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[10/22/09 - 06:41 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, October 22
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!
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL (Adult Swim, New!) - The Cartoon Network sibling has picked up the broadcast rights to the Rob Corddry-led TheWB.com series and commissioned a second season of 12 episodes to run next year. The 10 existing five-minute installments will be cut together to make five quarter-hour episodes to be followed by 12 new quarter-hour episodes produced specifically for the cable channel. Corddry wrote, directed and starred in the series, a parody of hospital dramas. David Wain and Jonathan Stern also serve as executive producers alongside Corddry. Said development is part of a multi-platform overall deal Corddry has signed with Warner Bros. Television which calls for the multihyphenate to develop new series projects for the studio, including an pilot presentation described as an "unconventional family comedy."
EAGLEHEART (Adult Swim, New!) - Adult Swim has likewise order a pilot to a new live-action comedy from Michael Koman ("Important Things With Demetri Martin") and Andrew Weinberg ("The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien"). The project, which is set up at Dakota Films and Conan O'Brien's Conaco banner, revolves around "a low-level TV executive who is sent to Texas to produce an action series with a fading TV action icon as the star, [only to wind] up in a power struggle with the temperamental thespian." Conaco's David Kissinger and Dakota Films's Troy Miller will also serve as executive producers alongside Koman, Weinberg and O'Brien.
FACING KATE (USA) - Sarah Shahi ("Life") has been tapped for the lead role on the drama pilot, about "a divorced San Francisco woman who leaves her job as a lawyer to become a mediator." Her casting lifts said contingency off the pilot's production. Michael Sardo penned the script and is executive producing alongside Steve Stark for Universal Cable Productions.
FRINGE (FOX) - Sebastian Roche ("The Beautiful Life") has booked a recurring role on the sophomore drama. He'll play "a soldier from another dimension who is not quite human/not quite machine, trying to gather information for opening a stable door to the other side." Said role was originally played by Thomas Kretschmann, who was glimpsed in the closing moments of the October 8 episode. The actor reportedly had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict.
LAWMAN/TERRIERS (FX) - Jamie Denbo ("Weeds") and Joelle Carter have been upped to series regulars on two upcoming projects at the cable channel. On "Terriers," "a comedic drama starring Donal Logue as an ex-cop who partners with his best friend (Michael Raymond-James) to launch an unlicensed private-investigation business," Denbo plays an attorney the two often consult for help. Carter then is set to continue on as an old flame to the title character in "Lawman," which "stars Timothy Olyphant as U.S. Marshal Givens, a modern 19th century-style lawman enforcing his brand of justice."
MELROSE PLACE (The CW) - Colin Egglesfield and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz are both departing the freshman drama after 13 episodes. Said shakeup comes as original cast member Heather Locklear begins her arc on the series next month. It's believed said characters will be written out as the current arc involving Sydney's (Laura Leighton) murder is resolved. No specific reason however was given for their exit.
OBESE (ABC, New!) - 3 Ball Productions has landed a six-episode order from the Alphabet for a new reality series in which extremely overweight individuals shed hundreds of pounds over the course of a full year. Each episode then will feature a person's yearlong journey with the help of a personal trainer. No host will be used as each installment will be "hosted" by the participant. 3 Ball's J.D. Roth is among the executive producers of the project, which isn't due until 2011 for obvious reasons.
ABC's details the project as follows: "3 Ball Productions, the production company behind some of television's most transformational programs is producing a new weight loss show that will take the weight off right before your eyes. And this time around, participants don't need to leave their house to lose the weight. We are bringing the trainer to you! Now Casting: Men who have at least 200 lbs (or more) to lose! Women who have at least 150 lbs (or more) to lose! If you're ready to try and lose that weight and you need inspiration to show up at your door, then come be a part of what could potentially be the most remarkable transformation of your life. Our expert trainer will show up at your door and work with you throughout your journey. Finally, a show that will capture what hopes to be the most important year of your life - the year you get your weight off and your life back!"
RAPTURE (Showtime, New!) - Craig Chester's memoir, "Why the Long Face?: The Adventures of a Truly Independent Actor," is being developed a comedy at the pay channel by Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky. Don Roos ("Love and Other Impossible Pursuits") is attached to direct the half-hour, which "tells the story of [Chester's] childhood as the gay son in a family of born-again Christian parents and his experiences as a thesp in the indie film world." It's understood the TV adaptation, presumably to be written by Chester himself, will be "told from the perspective of 9-year-old Chester who's coming to terms with his sexual orientation while dealing with a devout mom who has visions of Christ and a rock 'n' roll guitar player dad who fears his wife is losing her mind." Kudrow and Bucatinsky will then executive produce through their Is or Isn't Entertainment banner alongside Chester, Paul Miller and Kimber Rickabaugh.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[10/06/26 - 04:01 PM]
Netflix's "Solo Leveling" Adds Han So-hee, Kang You-seok, Sung Joon and More to Its Cast
The live-action adaptation follows Sung Jin-woo as he faces deadly challenges, awakens his full potential, and rises from the weakest Hunter to the world's most powerful in his quest to protect humanity from the monsters lurking beyond mysterious gates.
