or


[10/21/09 - 06:29 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, October 21
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!


BOYFRED (ABC, New!) - Newcomers Blake Silver, Jarrod Zimmerman, Alan Schmuckler and Michael Mahler have landed a script order from the Alphabet for a new comedy about six twentysomething friends who use a web site to keep in touch after one of them moves overseas. The project, which has a penalty attached, is based on a 15-minute presentation the quartet shot last summer for $6,000. Thomas Schlamme has subsequently come on board to executive produce the half-hour, which is set up at Sony Pictures Television. As for specifics, said effort revolves around Fred, "a Web designer in Chicago whose girlfriend goes overseas, so he creates a Web site for their circle of friends to keep in touch." In addition, "many of the show's characters are involved in Chicago's music scene, and their music blogs are central to the shared Web site, Boyfred.com." Silver directed the presentation with Schmuckler, Mahler and Zimmerman starring and Schmuckler and Mahler providing original music.


FLASH FORWARD (ABC) - Marc Guggenheim has stepped down as co-showrunner of the freshman drama. The move comes as production wraps on the show's original 13 episode order, which Guggenheim was brought in to supervise alongside co-creator David Goyer. Goyer then will fly solo for the remaining 12 episodes of its 25-installment freshman run. As for Guggenheim, he'll transition to development through his overall deal with producer ABC Studios.


I'M WITH STUPID (ABC, New!) - Judy Greer ("Miss/Guided") is set to topline a new multi-comedy at the network about Kas Sienkiewicz, "a Manhattanite who has a fling with a park ranger while on safari in South Africa" who returns home to find the ranger has tracked her down where his "limited intellectual capabilities" are ultimately revealed. Elaine Szewczyk, whose novel upon which the show is based, is penning the half-hour alongside Allan Loeb. Loeb, Steven Pearl and Richard Lewis then are executive producing the project, which has a script commitment, with Szewczyk serving as a co-executive producer. ABC Studios is producing the half-hour, which was originally developed by Lionsgate Television.


OLIVE PRODUCTIONS PROJECTS (Various, New!) - Steve Buscemi, Stanley Tucci and Wren Arthur's Olive Productions has booked a pair of projects around town. At HBO there's an untitled hour from Stu Zicherman ("Six Degrees") about "a brilliant, one-time powerful politician struggling to rebuild his career and relationships with his family and friends after being brought down by a scandal." Tucci is attached to play said role. Meanwhile, TBS has ordered "Good and Evel," an animated comedy about twin brothers Jack Good and Bo Evel who were "stolen by gypsy cab drivers at birth and taught how to behave and drive badly, Bo is a career petty criminal, and Jack bends over backward to mend his brother's ways and help his dysfunctional family." "Daria" co-creator Glenn Eichler penned said half-hour, which also comes from The Gotham Group's Lee Stollman and Ellen Goldsmith-Vein. Both projects are set up at Lionsgate Television where Olive has a first-look deal. Buscemi, Tucci and Arthur then will executive produce alongside the aforementioned creators.


UNTITLED PAUL RUST PROJECT (NBC, New!) - Paul Rust ("I Love You, Beth Cooper") is set to write and star in a new comedy at the Peacock based on his stint as a Wal-Mart employee. Universal Media Studios and Conan O'Brien's Conaco banner are behind the half-hour, which will track Rust's story of graduating from the U. of Iowa, returning to his hometown of LeMars, Iowa and taking a job at Wal-Mart (to be replaced by a fictional big-box store) - "only to find that his co-workers included his former high school principal." Rust, O'Brien and David Kissinger will then serve as executive producers.


WE ARE HERE (ABC, New!) - Hilary Winston ("My Name Is Earl") is developing a new comedy at the Alphabet about "four friends from the U. of Texas, all of whom still live in Austin, but deal with the arrival of adulthood in different ways." Anthony and Joe Russo ("Community") are also on board to executive produce the half-hour for Sony Pictures Television. The network has given a script commitment to the project with a penalty attached.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [october 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· BOYFRED (ABC)
· COMMUNITY (YAHOO)
· DARIA (MTV)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FLASH FORWARD (ABC)
· GOOD & EVEL (TBS)
· IM WITH STUPID (ABC)
· MISS/GUIDED (ABC)
· MY NAME IS EARL (NBC)
· SIX DEGREES (ABC)
· UNTITLED PAUL RUST PROJECT (NBC)
· UNTITLED STU ZICHERMAN PROJECT (HBO)
· WE ARE HERE (ABC)





[02/09/26 - 11:01 AM]
"Celebrity Jeopardy! All Stars" Programming Update
The previously announced premiere date will be shifting two weeks and now premieres Friday, March 13 on ABC, streaming next day on Hulu.

