or


[09/30/09 - 06:06 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, September 30
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!


COLD CASE (CBS) - Executive producer Greg Plageman has inked a two-year overall deal with producer Warner Bros. Television. The pact, financial details of which weren't released, covers his co-showrunning duties alongside Jennifer Johnson as well as calls for him to develop new series projects for the studio.


CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS) - The Eye is moving closer to ordering a spin-off of the veteran crime drama. Chris Mundy has been tapped to pen a backdoor pilot episode to air later this season from a story by he co-wrote with showrunner Ed Bernero. As for specifics, it's understood the hour will focus on a new team of FBI agents brought in to assist the current Behavioral Analysis Unit. ABC Studios, CBS Television Studios and the Mark Gordon Co. would then co-produce any resulting spin-off. CBS has flirted with expanding the franchise for over a year but didn't solidify its plans until this week.


DAMAGES (FX) - "24" alum Reiko Aylesworth has booked a recurring role on the show's third season, Entertainment Weekly reports. Not surprisingly, details about her character weren't released. She'll join incoming cast members Campbell Scott and Martin Short as well as special guest stars Lily Tomlin and Keith Carradine when the new season rolls out in January.


DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC) - Kathy Najimy is set to guest star on the veteran Sunday soap. She'll play "a police officer with a surprising connection to Teri Hatcher's Susan," according to report from Entertainment Weekly. "Susan suspects Katherine was the one who attacked Julie, so she gets [a cop] to help her," creator Marc Cherry told the publication. "But then she finds out the policewoman went to high school with her - and Susan stole her boyfriend, too! So [Najimy] has been going around the past 30 years resenting her." Najimy's installment is set to air in late October.


INSIDE MARY BAXTER (NBC, New!)/LANEY SPARROW (FOX, New!) - Craig Zadan and Neil Meron ("Drop Dead Diva") have landed drama scripts at FOX and NBC. Dana Calvo ("Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip") is behind the FOX effort, "Laney Sparrow," "a character-driven legal drama," while Maria Maggenti ("Without a Trace") is penning "Inside Mary Baxter," "a dramedy set in a women's prison," for NBC. Zadan and Meron then will executive produce each hour with their respective creators. 20th Century Fox Television is producing "Sparrow" while no studio was mentioned as attached to "Baxter."


PREGNANCY PACT (Lifetime) - Camryn Manheim ("Ghost Whisperer") has joined the cast of the original movie, which is "inspired by the true story of teenagers at Gloucester (Mass.) High School who agreed to get pregnant at the same time." She'll play "the nurse who alerts the school of the increasing number of pregnancies and offers contraceptives to those girls who aren't pregnant." Thora Birch and Nancy Travis also star in the project, which is in production for a first quarter air date. Rosemary Rodriguez is helming the telefilm from a script by Pam Davis and Teena Booth for Von Zerneck-Sertner Films.


UNTITLED DIANE RUGGIERO PROJECT (FOX, New!) - Diane Ruggiero ("The Ex List") has scored a script commitment from the network for a new dramedy about "a group of dysfunctional siblings who are forced to live together in the family's haunted house after their father dies." The project is set up at the 20th Century Fox Television-based the Chernin Co. with Ruggiero executive producing alongside the latter company's Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope.


UNTITLED SETH GREEN PROJECT (FOX, New!) - Seth Green, Matthew Senreich and Tom Root ("Titan Maximum") have landed a pilot presentation order for a new animated comedy at the network. The untitled project, which comes from the 20th Century Fox Television-based the Chernin Co., will use "family life and a high school as backdrops for a wide cast of characters." The trio then will executive produce via their Stoopid Monkey Productions banner alongside Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [september 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· 24 (FOX)
· COLD CASE (CBS)
· CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS)
· CRIMINAL MINDS: SUSPECT BEHAVIOR (CBS)
· DAMAGES (AUDIENCE)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DROP DEAD DIVA (LIFETIME)
· EX LIST, THE (CBS)
· GHOST WHISPERER (CBS)
· INSIDE MARY BAXTER (NBC)
· LANEY SPARROW (FOX)
· PREGNANCY PACT (LIFETIME)
· STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP (NBC)
· UNTITLED DIANE RUGGIERO PROJECT (FOX)
· UNTITLED SETH GREEN PROJECT (FOX)
· WITHOUT A TRACE (CBS)





[05/01/26 - 01:33 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Jumps Back from Spring Break with Fifth Straight Week of Growth Among Both Total Viewers and Households
Dominating the New York market, "Live with Kelly and Mark" towers over its closest competition this season by double and triple digits in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54.

