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[05/04/09 - 06:47 PM]
Development Update: Monday, May 4
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!
BEN-HUR (ABC) - Joseph Morgan, Emily VanCamp and Stephen Campbell Moore are the first to be cast in the upcoming mini-series, a remake of the Oscar-winning film of the same name. Also signing on are Ray Winstone, Kristen Kruek, Hugh Bonneville, Alex Kingston, Lucia Jimenez, Miguel Angel Munoz, Marc Warren, Art Malik and James Faulkner. Morgan will play the title role, "a wealthy Jewish youth in the time of Jesus Christ -- who is seeking revenge and reclaiming his identity after being betrayed by his friend, Messala (Moore)." VanCamp then is set as Esther, Ben-Hur's love interest, with Winstone as his adoptive father, Kruek as his sister and Bonneville as Pontius Pilate. Steven Shill ("Obsessed") is helming the four-hour, $22 million adaptation from a script by Alan Sharp ("Rob Roy"). Production began this week in Ouarzazate, Morocco with David Wyler, Manuel Corbi, Michael Prupas, Frank Konigsberg and Dirk Beinhold executive producing. Co-producing alongside the Alchemy Television Group are Spain's Drimtim Entertainment, Canada's Muse Entertainment, Morocco's Zak Productions and Germany's Akkord Films.
THE CLEVELAND SHOW (FOX) - The network has commissioned 13 additional episodes of the upcoming "Family Guy" spin-off, bringing its series total to 35 installments. The early pickup is designed to keep the show in production while the series rolls out this fall. "Cleveland" had been ready for a spring start however FOX opted to hold the series until this fall. Said delay nevertheless required for FOX to make the call on a second season using the original timetable or risk losing the associated talent. Seth MacFarlane, Rich Appel and Mike Henry are the executive producers.
UNTITLED JENNY MCCARTHY PROJECT (Syndication, New!) - Jenny McCarthy has inked a multi-year overall deal with Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions. The pact calls for the actress/author ("Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism," "Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds") to develop various projects for the company, including a potential syndicated talk show. First up however is McCarthy's blog on Oprah.com, which launched last week. No specifics however were given about the TV component.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[06/30/26 - 01:01 PM]
UPtv to Debut the U.S Cable Television Premiere of "Hudson & Rex" Season Eight Aug. 6
The action-packed, family-friendly procedural continues to follow the adventures of Rex, an extraordinary K9 German Shepherd, and the dedicated team of the St. John's Police Department's Major Crimes Unit.
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[06/30/26 - 12:21 PM]
Starz Wins Development on "Bone Parish" After Bidding War, An Adaptation of the Chilling, Supernatural Crime Graphic Novel, Executive Produced by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson
In the dark underworld of New Orleans, the Winters family builds an empire around a powerful new drug - crafted from the ashes of the dead - that grants users vivid, haunting visions of the past.
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[06/30/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of June 22 - The Search Continues as "I Will Find You" Holds at No. 1 for a Second Week
The second season of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" launched in the No. 2 spot on the English TV list with 8.7 million views, and the first season reentered the list in the No. 3 spot with 3 million views.
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[06/30/26 - 11:05 AM]
Mark Harmon to Return as Gibbs in Season 3 of CBS Original Series "NCIS: Origins" in a Season-Long Mystery This Fall
Harmon will appear in all episodes this season as part of a present-day mystery tied to his '90s Camp Pendleton days in an action-packed story that unfolds all season long.
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[06/30/26 - 09:48 AM]
TikTok LIVE and Food Network Launch Cooking Series Bringing Together Creators With Chefs, Beginning Wednesday, July 8
The inaugural LIVE, TikTok LIVE x Food Network Presents: Tomato Season, will feature Chef Antonia Lofaso and Creator @jose.elcook cooking with one of summer's most popular ingredients.
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[06/30/26 - 09:01 AM]
Starz Acquires High-Octane Crime Drama "S.W.A.T. Exiles," Starring and Executive-Produced by Shemar Moore, Set to Premiere September 25
In the new series, Moore reprises his role as Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson of the Los Angeles Police Department's Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) Division.
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[06/30/26 - 09:01 AM]
"Wonka's The Golden Ticket" Opens Its Factory Gates on September 23
Netflix invites audiences into a thrilling new competition based on Roald Dahl's book "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" and inspired by one of the most iconic worlds in cinematic history.
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[06/30/26 - 09:00 AM]
Jerry O'Connell Joins "Big Brother: Unlocked" as Celebrity Panelist Alongside Returning Winners Taylor Hale and Derrick Levasseur
This season, "Big Brother" will make television history as the first primetime series ever to reach 1,000 original episodes (date of the 1,000th episode to be announced).
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[06/30/26 - 08:01 AM]
Netflix Renews "Nemesis" for Season 2
"Nemesis" is the story of two men on either side of the law, the tale of what happens when an unstoppable force (an expert criminal) meets an immovable object (a brilliant police detective).
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[06/30/26 - 08:01 AM]
Prime Video Reveals First-Look Images and Premiere Date for Debut Series "Neagley," Starring Maria Sten
Upon the "Reacher" season four finale, all eight episodes of "Neagley" will be released on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
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[06/30/26 - 07:31 AM]
Peacock Exclusively Streams Global Box Office Smash "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" Beginning July 30
The film debuted at #1 at the global box office and became the first movie of 2026 to cross $1 billion.
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[06/30/26 - 07:00 AM]
Nickelodeon Declares July 14 "SpongeBob Day"
Timed to coincide with SpongeBob SquarePants' birthday within the animated series, the inaugural "SpongeBob Day" will feature a cross-platform slate of activations designed to bring the world of Bikini Bottom to audiences of all ages everywhere.
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[06/29/26 - 12:55 PM]
ESPN Films' "The Day Diego Returned to the Azteca" Is Now Streaming on Disney+ and Premieres on ESPN July 3
The film tells the extraordinary and little-known story of Diego Armando Maradona's only return to Estadio Azteca after leading Argentina to the 1986 FIFA World Cup title.
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[06/29/26 - 11:31 AM]
Netflix's Upcoming Comedy Series "A Hundred Percent" Rounds Out Cast with Tiffany Boone, Lisa Gilroy and Diane Lane
They'll join the previously announced stars Nick Kroll, Sam Richardson, Jason Mantzoukas and Vanessa Bayer.
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[06/29/26 - 11:30 AM]
ESPN to Provide Extensive Coverage of the 2026 NBA Summer League Beginning July 9
The 11-day event begins Thursday, July 9, and concludes with the Championship Game on Sunday, July 19, live on ESPN, with games throughout the event airing on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.
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