 |
 |
[10/27/09 - 04:33 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, October 27
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!
DELTA BLUES (TNT) - The cable channel has commissioned a pilot for the drama project, about "an outstanding but unusual Memphis cop who moonlights as an Elvis impersonator and lives with his mother." Liz Garcia ("Cold Case") and Josh Harto penned the Warner Horizon Television-based hour and are executive producing alongside Smokehouse Pictures's George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Abby Wolf-Weiss. Casting is underway.
DRY (Showtime, New!)/THE NATURE OF FIRE (CBS, New!) - Augusten Burroughs ("Running With Scissors") has set up a pair of projects, including a comedy at Showtime and a drama at CBS. The former, dubbed "Dry," is based on the author's experience as an advertising executive struggling toward sobriety. The latter, "The Nature of Fire," will center on "a group of male firefighters whose world is rocked when they're joined by a female arson investigator." Burroughs is penning both efforts and executive producing alongside Created By's Vince Gerardis ("FlashForward") and Katalyst's Karey Burke, Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg ("The Beautiful Life") for CBS Television Studios. As previously reported, Bryan Fuller and Bryan Singer are developing a small screen take on Burroughs's book "Sellevision" for NBC.
FAMILY GUY (FOX) - Microsoft has dropped out as the sole sponsor of the show's upcoming "Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show" special. Said development reportedly comes after the company's executives attending its October 16 taping and grew concerned over its content. "We initially chose to participate in the Seth and Alex variety show based on the audience composition and creative humor of 'Family Guy,' but after reviewing an early version of the variety show, it became clear that the content was not a fit with the Windows brand," said a Microsoft spokeswoman. "We continue to have a good partnership with Fox, Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein and are working with them in other areas. We continue to believe in the value of brand integrations and partnerships between brands, media companies and talent." The special will nevertheless continue with another, yet-to-be-named, sponsor when it airs on November 8.
FLASH FORWARD (ABC) - Paula Newsome ("Women's Murder Club") is the latest to land an arc on the freshman drama, Entertainment Weekly reports. She'll play a doctor in several upcoming episodes however details about her character weren't released.
GHOSTS/ALIENS (Comedy Central) - Joey Kern ("The Sasquatch Gang") has been tapped as the new lead of the comedy pilot, about "two potheads who set out on a quest to expose the truth about the existence of ghosts and aliens." He'll take over from Jonathan Sadowski as one of said men, Trey Hamburger. Keir O'Donnell, Allan McLeod, Kaylee DeFer, Keir O'Donnell, Nathan Barnatt and Rebecca Wisocky also star in the project, which Michael Patrick Jann is directing from a script by Phil Johnston.
GOSSIP GIRL (The CW) - Sherri Saum ("In Treatment") has booked a multi-episode arc on the series. She'll play Holland Kemble, "a powerful business executive-turned-Upper East Side trophy wife and could be trouble for Lily (Kelly Rutherford) and Rufus (Matthew Settle)." It's not clear when her first episode will air.
HOUNDS (Comedy Central) - Ron White is back in business with the cable channel as the comedian will lend his voice to a new animated comedy described as "a blue-collar Southern neo-gothic comedy." Chris Thompson ("Ladies Man") is behind the half-hour which White will also co-executive produce. As for specifics, White will voice Chicken, "a countrified Yoda with a bottle of Jack and a bag of weed, an opinionated Southern philosopher who considers himself the center of the universe." Earlier this year, White toplined a pilot presentation for the network in which he "looked at stories from across the country and ran them through his everyman perspective."
RAVENS PARISH (FOX, New!) - Feature writer Dan McDermott ("Eagle Eye") has scored a script commitment from the network about "a man and his teenage son who return to their rural Mississippi hometown in search of a fabled cavern hidden beneath a nearby swamp that allegedly holds hidden treasure." McDermott, who previously served as head of current programming at the network, will pen the hour and executive produce for 20th Century Fox Television. Generate's Peter Aronson and Jordan Levin are also attached as executive producers via their first-look deal with the studio.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
|
|
|
 [october 2009]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| | | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[12/16/25 - 10:01 AM]
Snoop Dogg to Headline Lions-Vikings with "Snoop's Holiday Halftime Party" During NFL Christmas Gameday Live on Netflix
Snoop Dogg takes the reins at halftime, promising chart-topping tracks, plenty of holiday spirit, and special guests, making for what is sure to be an unforgettable performance.
