN THE '80S (NBC) - The Peacock has pulled the plug on the drama pilot despite the recent signings of P.J. Hogan to direct and Billy Campbell to star. "Lost," about a Midwestern family in the 1980s, was ordered to pilot back in September, prior to Angela Bromstad taking over the reigns of NBC Entertainment. Bob Brush was behind the hour, which was set up at the Sony Pictures Television-based Tantamout with Brush and Tantamount's Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum and Mitch Hurwitz executive producing.


A MARRIAGE (CBS, New!) - Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick ("quarterlife") are once again returning to the small screen, landing a pilot order for a new drama described as a dissection of a marriage that works. The pair penned the pilot and will executive produce via their Bedford Falls banner with Zwick directing. No studio is currently attached.


NO HEROICS (ABC) - The Alphabet has ordered a pilot for the project, a domestic take on Drew Pearce's ITV single-camera comedy about four superhero friends balancing their B-list powers with their personal lives. Pearce and Jeff Greenstein ("Desperate Housewives") co-wrote the pilot and are executive producing alongside Tiger Aspect's Andrew Zein for ABC Studios.


PARKS & RECREATION (A.K.A. UNTITLED DANIELS/SCHUR PROJECT) (NBC) - The Amy Poehler-led comedy has been officially dubbed "Parks and Recreation," according to a promo for the series that ran during the network's Super Bowl coverage. It's understood the name "Public Service" was also considered but ultimately scuttled. "Can't make fun of public service!," NBC topper Ben Silverman told The New York Times. "Worried because we don't want to seem mean about it."


PSYCH (USA) - Creator/executive producer Steve Franks has inked a two-year overall deal with Universal Cable Productions. The pact covers his duties on the popular cable series through a potential fifth season as well as any development during the period. Meanwhile, fellow UCP staple Jace Alexander has signed a first-look deal with the studio. Alexander helmed the pilots to USA's "Burn Notice" and "Royal Pains" as well as Sci Fi's "Warehouse 13," all of which went to series. The deal gives UCP first crack at any of Alexander's projects.


REINCARNATIONIST (FOX) - Deran Sarafian ("K-Ville") has signed on to direct the drama pilot, about investigators who use the concept of reincarnation to solve mysteries in their clients' previous lives in order to resolve problems in the present. David Hudgins is behind the Warner Bros. Television-based hour and is executive producing alongside Lou Pitt and MJ Rose.


TRAUMA (NBC) - Jeffrey Reiner ("Friday Night Lights") has been tapped to helm the drama pilot, a high-octane emergency medical procedural set in the field. Reiner's involvement lifts the contingency off the pilot's production. Dario Scardapane penned the pilot script and is executive producing alongside Film 44's Peter Berg and Sarah Aubrey for Universal Media Studios.


UNDERCOVER BOSS (CBS, New!) - The Eye has commissioned a pilot for a new reality series in which an executive at a major corporation goes undercover at his or her own company in an entry level job. Stephen Lambert is behind the project, which is set up at his recently launched All3Media-based Studio Lambert. Britain and Australia have previously committed to the series, which like FOX's "Secret Millionaire," is designed to open the eyes of the participant. Lambert and Eli Holzman, the head of the company's U.S. arm, are executive producing.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [february 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (ABC FAMILY)
· ARRANGED MARRIAGE (CBS)
· BURN NOTICE (USA)
· DATING IN THE DARK (ABC)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· EMPIRE STATE (ABC)
· FIRST & LAST (TNT)
· FISH TANK, THE (CBS)
· FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (DIRECTV)
· GREEK (ABC FAMILY)
· HOUSE RULES (CBS)
· HUMAN TARGET (FOX)
· KEEN EDDIE (FOX)
· K-VILLE (FOX)
· KYLE XY (ABC FAMILY)
· LINCOLN HEIGHTS (ABC FAMILY)
· LOST IN THE '80S (NBC)
· MAKE IT OR BREAK IT (ABC FAMILY)
· MARRIAGE, A (CBS)
· NO HEROICS (ABC)
· PARKS & RECREATION (NBC)
· PAST LIFE (FOX)
· PROJECT RUNWAY (BRAVO)
· PSYCH (USA)
· QUARTERLIFE (NBC)
· ROYAL PAINS (USA)
· RUBY & THE ROCKITS (ABC FAMILY)
· SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER, THE (ABC FAMILY)
· SECRET MILLIONAIRE (ABC)
· THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD (CBS)
· 'TIL DEATH (FOX)
· TRAUMA (NBC)
· UNDERCOVER BOSS (CBS)
· WAREHOUSE 13 (SYFY)





[04/23/24 - 03:01 PM]
"Tamron Hall" Grows Week to Week in Women 18-49 Hitting 6-Week High and Ranking No. 2 Among All Syndicated Talk Shows
In addition, "Tamron Hall" turned in increases for the same week last year in Households and Women 18-49.

