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[03/11/09 - 06:17 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, March 11
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!
90210 (The CW) - Model-turned-actress Sara Foster has booked a recurring role on the freshman drama. She'll play the sister to AnnaLynne McCord's character who arrives in town to stir up trouble. It's believed her first episode airs May 5.
ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE (CBS) - "Ugly Betty" co-star Ashley Jensen has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, which stars Jenna Elfman as a movie critic who gets pregnant after a fling with a younger man. She'll play the best friend of Elfman's character. Her casting is in second position to her duties on "Betty." Pamela Fryman is helming the CBS Paramount Network Television-based project from a script by Claudia Lonow.
BACK (CBS) - "Jericho" alum Skeet Ulrich has scored the lead role in the drama pilot, about a man who returns home to discover he was reported missing eight years earlier - after September 11 - and must now reconnect with his family and a world that has moved on without him. He'll play Richard Miles, said man, in the hour, which comes from CBS Paramount Network Television and creator Dean Widenmann. Mark Pellington is directing.
THE BODY POLITIC (The CW) - Minka Kelly ("Friday Night Lights") and Jason Dohring ("Moonlight") have both joined the cast of the drama pilot, about young staffers in Washington. She'll play Hope, "an all-American girl who leaves her life in Michigan after the death of her mother and heads to D.C., where her long-lost dad, Sen. Webster (Tim Matheson), has just been appointed Attorney General, and takes a job on his staff." Dohring then will play Charlie Morris, a reporter with the Washington Post. Like Jensen (see above), Kelly's casting is in second position to her role on the NBC drama. Bill Robinson and Jason Rothenberg are behind the CBS Paramount Network Television-based hour, which Scott Winant is attached to direct.
EASTWICK (ABC) - Sara Rue has booked a role on the drama pilot, about three witches (Rebecca Romijn, Lindsay Price, Jaime Ray Newman) coming into their powers. She'll play the best friend of Price's character in the hour, which comes from Warner Bros. Television, creator Maggie Friedman and director David Nutter.
THE FISH TANK (CBS) - Former Nickelodeon mainstay Drake Bell is set to topline the comedy pilot, about a teen who winds up getting the family house to himself during the week when his parents start commuting. Bell's casting lifts said contingency off the pilot's production. Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa are behind the half-hour, which is based at CBS Paramount Network Television.
GREAT AMERICAN ROAD TRIP (NBC, New!) - BBC Worldwide Productions has landed an eight-episode commitment from the Peacock for a new reality series in which seven families will drive cross-country to complete in challenges at iconic landmarks such as the Grand Canyon and the Washington Monument. The project is set to roll out this summer, however no specific premiere date has been released.
HOUSE RULES (CBS) - Eion Bailey ("ER") and Kristin Bauer ("True Blood") are the latest additions to the drama pilot, about the freshman class of Congress. He's set as Alan Levi, a former Wall Street hotshot who enters politics as a Republican congressman, while she's on board as a newly elected Democrat from California who is estranged from her husband. Michael Seitzman penned the hour, which comes from ABC Studios and The Mark Gordon Company.
MASTERWORK (FOX) - "The Tudors" alum Natalie Dormer is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, "a globe-trotting adventure in which a male FBI agent and a female MI-5 agent (Dormer) team to recover the world's most sought-after artifacts." Jeffrey Nachmanoff is helming the 20th Century Fox Television-based hour from a script by Paul T. Scheuring.
MTV ORIGINAL SERIES (MTV, New!) - The cable channel has ramped up its scripted development, giving a series commitment to the animated series "DJ and the Fro" as well as pilot orders to five projects. "Fro," which has a 20-episode order, follows two office drones who swap viral videos while surrounded by workplace mayhem. On the pilot front there's "Private High Musical," based on Taryn Southern's online series that produces raunchy versions of high school shows; "Long Distance Relationship," likewise based on Dan Levy's web series about a high school couple who go to separate colleges and conduct a relationship via webcam; "Popzilla," a sketch comedy show from "SCTV's" Dave Thomas that lampoons celebrity news and gossip; "Hard Times," from writer Seth Grahame-Smith and producer David Katzenberg, about a well-endowed high school geek whose social status is greatly improved after accidentally exposing himself at a basketball game; and "Who's Your Daddy?", an animated comedy from Les Firestein about the multicultural adopted kids of a celebrity couple.
