or


[04/03/09 - 06:42 PM]
Development Update: Friday, April 3
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!


BREAKING BAD (AMC) - Creator/executive producer Vince Gilligan has inked a two-year overall deal with the show's producer Sony Pictures Television. The pact, valued in the $4 million range, calls for Gilligan to continue at the helm of the cable drama, which was recently picked up for a third season.


THE END OF STEVE/THE FARM (Showtime) - The pay channel has reportedly passed on both pilots. The former stars Matthew Perry as an afternoon talk show host in Rochester, New York who is genial onscreen but embittered when the camera's off. Peter Tolan co-wrote the half-hour alongside Perry for Sony Pictures Television and also directed. The latter then is a spin-off of "The L Word" featuring Leisha Hailey's character as she's sent to prison. It's understood Sony is expected to shop "Steve" to other outlets while the fate of "The Farm" wasn't indicated beyond Showtime. Still under consideration at the network are "Ronna and Beverly," a comedy about the antics of two middle-aged Jewish women in Boston, from Jessica Chaffin, Jamie Denbo and Jenji Kohan; and "Possible Side Effects," a drama about a wealthy but dysfunctional family operating in the pharmaceutical business, from Tim Robbins.


ER (NBC) - Longtime showrunner/executive producer David Zabel has signed a one-year, two-script pact with Sony Pictures Television. The deal, said to be worth nearly $1 million, will give the writer/producer a pair of scripts at the studio. Zabel joined the Warner Bros. Television-based "ER" in 2001 as an executive story editor, eventually rising to showrunner for the past four and a half years.


MELROSE PLACE (The CW) - Shaun Sipos ("Shark") has booked the final principal roles on the "Melrose" revival. He's on board as David Patterson, the son of Jake Hansen (Grant Show), who's described as "a bad boy with smoldering good looks who grew up as a rich kid but has been cut off from his family money." Michael Rady, Jessica Lucas, Katie Cassidy, Ashlee Simpson-Weitz, Colin Egglesfield and Stephanie Jacobson also star in the CBS Paramount Network Television-based hour, which comes from Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin. Davis Guggenheim is directing.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [april 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· BREAKING BAD (AMC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· END OF STEVE, THE (SHOWTIME)
· ER (NBC)
· L WORD, THE (SHOWTIME)
· MELROSE PLACE (CW)
· POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS (SHOWTIME)
· RONNA & BEVERLY (SHOWTIME)
· SHARK (CBS)
· UNTITLED L WORD SPIN-OFF PROJECT (SHOWTIME)





[01/09/26 - 12:02 PM]
A New Season of Hilarie Burton-Morgan's Documentary Series "True Crime Story: It Couldn't Happen Here" Returns February 19 on SundanceTV and Streaming Across AMC+ and All Reality
The new six-episode season examines the challenges and complexities of small-town justice, spotlighting cases that range from unsolved missing persons and wrongful convictions, to death while in police custody.

[01/09/26 - 12:01 PM]
Video: "Eternity" - Official Trailer - Apple TV
"Eternity," starring Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen and Callum Turner, premieres February 13 on Apple TV.

[01/09/26 - 11:01 AM]
"Love Island: All Stars" Returns to Peacock as Season Three Premieres on January 14
The first episode premieres exclusively in the U.S. on Wednesday, January 14, with new episodes streaming on Peacock every day at 9:00/8:00c.

[01/09/26 - 09:05 AM]
Ohtani, Judge, Yankees-Red Sox, Dodgers-Yankees, Cubs-Cardinals, and Additional Premium Matchups Headline "Sunday Night Baseball" Schedule as Major League Baseball Returns to NBC and Peacock
Highlights include the special July 5 "Star-Spangled Sunday" featuring all 15 MLB games exclusively presented nationally on Peacock and NBC.

[01/09/26 - 09:00 AM]
CBS Program Advisory: "Harlan Coben's Final Twist"
Beginning Tuesday, January 13, "Harlan Coben's Final Twist" will air original episodes Tuesdays at 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT, with encore episodes airing Wednesdays at 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT.

[01/09/26 - 08:47 AM]
ESPN's Second Most-Watched NBA Regular Season Ever
Through 21 games, the NBA on ESPN networks is averaging 2.6M viewers, up 35 percent from last season.

[01/09/26 - 08:31 AM]
Video: Peacock Releases Official Trailer, Key Art and New Images for "The 'Burbs"
All 8 episodes will premiere on Peacock Sunday, February 8, 2026.

[01/09/26 - 02:35 AM]
Paapa Essiedu Returns for "The Capture" Series 3 with New Pictures and Further Casting for the Hit Thriller Announced
The BBC has released new pictures from the series which show Paapa alongside Holliday Grainger who leads the cast as Rachel Carey.

[01/08/26 - 06:01 PM]
Video: "Undercover Miss Hong" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A tenacious investigator goes undercover at a securities firm to expose corruption, but her mission is complicated by its new CEO - her former lover.

[01/08/26 - 02:00 PM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Record-Breaking Viewership for 2025-26 FCS Playoffs and Championship
The 2026 FCS Championship Game averaged 2.3 million viewers on ESPN, ranking as the third-best FCS Championship audience ever.

[01/08/26 - 01:17 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Demos
In fact, "Nightline" is ranking No. 1 in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 for the 3rd straight year.

[01/08/26 - 01:16 PM]
ABC News' Primetime Special "The Year: 2025" Earns Nearly 4 Million Total Viewers - Growing by Double Digits Over Last Year in Multiplatform Viewing
The 15th annual year-end special earned 3.857 million Total Viewers, growing impressively over last year's performance by +37% (vs. 2.818 million), after three days of viewing on ABC, Disney+, Hulu and digital platforms.

[01/08/26 - 01:15 PM]
"Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV" Premieres Wednesday, Jan. 14, on ABC and Streams Next Day on Disney+ and Hulu
By exploring the psychological forces that shaped the talk TV genre, the series reveals how these shows transformed from trusted confessional spaces into lightning rods of controversy, leaving a lasting impact on culture, media and the people caught in the chaos.

[01/08/26 - 12:07 PM]
Hulu Acquires Rights to All Seasons of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" from Versant, Expanding the Kardashian Universe Offering of Series and Specials
All titles will be available to stream on Hulu beginning February 17, 2026.

[01/08/26 - 12:01 PM]
Video: Paramount+ Releases Official Trailer for New Docuseries "Handsome Devil: Charming Killer"
The three-part docuseries premieres Tuesday, January 20, exclusively on Paramount+.