[04/23/24 - 03:00 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Up Week-to-Week in Adults 18-49
Season to date, "Nightline" is growing versus the comparable weeks last season in Total Viewers (916,000 vs. 913,000), posting its largest overall audience in 3 years - since the 2020-2021 season.

[04/23/24 - 01:54 PM]
Great American Family Announces Danica McKellar Set to Star in "A Royal Christmas Ball" (wt), Co-Starring Oliver Rice, Part of Great American Christmas 2024
In the film, Chelsea Jones (McKellar) is a dance instructor and studio owner in Chicago who inspires kids to find themselves through dance.

[04/23/24 - 12:34 PM]
Sports Personalities Joy Taylor and MJ Acosta-Ruiz to Host Season 2 of Fuse Media's Hit Trailblazing Series "Like a Girl"
The company is also announcing the launch of "She Leads," a short-form series celebrating women breaking barriers.

[04/23/24 - 12:05 PM]
Bravo's "Below Deck Mediterranean" Sets Sail for New Season in Athens, Greece on Monday, June 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT
Capt. Sandy Yawn, is joined by franchise-favorite Chief Stew Aesha Scott, who returns to the Med where her yachting career began.

[04/23/24 - 11:22 AM]
Viewership for April 21 Edition of ESPN "Sunday Night Baseball" - Texas Rangers vs. Atlanta Braves - Up 24 Percent From Last Year
The reigning World Series Champion Texas Rangers 6-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves averaged 1,623,000 viewers, up from 1,309,000 viewers for last New York Mets vs. San Francisco Giants game.

[04/23/24 - 11:04 AM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Apr. 15: "Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" Debuts at #1; "Baby Reindeer" Rises to the Top
List mainstays included "3 Body Problem," which spent its fifth week on the list in third place (3.2M views), and Guy Ritchie's aristocratic gangster series "The Gentlemen," which spent its seventh week on the list in sixth place (2.9M views).

[04/23/24 - 09:59 AM]
The Gang is Back Again... Prime Video Reveals Premiere Date and First-Look Images for Third Season of Stephen Merchant's Critically Acclaimed Comedy-Drama "The Outlaws"
All five episodes of the comedy thriller from creator, star, and award-winning writer and director Stephen Merchant, will debut on May 31.

[04/23/24 - 09:32 AM]
ABC News Studios Presents "Michael Strahan x Jon Bon Jovi: Halfway There"
The one-hour special premieres this Sunday, April 28 on ABC.

[04/23/24 - 09:31 AM]
ABC News Announces "20/20" Primetime Special for Robin Roberts' Exclusive Interview with WNBA Star Brittney Griner
"Prisoner in Russia: The Brittney Griner Interview" airs Wednesday, May 1 on ABC.

[04/23/24 - 09:01 AM]
Paramount+ Announces Star-Studded Cast for Ninth Season of "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars"
In this new season, due May 17, eight fan-favorite queens return to use their drag superpowers for good, competing to win a supersized donation of $200,000, provided by The Palette Fund, for a charity of their choosing.

[04/23/24 - 07:38 AM]
Date Announcement & First Look: "Shoresy" Season 3 Premieres June 21 on Hulu
The series returns for season three on Friday, June 21 with all six new episodes exclusively in the U.S. on Hulu.

[04/23/24 - 07:16 AM]
Video: "Atlas" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A brilliant counterterrorism analyst with a deep distrust of AI discovers it might be her only hope when a mission to capture a renegade robot goes awry.

[04/23/24 - 06:20 AM]
Video: Apple TV+ Debuts Trailer for Fourth Season of Critically Acclaimed Comedy "Trying"
"Trying" will return for its eight-episode fourth season of on Wednesday, May 22 on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes, followed by new episodes every Wednesday through July 3.

[04/23/24 - 06:01 AM]
"The Spiderwick Chronicles" Makes Roku Channel History with Record-Setting Opening
The series also earned the highest daily reach and most hours streamed of any title to ever debut on The Roku Channel in a singular day.