or


[03/17/09 - 06:27 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, March 17
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!


HAPPY TOWN (ABC) - Sam Neill ("Crusoe") has joined the cast of the two-hour drama pilot, about a small town which had enjoyed a seven-year peace after a series of kidnappings until it is hit by another crime. He'll play the owner of a movie-paraphernalia shop in the ABC Studios-based project, which Gary Fleder is directing from a script by co-creators Andre Nemec, Josh Applebaum and Scott Rosenberg.


HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU (NBC, New!) - The Peacock is reportedly in talks with Hat Trick Productions to import the long-running U.K. panel show to the U.S. The series "features two teams of celebrities and newsmakers humorously trying to answer questions about current events and politics." Hat Trick's Jimmy Mulville is executive producing the project, which is said to be nearing a pilot commitment.


LIMELIGHT (ABC) - Noah Gray-Cabey ("Heroes"), Oded Fehr ("Sleeper Cell"), Jessy Schram ("Life") and singer Kyle Riabko have all joined the cast of the drama pilot, about the students and faculty at a performing arts school in New York. Gray-Cabey will play the school's music prodigy with Fehr as its larger-than-life and overbearing artistic director. Riabko and Schram then are set as aspiring young actors auditioning for the academy. David Semel is helming the Warner Bros. Television-based hour from a script by K.J. Steinberg.


MELROSE PLACE (The CW) - Jessica Lucas ("90210") is switching zip codes as the actress has joined the cast of The CW's "Melrose" revival. She'll play Riley Richmond, a wealthy and beautiful 24-year-old who works as an inner-city elementary school teacher. Her character is understood to be engaged to Jonah (Michael Rady) but has second thoughts about marrying him. Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and Katie Cassidy also star in the CBS Paramount Network Television-based hour, which Davis Guggenheim is helming off a script from co-creators Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin.


THE NAUGHTY KITCHEN (Oxygen) - The cable channel is reportedly close to ordering the Blythe Beck-led project to series. Code Entertainment and Authentic Pictures are behind the half-hour pilot, which follows the "brassy, ambitious five-star chef Beck and the colorful cast of characters at her upscale Dallas restaurant." Code's Larry Kennar and Rick Berg; Authentic's Lauren Lexton and Tom Rogan; and showrunners Brandy Menefree and Brad Hall are the executive producers.


THREE RIVERS (CBS) - "Moonlight" alum Alex O'Loughlin is in talks to join the cast of the drama pilot, which follows organ transplants as seen through the eyes of the doctors, the donors and the recipients involved. He's on track to play Dr. Andy Yablonski, "the workaholic head of the team of organ donor transplants who is separated from his wife and lives in a motel near the hospital." Carol Barbee is behind the project, which is set up at CBS Paramount Network Television.


UNTITLED JUSTIN ADLER PROJECT (NBC) - Nick D'Agosto ("Heroes") and Michael Rosenbaum ("Smallville") have both joined the cast of the comedy pilot, which revolves around a grown-up family. D'Agosto will play the youngest sibling, who brings his girlfriend to meet the family, while Rosenbaum is set as "the married middle sibling freaked out over his recently adopted baby." Justin Adler is behind the half-hour, which comes from the Sony Pictures Television-based Tantamount.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [march 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· 90210 (CW)
· CRUSOE (NBC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· HAPPY TOWN (ABC)
· HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU (TBS)
· HEROES (NBC)
· LIFE (NBC)
· LIMELIGHT (ABC)
· MELROSE PLACE (CW)
· MOONLIGHT (CBS)
· NAUGHTY KITCHEN WITH CHEF BLYTHE BECK, THE (OXYGEN)
· SLEEPER CELL (SHOWTIME)
· SMALLVILLE (CW)
· THREE RIVERS (CBS)
· UNTITLED JUSTIN ADLER PROJECT (NBC)





[04/11/25 - 02:36 PM]
ESPN's First Round Masters Tournament Coverage Averages 2.3 Million Viewers
The coverage aired from 3-7:23 p.m. ET and was the most-viewed sports program for the day across all broadcast and cable networks.

