 |
 |
[02/11/09 - 06:27 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, February 11
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!
BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO) - Aleksa Palladino, Paul Sparks, Shea Whigham and Anthony Laciura are the final additions to the drama pilot, which chronicles the early 20th century origins of Atlantic City. Palladino will play Angela, the wife of Michael Pitt's Jimmy Darmody; with Sparks as a funeral director whose real business is bootlegging; Whigham as Eli Johnson, the corrupt sheriff brother of Steve Buscemi's Nucky Johnson; and Laciura as Eddie Kessel, Nucky's loyal assistant. Terrence Winter penned the hour and is executive producing alongside director Martin Scorsese, Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson.
CANNED (ABC, New!) - Kevin Etten ("Reaper") is the latest to score a pilot order from the network, this time for a multi-camera comedy about a group of friends who all get fired on the same day. The project, whose commitment is showrunner-contingent, is set up at ABC Studios and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Etten penned the script and will executive produce with Brillstein's Peter Traugott.
CONFESSIONS OF A CONTRACTOR (CBS) - The Shawn Ryan-produced drama has received a pilot commitment from the Eye. Richard Murphy wrote the hour based on his book of the same name about the on and off the clock life of a successful L.A. contractor. Murphy also serves as a co-executive producer on the 20th Century Fox Television-based project, which Ryan, Jeff Okin and Paul Green are executive producing.
COUGAR TOWN (ABC) - The Courteney Cox-led/Bill Lawrence-produced comedy has formally been ordered to pilot. Cox stars as a newly single 40-year-old mom with a 17-year-old son in the ABC Studios-based half-hour, which Lawrence co-wrote alongside Kevin Biegel. The trio then also serve as executive producers.
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC) - Co-star Nicollette Sheridan is exiting the series after five seasons, reports TVGuide.com. "[Nicollette] had a great time on the show and is looking forward to her next project," a rep for Sheridan said in a statement. Not surprisingly, the circumstances of her departure were not revealed.
THE EASTMANS (CBS, New!) - Margaret Nagle has scored a pilot order from the Eye for yet another medical drama, this time about a complicated family of doctors. The project is set up at Warner Bros. Television with Nagle writing and executive producing. The Eye's medical roster also includes Curtis Hanson and Carol Barbee's "Three Rivers" as well as Jerry Bruckheimer and Jeffrey Lieber's "Miami Trauma."
FIRE IN THE HOLE (FX) - The cable channel has ordered a pilot for the project, about Kentucky-based U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, "a tough, soft-spoken lawman with a rough side," and "chronicles his cases and personal life, including unfinished business with an ex-wife and his aging father." Graham Yost is behind the hour, which is based on the Elmore Leonard short story of the same name. Michael Dinner is directing the Sony Pictures Television-based project, which Yost is executive producing alongside Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman.
HUMAN TARGET (FOX) - Mark Valley ("Fringe") has scored the lead role on the drama pilot, about a mysterious security freelancer who assumes the identities of those in danger. He'll play Christopher Chance in the hour, which comes from DC Comics, Warner Bros. Television and McG's Wonderland Sound and Vision. Simon West is directing from a script by Jon Steinberg.
I WITNESS (CBS, New!) - Pam Veasey and Trey Callaway ("CSI: NY") have landed a pilot commitment from the Eye for a new drama about a gumshoe professor who uses her physiological skills to solve crimes. The project is set up at CBS Paramount Network Television with the pair writing and executive producing.
THE LAW (ABC, New!) - Cedric the Entertainer is set to topline a new comedy for the Alphabet about "reserve police officers for the LAPD who balance their full-time off-duty lives with the excitement of being weekend cops." The single-camera project, which has a pilot order, is set up at ABC Studios and DreamWorks Television. Cedric co-wrote the script with Bob Fisher who are also executive producing alongside Charles Segars, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey. Cedric previously starred in a multi-camera pilot for the network last season.
LIGHTS OUT (FX, New!) - Feature writer Justin Zackham ("The Bucket List") and director Phillip Noyce ("The Quiet American") are set to team for a new drama pilot at the cable channel about "an aging former heavyweight boxing champion [with pugilistic dementia] who struggles to find his identity and support his wife [a pediatric orthopedic surgeon] and three daughters after his fighting days, leading him to accept reluctantly a job as an enforcer collecting debts." Fox Television Studios and FX Productions are behind the hour, which Noyce is expected to direct from a script by Zackham. Ross Fineman, the pair's manager, will executive produce alongside the duo.
PLANET LUCY (ABC, New!) - Gabrielle Allan has scored a cast-contingent pilot presentation order from the Alphabet for a new comedy about "an accident-prone woman who balances raising three kids with trying to reclaim who she was before she became a wife and mother." ABC Studios and Sony Pictures Television are behind the single-camera project, which is based on Fiona Neill's book "Slummy Mummy." Allan then is executive producing alongside Jamie Tarses.