REINCARNATIONIST (FOX) - Richard Schiff ("The West Wing") has been cast in the drama pilot, about investigators solving present mysteries caused by past-life traumas. He'll play a legendary scientist in the field of reincarnation. Deran Sarafian is helming the hour from a script by David Hudgins. Warner Bros. Television is the studio attached.
SONS OF TUCSON (FOX) - "Reaper's" Tyler Labine has signed on to star in the comedy pilot, about a thirtysomething man who's hired by a group of boys to portray their father while their real dad is in jail. He'll play Ron Snuffkin, the aforementioned man, a role which is in second position to "Reaper." Greg Bratman and Tommy Dewey co-created the half-hour, which is based at 20th Century Fox Television.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[03/06/26 - 12:24 PM]
FOX Entertainment Studios Signs First-Look Deal with Writer, Actor, and Creator River Gallo
Gallo is the star, writer and creator of "Ponyboi," the inaugural feature film produced under FOX Entertainment Studios' new independent film label, Tideline.
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[03/06/26 - 10:51 AM]
Shudder Announces Four All-New Specials of the Cult Favorite "The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs" in 2026
The announcement comes ahead of the Shudder original's celebratory series finale, airing live tonight, Friday, March 6 at 9pm ET on Shudder and AMC+.
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[03/06/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: "Boarders" Season 3 - Official Trailer - Tubi Original
The coming-of-age comedy drama returns March 15.
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[03/06/26 - 09:31 AM]
Video: "The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel" - Official Trailer - Netflix
An in-depth look at the formative years of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the profound influence of original guitarist, Hillel Slovak.
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[03/06/26 - 09:31 AM]
Paramount+ Announces New Original Series, "Garfield" (w/t), from Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Starring Emmy Award-Winning Lamorne Morris
Inspired by the original comic strip by Jim Davis, the series features the chonky feline at his finest, with each episode featuring the pop culture icon's signature sarcasm and hilarious lackadaisy.
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[03/06/26 - 07:01 AM]
CNN FlashDoc "Hollywood and the Oscars: Still Golden?" Now Streaming on CNN App
The documentary special is now streaming for CNN's streaming subscribers and will air Saturday, March 14 at 10pm ET on CNN, on the eve of Hollywood's biggest night.
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[03/06/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Melania" - Official Trailer - Prime Video
Coming soon to Prime Video, March 9.
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[03/06/26 - 06:01 AM]
"The Night Agent" Answers the Call for a 4th Season
Season 3 hit #2 on the English TV list and earned 9.9 million views in its second week, with fans driving Seasons 1 and 2 back into the Global Top 10 list.
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[03/05/26 - 11:16 AM]
Netflix Announces New Comedy Series "I Suck at Girls" Based on Justin Halpern's Bestselling Autobiography
The series will star Kayo Martin, Jeremy Ray Taylor, and Laila Pruitt.
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[03/05/26 - 11:05 AM]
ABC Renews "9-1-1, "9-1-1: Nashville" and "High Potential"
The Alphabet confirmed all three moves on social media today.
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[03/05/26 - 11:04 AM]
More Stars Take the Stage To Present at the 98th Oscars
Will Arnett, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Hathaway, Paul Mescal and Gwyneth Paltrow are among the latest additions.
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[03/05/26 - 11:01 AM]
Sandra Bernhard, Vincent Cassel, Dylan Ennis, Corentin Fila, Ari Graynor, and Nadia Tereszkiewicz Join Season 4 of "The White Lotus"
New reservations continue to fill up.
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[03/05/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: "Harry Styles. One Night in Manchester." - Official Trailer - Netflix
In a special one off concert in Manchester, recorded on the evening of March 6, Harry Styles will play his new album, "Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally." for the very first time.
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[03/05/26 - 09:47 AM]
Paramount+ Announces Unscripted Relationship Series "Making Love" (w/t) to Release in 2027
From the producers of "Love Is Blind" and "Married at First Sight" comes a bold new relationship experiment, where singles take their destiny into their own hands and attempt to turn their desires into a lifetime of love.
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[03/05/26 - 09:31 AM]
Video: Apple TV Debuts Imaginative Trailer for Season Two of "Wonder Pets: In the City"
Produced by Nickelodeon Animation and developed by Emmy Award winner Jennifer Oxley, the new 13-episode season is set to premiere globally on Apple TV on March 20, 2026.
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