[04/11/25 - 01:06 PM]
Max Original "The Pitt" Concludes Its Freshman Season Averaging Over 10 Million Global Viewers Per Episode
The first episode has tallied 16.2 million global viewers thus far.

[04/11/25 - 09:00 AM]
"Companion" Begins Streaming Exclusively on Max April 18
Written and directed by Drew Hancock, the film stars Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, and Rupert Friend.

[04/11/25 - 08:00 AM]
Epic Adventure Drama, "Nautilus," Set to Premiere with Two Episodes on Sunday, June 29 on AMC and AMC+
The captivating series stars Shazad Latif as the iconic Captain Nemo: an Indian Prince robbed of his birthright and family, a prisoner of the East India Mercantile Company and a man bent on revenge against the forces that have taken everything from him.

[04/11/25 - 01:46 AM]
"Flintoff" Documentary Film to Premiere April 25 Exclusively on Disney+
The documentary film features exclusive access to former international cricketer and broadcast presenter Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff.

[04/10/25 - 05:01 PM]
Video: "Weak Hero Class 2" - Official Trailer - Netflix
New school, new friends. Haunted by his past, Si-eun faces harsher brutality but stands by his friends - growing stronger as he finds himself.

[04/10/25 - 02:00 PM]
Culinary Titan Gordon Ramsay Goes Undercover to Rescue America's Filthiest Restaurants in FOX's All-New Unscripted Series "Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service"
In a Gordon Ramsay series first, Chef Ramsay will venture into struggling restaurants under the cover of night.

[04/10/25 - 01:30 PM]
"When Hope Calls" Season 2, Sequel to TV's #1 Hit Series, Is a Smashing Success for Great American Media
Episode 2, "So Long, Not Goodbye", drops onto Pure Flix today and premieres on Great American Family, Sunday, April 13 at 8 p.m. ET.

[04/10/25 - 12:28 PM]
Video: Lifetime Releases Trailer for Highly Anticipated Documentary Event "The Judd Family: Truth Be Told"
Profiling one of the greatest country music families of our time, the doc examines Naomi Judd's complicated bond with her daughters, Wynonna and Ashley, that both tied them together and drove them apart.

[04/10/25 - 12:05 PM]
Lifetime Greenlights New "Ripped from the Headlines" Movie "Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story" Starring Steve Guttenberg, Jana Kramer and Rachel Stubington Premiering June 7
The film is based on the true story of Heather Robinson who was abducted as a baby and raised by the family of a serial killer who was convicted of murdering her mother.

[04/10/25 - 12:00 PM]
Video: "Jessica Kirson: I'm the Man" - Official Trailer - Hulu
Take it like a man and brace yourself an hour of raw and revealing comedy in Jessica Kirson's new stand-up special that goes all. the. way.

[04/10/25 - 11:16 AM]
Official Date Announcement: Meet the Players of "Summer of 69"
Directed by Jillian Bell, the film - debuting May 9 on Hulu - features an ensemble cast including Chloe Fineman, Sam Morelos, Charlie Day, Paula Pell, Liza Koshy, Nicole Byer and more.

[04/10/25 - 10:12 AM]
A Whirlwind Romance, Suspicious Deaths, A Questionable Will and Outright Fraud Lead to a Mighty Reckoning in Oxygen True Crime's "Southern Fried Lies"
The two-hour special "Southern Fried Lies" premieres Sunday, April 27 at 6 p.m. ET/PT on Oxygen and will be available to stream on Peacock on April 29.

[04/10/25 - 10:00 AM]
Video: Paramount+ Releases Official Trailer and Premiere Date for "SkyMed" Season Three
All nine episodes will be available for binge viewing on streaming and on demand on Thursday, May 15, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., Latin America and Brazil.

[04/10/25 - 09:45 AM]
Paramount+'s New Hit "MobLand" Surges with 8.8 Million Global Viewers; Biggest Series Launch Ever on the Service Up +298% from Premiere Day
The new global crime series premiered Sunday, March 30, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia and will be coming to other P+ international markets soon.