[02/09/26 - 09:32 AM]
Video: Oxygen Unveils Premiere Date and Official Trailer for "A Plan to Kill" Season Two
Season two is set to premiere Sunday, March 8 at 7pm ET/PT.

[02/09/26 - 09:04 AM]
A Tradition Reimagined: ESPN and Disney Launch "We're Going," The First Marketing Campaign for ESPN's Inaugural Super Bowl
Following Sunday's Super Bowl LX, ESPN and Disney unveiled "We're Going," a high-energy, fast-paced, cameo-filled marketing campaign for ESPN's inaugural Super Bowl, set for February 2027.

[02/09/26 - 09:01 AM]
CNN and Variety Announce Special Town Hall Conversation Event with Timothee Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey
The special will air Saturday, February 21 at 7pm ET/PT on CNN and stream live for subscribers of CNN's streaming offering.

[02/09/26 - 09:00 AM]
UPtv to Debut the U.S. Cable Television Premiere of "Heartland" Season 19 on March 19
In season 19, the Bartlett-Fleming family must risk everything to keep Heartland and those they love out of harm's way.

[02/09/26 - 08:52 AM]
Colin Firth Joins Cast of "Berlin Noir" Adaptation
Based on Philip Kerr's bestselling novels and executive-produced by Tom Hanks, Firth joins Jack Lowden in the upcoming series.

[02/09/26 - 08:31 AM]
Peacock to Exclusively Stream Focus Features' "Song Sung Blue" Beginning February 13
Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, in her Academy Award, Golden Globe and Actor Award-nominated role, star in Focus Features' unforgettable romance alongside Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, Mustafa Shakir and more.

[02/09/26 - 08:00 AM]
Callum Vinson Signs on to Play Atreus in Prime Video's "God of War" from Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios
Atreus, the ten-year old son of Kratos, grew up in a remote forest cabin, isolated from the rest of the world and raised almost entirely by his mother Faye.

[02/09/26 - 07:31 AM]
Video: "Virgin River" Season 7 - Official Trailer - Netflix
Newly married, Mel and Jack pursue their dream of adopting a baby, while old loves smolder and new threats challenge Virgin River.

[02/09/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: More "Sesame Street" Coming to Netflix - Vol. 2 Official Trailer - Netflix Jr
Miley Cyrus brings us a new song and EVEN MORE fun with Sesame Street, dropping on Netflix, March 9.

[02/09/26 - 04:00 AM]
HBO Max to Launch in the UK & Ireland on Thursday, March 26
Already available in over 110 territories worldwide, HBO Max offers the ultimate mix of best-in-class series, movies, extraordinary real-life stories and, via TNT Sports in the UK, live sport.

[02/08/26 - 11:23 PM]
A Home for World-Class Filipino Entertainment: The Journey and What's Next on Netflix Philippines in 2026
After 10 years of being part of Filipino entertainment culture, Netflix Philippines enters 2026 with a slate that marks a striking new chapter - bigger in ambition, deeper in creative partnerships, and unmistakably Filipino at its core.

[02/06/26 - 11:39 PM]
Development Update: Week of February 2-6
Updates include: Joshua Jackson, Ray Romano to lead HBO Max's "How to Survive Without Me"; FOX extends "The Floor" through season seven; and Craig Mazin to bring "Baldur's Gate" to HBO.

[02/06/26 - 12:49 PM]
TBS Unveils First Superstar Guests for "Foul Play with Anthony Davis" with More A List Names to Come
LeBron James, Draymond Green, Jordan Chiles, and Rickea Jackson will kick off series premiere on Monday, April 6.

[02/06/26 - 09:16 AM]
Netflix's "Untamed" Heads to Hawaii for Season 2
Season two of the hit mystery thriller series will take place in Hawaii, as a new case brings Eric Bana's Kyle Turner to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.