|
[12/16/25 - 09:52 AM]
Video: "The Life of Chuck" - Trailer - Hulu
From author Stephen King and director Mike Flanagan, the film - starring Tom Hiddleston, Jacob Tremblay, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Karen Gillan - streams December 26.
|
[12/16/25 - 09:08 AM]
MGM+ Greenlights Series Adaptation of Iconic Western "The Magnificent Seven"
After a peaceful Quaker village is massacred by mercenaries working for a greedy and ruthless land baron trying to force them off the land he covets, seven gifted but flawed mercenaries are hired by the community to protect them from the land baron's hired guns.
|
[12/16/25 - 09:01 AM]
"Miss Austen" Returns for Season 2 on "Masterpiece"
This newest season is largely based on Gill Hornby's latest novel, "The Elopement," which further delves into the family life of Jane and Cassandra Austen.
|
[12/16/25 - 09:00 AM]
Meet the 11 New Survivalists and the Families Who Hold Their Fate as FOX's Survival Competition Series "Extracted" Returns for Season Two
Only one competitor and their family will endure it all and walk away with a life-changing quarter million dollar grand prize!
|
[12/16/25 - 09:00 AM]
CBS Announces "Christina Aguilera: Christmas in Paris," A New Holiday Special Airing Monday, Dec. 22 on CBS and Paramount+
Filmed in front of an intimate audience above the Musée du Quai Branly, Aguilera performs both holiday classics and her career hits against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, fashioned into a shimmering Christmas tree.
|
[12/16/25 - 08:30 AM]
The Epic New Landmark Natural History Series, "Kingdom," Premieres Saturday, January 24 on BBC America and AMC+
The six-part series chronicles the dramatic real-life sagas of four African rival animal families - leopards, hyenas, wild dogs, and lions - as they all fight to claim a remote Zambian paradise as their home.
|
[12/16/25 - 08:03 AM]
HGTV Adds Over 30 Episodes of Original Content to 2026 Slate with New Series "Wild Vacation Rentals" and Renewals for "Zillow Gone Wild" and "Castle Impossible"
Coming early next year, "Nobody Wants This" actresses and comedians Sherry Cola and D'Arcy Carden will embark on an epic girls' trip of a lifetime to visit America's extraordinary vacation homes in the new HGTV series "Wild Vacation Rentals."
|
[12/16/25 - 08:01 AM]
Video: Gather 'Round Faithfuls! Peacock Debuts Official Trailer for Season 4 of "The Traitors"
Season 4 debuts with the first three supersized episodes on Thursday, January 8 at 6pm PT/9pm ET, followed by two new episodes on Thursday, January 15, and one new episode weekly through the finale and reunion event on February 26.
|
[12/16/25 - 08:01 AM]
Netflix and iHeartMedia Announce Exclusive Video Podcast Partnership for Top iHeartPodcasts
More than 15 industry-leading iHeartPodcasts will stream only on Netflix including "My Favorite Murder," "The Breakfast Club," "Bobby Bones Presents: The Bobbycast," "Behind the Bastards," "The Psychology of Your 20s" and more.
|
[12/16/25 - 08:00 AM]
Video: HBO Max Releases Official Trailer and Key Art for Season Two of "The Pitt"
The Emmy-winning series debuts Thursday, January 8 at 9:00 p.m. ET on HBO Max.
|
[12/16/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: Apple TV Unveils a First Look at "Widow's Bay"
The series will make its global debut on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, with the first three episodes, followed by new episodes every Wednesday through June 17, 2026, on Apple TV.
|
[12/16/25 - 05:31 AM]
Video: "My Korean Boyfriend" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Five Brazilian women, each at a different stage of life and love, travel to South Korea and meet their crushes in this K-drama-inspired reality show.
|
[12/16/25 - 03:01 AM]
Great American Media Announces Lifestyle Series, "Jep & Jess: Beyond the Bayou," Starring Jep and Jessica Robertson, Debuting on Great American Pure Flix in 2026
The new series follows the Robertsons as they develop their Comanche Moon Ranch property, offering viewers an inside look at their journey.
|
[12/16/25 - 12:01 AM]
Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro Star in Swedish Thriller Series "Bytet"
Set against the stunning backdrops of Stockholm's archipelago and sun-drenched Sicily, two couples agree to a holiday home swap in a last-ditch effort to save their marriages.
|
|
|
|
