or


[07/02/09 - 06:24 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, July 2
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!


2009-10 SEASON BROADCAST PILOTS (Various) - Cast options have been extended on four pilots: "Romantically Challenged," "This Little Piggy" and "Solving Charlie" at ABC and "House Rules" at CBS. All four, along with the rest of the broadcast slate, had been set to expire on June 30. Said pickups however are limited to only certain actors: Alyssa Milano, Kyle Bornheimer and Kelly Stables on the Warner Bros. Television-based "Challenged"; Andrea Parker and Rebecca Creskoff on ABC Studios's "Piggy"; Jimmy Wolk, Dakota Goyo, Brad William Henke and Dania Ramirez on fellow ABC Studios-based "Charlie"; and Zoe McLellan, Eion Bailey, Kristin Bauer, Tawny Cypress, Anna Chlumsky and Denzel Whitaker, among others, on "Rules," which likewise is set up at ABC Studios.


COVERT AFFAIRS (USA) - Piper Perabo is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, about Annie Walker (Perabo), "a CIA trainee who speaks six languages and excels at any endeavor she undertakes. Walker joins the CIA while still reeling over a mysterious ex-boyfriend who appears to be of particular interest to her new bosses." Producers however are still casting for Auggie Anderson, "a blind tech expert who assists Walker in her assignments," before production can be greenlit. Matt Corman and Chris Ord are behind the hour, which is set up at Universal Cable Productions and Dave Bartis and Doug Liman's Dutch Oven banner.


THE FAST AND THE FUNNIEST (ABC, New!) - Page Hurwitz and Javier Winnik ("Last Comic Standing") are developing a new competition series in which "a group of stand-ups travel cross-country competing in challenges and performances." The first three comics then "to make it to the final city will compete in a comedy faceoff for a cash prize." The Alphabet has given a cast-contingent series order to the project, which the pair are executive producing for Keep Calm Productions.


GOSSIP GIRL (The CW) - Hilary Duff is set to guest star on the much-ballyhooed soap this season. She'll play Olivia Burke, "a movie star looking for a typical college experience [who] enrolls at New York University and becomes roommates" with Jessica Szohr's character and subsequently becomes involved with Penn Badgley's character. Her first episode is set to air on October 5.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [july 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· COVERT AFFAIRS (USA)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FAST & THE FUNNIEST, THE (ABC)
· GOSSIP GIRL (CW)
· HOUSE RULES (CBS)
· LAST COMIC STANDING (NBC)
· ROMANTICALLY CHALLENGED (ABC)
· SOLVING CHARLIE (ABC)
· THIS LITTLE PIGGY (ABC)





[07/22/26 - 11:31 AM]
Never Fear, "Clash of the Thundermans" Premiere Date and Key Art Are Here!
The new feature-length film from Paramount Television Studios will premiere Thursday, September 3 on Paramount+ and debut on Nickelodeon at 7 p.m. (ET/PT) that same day.

[07/22/26 - 11:30 AM]
ESPN Delivers Most-Watched NBA Summer League Championship Game Since 2017
The Golden State Warriors' victory over the Memphis Grizzlies averaged 676,000 viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.

[07/22/26 - 11:01 AM]
Video: "Special Ops True" - Official Trailer - Paramount+
The world remembers these missions. The people who lived them remember every second.

[07/22/26 - 11:01 AM]
Video: Exclusive First Look at All-New We TV and All Reality Unscripted Series "Age Inappropriate" Highlighting the Real Lives of Five Age-Gap Couples
The series premieres Friday, August 7 at 9:00 PM ET/PT on We TV, streaming same-day exclusively on All Reality.

[07/22/26 - 10:01 AM]
What's New on HBO Max This August
Highlights include the premiere of "Lanterns"; the return of "Conan O'Brien Must Go"; and the streaming debuts of "The Strangers: Chapter 2," "Normal," and "Mother Mary."

[07/22/26 - 10:01 AM]
Benicio Del Toro to Star in New Comedy Series "Protective Custody"
Also starring and executive produced by Ben Stiller, and hailing from Emmy Award-winner Mike Judge, Emmy Award-winner Steve Hely and Dave King, comes a new Apple TV series about a disgraced financier navigating life after arrest.

[07/22/26 - 09:49 AM]
Great American Media Announces Fourth Installment of Hit Franchise, "Ainsley McGregor Mysteries: The Model Maker," Starring Candace Cameron Bure, Aaron Ashmore, and Robin Dunne, Inspired by Characters Created by Bestselling Author, Candace Havens
"Ainsley McGregor Mysteries: The Model Maker" will stream and be broadcast across Great American Pure Flix, Great American Family, and GFAM+ in early 2027.

[07/22/26 - 09:46 AM]
Paramount+ Greenlights New Series "Laird" with Kenneth Branagh Set to Star and Executive Produce
Set in the modern Scottish Highlands, "Laird" is an epic family saga in which a proud Scot defies a shadowy American billionaire hellbent on buying up the glens.

[07/22/26 - 09:31 AM]
Video: "Let's Marry Harry" - Official Trailer - Netflix
With help from Alex Cooper ("Call Her Daddy") and his best friends, can Harry Jowsey ("Perfect Match") find true love and settle down in marriage?

[07/22/26 - 09:01 AM]
HBO Original Comedy Special "Whitmer Thomas: Terminal Crew of Dudes" Debuts August 14
In his second HBO stand-up special, comedian, musician, and actor Whitmer Thomas digs into his small-town Alabama upbringing... and his ongoing quest to be cool.

[07/22/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls" - Official Trailer - Prime Video
The new series, hosted by Bear Grylls, premieres August 9, 2026, on Prime Video with all six episodes available at launch.

[07/22/26 - 09:00 AM]
The Definitive Documentary on Global Icon Julie Andrews Is Coming to Disney+ in 2027
This definitive portrait offers an intimate and revealing look at Andrews' extraordinary journey, from her early days in British vaudeville to her meteoric rise as a global superstar.

[07/22/26 - 08:34 AM]
Apple TV Lands Rights to Rebecca Yarros' Forthcoming Novel
Apple Studios will develop "Peculiar Stars," and Yarros will serve as executive producer through her banner Full Measures Productions.

[07/22/26 - 07:04 AM]
Investigation Discovery to Re-Examine Aileen Wuornos in New Docuseries "Unmasking a Monster: Aileen Wuornos"
The three-part docuseries will premiere on Wednesday, September 30 from 8-11PM ET/PT on ID and will be available to stream on HBO Max.

[07/22/26 - 06:01 AM]
Prime Video Announces Exclusive Access Documentary Film Following Lily Allen
The retrospective documentary will chart Lily's extraordinary journey, from the "Queen of MySpace" who changed the rules of the music industry, to the cultural force she is today.