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[10/06/26 - 03:03 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Scores Season-High Viewership from Iowa City
Plus: ABC won the Saturday noon and primetime windows in Week 5.
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[10/06/26 - 02:50 PM]
FOX NFL Scores 19,149,000 Viewers in Week 4 Singleheader
Coverage was up +7% over last year's comparable delivery.
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[10/06/26 - 02:05 PM]
Skydance Announces Board, Adding Ynon Kreiz, Laurene Powell Jobs and Bobby Kotick as Directors and Tony Blair as Advisor
David Ellison will chair the Board and continue to serve as Skydance's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
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[10/06/26 - 12:06 PM]
NBC Sports' 2026-27 Big Ten Men's and Women's Basketball Schedules Announced, Featuring 80+ Games on NBC, Peacock, and NBCSN
Defending national champion Michigan will make five appearances on Peacock and NBCSN this season.
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[10/06/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 28 - "East of Eden" Triumphs to the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story" claimed the No. 2 spot on the list with 5.7 million views, with a total of 32.3 million cumulative views in the three weeks since its debut.
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[10/06/26 - 11:39 AM]
Westbrook Studios and The Malar Group Launch Film and TV Slate, with the First Project "215," A Series Based on the Rise of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
"215" is set in West Philadelphia in the late 1980s and follows a quick-witted teenage rapper, the DJ who is his musical other half, and the friends who helped fuel the dream.
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[10/06/26 - 11:20 AM]
Hit Detective Comedy "Ludwig" Starring David Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin Returns October 13 on BritBox
The International Emmy Award-winning series broke viewership records again in the UK as the BBC's biggest scripted launch of the year with 9.1 million viewers tuning in for the premiere.
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[10/06/26 - 11:00 AM]
Video: BBC America and BBC Studios Release Extended Trailer for the New Epic, Sir David Attenborough-Narrated Natural History Series, "Blue Planet III"
The trailer features a new track produced by global popstar Jade, Academy Award winner Hans Zimmer, and composers Bleeding Fingers.
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[10/06/26 - 10:18 AM]
Lifetime Greenlights New Ripped from the Headlines Movie, "She Married Her Murderer: The Susan Cox Powell Story" Starring Ricki Lake, Mike Dopud, and Matreya Scarrwener to Debut in 2027
Executive produced by Kara Feifer and Elisabeth Rohm of Rohm Feifer Entertainment, the film marks Rohm's return to directing for Lifetime.
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[10/06/26 - 10:15 AM]
CBS Media Ventures Claims 8 of the Top 10 Most-Watched First-Run Syndicated Strips This Season
"The Drew Barrymore Show" delivered its highest season premiere ever in total viewers, up 21% versus last season's premiere.
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[10/06/26 - 10:03 AM]
Video: Tubi Drops Trailer for New Original Docuseries "Just One Before I Die" Featuring an Inside Look at the Buffalo Bills Fanbase
The five-episode docuseries features interviews with Chad Michael Murray, Dion Dawkins, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jim Kelly, Andre Reed, Adam Schefter, Nick Wright, and more.
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[10/06/26 - 10:00 AM]
Video: Date, Trailer, Key Art Debut - Hulu's "Swipe Right on the Devil"
"Swipe Right on the Devil" premieres October 22 with all three episodes on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the US and on Disney+ internationally.
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[10/06/26 - 09:48 AM]
Nashville Sets the Stage for New Season of HGTV's Hit Home Renovation Competition Series "Rock the Block" Slated for 2027
"Rock the Block," which attracted 16.4 million viewers across linear and streaming to its last run, will feature seven fresh episodes hosted by popular carpenter, craftsman and design expert Ty Pennington.
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[10/06/26 - 09:20 AM]
Acorn TV Welcomes Frasier's Peri Gilpin as Guest Star in Highly Successful Brooke Shields-led Murder Mystery, "You're Killing Me"
Gilpin will guest star as Allie's (Shields) sister, Audra Chandler, a critically acclaimed writer with more awards than William Faulkner.
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