[05/01/26 - 12:36 PM]
VH1 Marks 15 Years of Love & Hip Hop with "The Final Chapter," A Six-Part Event Series Premiering on VH1 in Fall 2026
For 15 years, Love & Hip Hop built stars, sparked conversation, and helped define the modern reality television era.

[05/01/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: Trailer Debut - Hulu Original - "Lisa Ann Walter: It Was An Accident"
Lisa Ann Walter's long-awaited debut comedy special takes on feral Gen-Xers, self-loathing, and navigating a backsliding America, via the no-filter lens of a grown-ass woman who has been paying attention.

[05/01/26 - 10:00 AM]
FOX Announces "Marriage Market," A High-Stakes Arranged Marriage Experiment, Hosted by Whitney Cummings
The series welcomes singles - who are officially over swiping, ghosting, and endless first dates - into an actual Marriage Market, where they're up for trying something radical... putting their love lives in the hands of family members that know them best and risking it all for one shot at forever - in an arranged marriage.

[05/01/26 - 09:01 AM]
Avery Anna, Blake Shelton, Carter Faith, Dan + Shay, Ella Langley, Jordan Davis, Kane Brown, The Red Clay Strays, Thomas Rhett, Tucker Wetmore, and Zach Top Added to 61st Academy of Country Music Awards Performance Lineup
They join previously announced superstar performers Cody Johnson, Kacey Musgraves, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, and Riley Green.

[05/01/26 - 08:31 AM]
Video: "El Encargado" - Official Trailer - Hulu
The perfect superintendent... if you don't look too closely.

[05/01/26 - 08:05 AM]
NBC Sports' NBA Playoff Viewership on NBC & Peacock Up 58% vs. Comparable Coverage Last Year Through First 13 Games
This is the first time in 24 years that NBC Sports is presenting the NBA Playoffs.

[05/01/26 - 08:00 AM]
Video: We TV and All Reality Unveil Key Art and Trailer for New Original Unscripted Series "This Is Poly"
"This Is Poly" premieres Friday, May 29 at 9:30 PM ET/PT, immediately following the season premiere of "Love After Lockup" at 8pm ET/PT.

[05/01/26 - 07:01 AM]
"The Mystery of Richard Simmons: A Diane Sawyer Special" to Premiere Tuesday, May 12, on ABC and Streams Next Day on Disney+ and Hulu
The new hourlong special is a joyful and revealing portrait of an American superstar.

[05/01/26 - 06:02 AM]
Video: "Marty, Life Is Short" - Official Trailer - Netflix
The definitive documentary on beloved comedian Martin Short, using beautiful, intimate, never-before-seen archive.

[05/01/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: The Gustavo Cerati Documentary - Netflix
The intimate portrait reveals the musician's most quiet and human sides, drawn from exclusive testimonies and unreleased material.

[04/30/26 - 02:17 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers Sunday Morning and in Late-Night
ABC News' "Nightline" ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers (931,000) for the week of April 20.

[04/30/26 - 11:01 AM]
UP Faith & Family to Exclusively Premiere Season Eight of the Police/K9 Procedural Hit Series "Hudson & Rex" Beginning June 11
In the eighth season, Detective Mark Hudson (Luke Roberts) joins the team.

[04/30/26 - 10:31 AM]
Meet the Six Contestants Competing on "Fear Factor: 48 Hours of Fear," Where Fear and Sleep Deprivation Are Guaranteed!
The two-week special event airs Thursday, May 14 and May 21 on FOX.

[04/30/26 - 10:01 AM]
Netflix Announces New Series "Minimum Wage," Set to Debut Later This Year
Based on the breakout American High Shorts series of the same name, which has drawn over 30 million views across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram since launching in May 2024 and will debut exclusively on Netflix later this year.