TREME (HBO) - Rob Brown is the latest addition to the pilot, a post-Katrina-themed drama that chronicles the rebuilding of New Orleans through the eyes of local musicians. He'll play Delmond, a New York jazz musician and son of Albert (Clarke Peters) who reluctantly returns to his native New Orleans. Khandi Alexander, Kim Dickens, Steve Zahn and Wendell Pierce also star in the hour, which comes from executive producers David Simon, Eric Overmyer and Nina Noble.
UNTITLED ANITA RENFROE PROJECT (ABC, New!) - Comedian Anita Renfroe is set to star in a potential new comedy at the Alphabet described as a parenting show centered around the thought that family comes first, by any means necessary. The project, which has a pilot presentation order, is set up at the ever-busy Sony Pictures Television-based Tantamount. Rob Hanning and Amy Welsh penned the script and are executive producing alongside the company's Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum.
UNTITLED KELSEY GRAMMER PROJECT (ABC) - The Kelsey Grammer-led comedy, about a hotshot Wall Street executive who loses his job and is forced to reconnect with his small-town family, has been ordered to pilot. Tucker Cawley penned the half-hour and is executive producing alongside Good Humor Television's Mike Clements and Tom Werner. Warner Bros. Television is the studio attached.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
|
|
|
 [february 2009]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[01/16/26 - 06:31 PM]
NBC Adds "Puzzled," "What the Dead Know" to Drama Pilot Orders
Joey Falco is behind the former while Beth Rinehart penned the latter.
|
[01/16/26 - 01:08 PM]
"20/20" Is the Most-Watched Program Across Broadcast and Cable on Friday Night - Scoring Largest Viewership in Over 7 Months
For the second week in a row, "20/20" posted Total Viewers increases versus the previous week and the corresponding year-ago telecast.
|
[01/16/26 - 12:04 PM]
All-New Season of "Naked and Afraid" Premieres Sunday, February 15 at 8PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel
This season, survivalists face hell on Earth and the ultimate test of body, mind, and spirit as they are dropped into five of the world's most brutal and diverse locations, armed only with their determination and without water, food or clothing.
|
[01/16/26 - 09:01 AM]
Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell Star in "The Madison" Premiering on Paramount+ March 14
The series is Taylor Sheridan's most intimate work to date, unfolding across two distinct worlds - the beautiful landscape of Montana and the vibrant energy of Manhattan - as it examines the ties that bind families together.
|
[01/16/26 - 09:00 AM]
Video: We TV Releases a Sneak Peek of the Highly Anticipated New Season of "Mama June"
This season, as Jessica and Shyann plan their wedding, June and Shyann's mother, Trina, battle it out butting heads on just about everything.
|
[01/16/26 - 08:22 AM]
"The Tonight Show" Goes for Gold with Special Post-Olympic Opening Ceremony Episode on Friday, Feb. 6
The episode will feature a guest lineup worthy of the podium, including Chris Hemsworth, MrBeast and a musical performance from Lil Uzi Vert.
|
[01/16/26 - 08:09 AM]
Video: Oxygen Unveils Premiere Date and Official Trailer for "Love, Ted Bundy"
As America's most notorious serial killer Ted Bundy awaited execution, he exchanged a series of death row letters with the woman who loved him like a brother - his cousin, Edna Martin.
|
[01/16/26 - 07:02 AM]
Video: "A Father's Miracle" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A devoted father is wrongfully imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, leaving his daughter to fend for herself as he fights to prove his innocence.
|
[01/16/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Star Search" - Official Trailer - Netflix
The reimagined talent competition series returns as a live, five-week event hosted by Anthony Anderson, featuring an all-star judging panel with Jelly Roll, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Chrissy Teigen.
|
[01/16/26 - 06:31 AM]
Video: NBC Releases First Official Promo and Key Art for New Comedy Series "The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins"
Tracy Morgan, Daniel Radcliffe, Erika Alexander, Bobby Moynihan, Precious Way, and Jalyn Hall star in the series.
|
[01/15/26 - 05:01 PM]
"Culinary Class Wars" Returns for Season 3, Raising the Stakes with a Team-Based Showdown
Building on two consecutive seasons of global success, Season 3 raises the stakes with four-person teams representing a single restaurant, transforming the competition into a collective fight for pride, reputation, and survival.
|
[01/15/26 - 03:22 PM]
Next on Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN - February 2026
Highlights include "The Muppet Show," "The Artful Dodger," and "Paradise."
|
[01/15/26 - 02:01 PM]
Video: Tubi Debuts Chaotic Trailer for New Original Film "Terri Joe: Missionary in Miami"
In this wild farce, Southern Belle Terri Joe ventures to Miami to outrun wacky criminals and find a new church where she can atone for her sins.
|
[01/15/26 - 02:01 PM]
NBC Commissions Drama Pilot from Dean Georgaris and John Fox
Professor Georgia Ryan is a trailblazing psychologist who challenges the field of criminology by shifting the investigative focus to the victim rather than just the perpetrator in order to uncover the crucial clues that more traditional methods leave behind.
|
[01/15/26 - 01:38 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Christmas Week Shoots to a Season High Among Total Viewers - Scoring Show's Best Performance in 10 Months
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 152 consecutive weeks across all key measures.
|
|
|
|
