[03/12/09 - 06:28 PM] Development Update: Thursday, March 12 By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)
LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- The latest development news, culled from recent wire reports:
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ARMY WIVES (Lifetime) - Veteran character actor Clifton Powell has landed a recurring role on the show's upcoming season. He'll play "a psychologist who specializes in helping war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress." No other specifics were given.
THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE (The CW) - Mischa Barton ("The O.C.") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about a group of models living together in a co-ed residence in New York. She'll play Sonja, a high-fashion supermodel who's struggling to stay on top. Adam Giaudrone penned the hour, which is based at CBS Paramount Network Television and Katalyst Films. Christian Duguay is directing.
DAY ONE (NBC) - Julie Gonzalo ("Eli Stone"), Derek Mio ("Greek") and Addison Timlin ("Cashmere Mafia") have all joined the cast of the drama pilot, about a group of neighbors who must pull together following the aftermath of a global catastrophe. Gonzalo will play Kelly, "who is struggling with guilt over her inability to save her fiance's life," while Mio and Timlin are playing unspecified characters stuck in a hostage situation. Alex Graves is helming the hour from a script by Jesse Alexander. Universal Media Studios is producing.
HOUSE RULES (CBS) - Zoe McLellan ("Dirty Sexy Money") and Anna Chulmsky have both joined the cast of the political drama, about the freshman class of Congress. The former will play a quick-witted, newly minted congresswoman while the latter is set as an aide to the Speaker of the House. Michael Seitzman created the hour, which comes from ABC Studios and The Mark Gordon Company.
A MARRIAGE (CBS) - Bruce Greenwood, Miranda Otto, Kay Panabaker and Nick Eversman have booked the principal roles in the drama pilot, about the Gabriels, a happily married couple. Greenwood and Otto will play said couple, Noah and Abby, with Panabaker and Eversman as their teen children, Maddy and Josh. Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick are behind the hour, the latter of which is directing.
MIAMI TRAUMA (CBS) - British actor Richard Coyle ("The Whistleblowers") has joined the cast of the ensemble drama, about a team of trauma surgeons in Miami. He'll play an unspecified doctor. Jeffrey Lieber created the project, which comes from Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Warner Bros. Television.
THE STATION (FOX) - Comedian Whitney Cummings is the first to be cast in the comedy pilot, about covert CIA operatives in South America. She'll play one of them in the half-hour, which Ben Stiller is directing and executive producing. Kevin Napier penned the script.
TRUE BLOOD (HBO) - Valerie Cruz ("Dexter") has booked a recurring role on the show's second season. She's set as Isabel, an elegant Hispanic vampire, on the new season, due this summer.
UNTITLED DAVID HEMINGSON PROJECT (ABC) - Billy Zane and Clancy Brown have both been cast in the pilot, a legal drama is set at a prestigious Los Angeles law firm. Zane will play Cliff Huddle, the firm's managing partner, with Brown as Hart Sterling, a senior partner. Roger Bart originated Zane's role in the pilot's original incarnation while Brown's character is believed to be a new addition. Ben Lawson, Leah Pipes, Matt Long, Norbert Leo Butz and Tina Majorino also star in the 20th Century Fox Television-based hour, which Michael Fresco is directing from a script by David Hemingson.
