 |
 |
[10/30/09 - 06:09 PM]
Development Update: Friday, October 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!
AIRPLANE REPO (Discovery) - Craig Piligian ("Dirty Jobs") has booked yet another series at the cable channel in which repossessor Nick Popovich and his team re-acquires jets and helicopters from delinquent owners around the world, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Finland. Eight episodes are set to roll out early next year from Piligian's Pilgrim Films & Television banner. Popovich and Bill Rancic ("The Apprentice") are executive producing alongside Piligan.
APOSTLE PROJECTS (Various, New!) - Denis Leary and Jim Serpico's Sony Pictures Television-based Apostle Films has lined up a half-dozen series projects around town. At CBS, the company is redeveloping its Michael Rapaport-led drama about "a social worker who's good at helping others with their problems, but not necessarily his own." Peter Ocko ("Pushing Daisies") is taking over scripting duties from Bryan Goluboff. Over at FOX, Apostle continues to shepherd "Extended Family" from John Beck and Ron Hart ("According to Jim"). The multi-camera comedy is based on Beck's experiences growing up in a family that also made room for foster kids.
Newly revealed are an untitled hour for FX set in the world of televangelists. David Folwell ("Medium") is writing the project, which is set up at FX Productions. At Spike TV there's "The Rebel League," loosely based on Ed Willes's book of the same name (subtitled "The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey"), about "the startup of a contemporary hockey league and its out-of-control managers and players." Stephen Engel ("The Big Bang Theory") is writing the half-hour. Meanwhile, USA is developing "Partners in Crime" from Janine Sherman-Barrois and "Scales of Justice," from New York playwright Joe Sutton. The former revolves around ex-husband and wife private eyes while the latter is a New Orleans-set drama about "an overweight ex-cop who enlists his overeaters support group to fight crime." Lastly, the company is looking to bring the feature film "Gattica" to the small screen. Gil Grant ("NCIS: LA") is penning the hour, a police procedural set in the future, which will go out to networks soon.
COUGAR TOWN (ABC) - "The Unit" alum Scott Foley has landed a three-episode arc on the freshman comedy, Entertainment Weekly reports. He'll play a client of Courteney Cox's realtor character whom she begins dating. It's not clear when his first episode will air.
THE FOLLOWER (HBO, New!) - Jason Starr's novel of the same name is set to be the focus of a potential new drama at the pay channel. Said hour, which is set up at Lionsgate Television, is "described as a dark social satire chronicling the dating lives of a group of twentysomething New Yorkers as seen through the eyes of a stalker." Bret Easton Ellis ("American Psycho") is penning the adaptation with Jason Blum ("Paranormal Activity") and Vertigo Films partners Doug Davison and Roy Lee and Media Talent Group's Geyer Kosinski also executive producing. Vertigo's Gabriel Mason is likewise attached as a co-executive producer with Steven Schneider serving as an associate producer. Vertigo has a first-look deal with Lionsgate.
JOSH HEALD PROJECTS (Various, New!) - Feature writer Josh Heald (the upcoming "Mardi Gras" and "Hot Tub Time Machine") has sold a pair of projects, multi-camera comedies at NBC and FOX. The Peacock effort, "Sausagefest," is about "two very different twentysomething best friends whose lives are complicated by their clingy dads, one a thrice-divorced misogynist who means well and the other a gentle widower." Norm Macdonald is already attached as the former dad. The FOX project, "Sequestered," then revolves around "12 strangers forced to live together when they are sequestered for a lengthy jury trial." BermanBraun's Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun are executive producing the Universal Media Studios-based "Sausagesfest" while The Chernin Co.'s Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope are likewise executive producing the 20th Century Fox Television-based "Sequestered."
NCIS (CBS) - Rena Sofer ("Heroes") is set to appear on an upcoming episode of the veteran CBS drama. She'll play a no-nonsense attorney with mysterious motives, a role which is potentially recurring.
RIZZOLI (TNT) - Sasha Alexander, Bruce McGill, Jordan Bridges and Lee Thompson Young have all joined the cast of the drama pilot, based on Tess Gerritsen's popular Jane Rizzoli mystery novels about the crime-solving team of Boston police detective Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) and medical examiner Maura Isles. Alexander will play the latter role with McGill as "the gruff but lovable Detective Vince Korsak, Jane's former partner who is a bit hurt that she had taken the likable but green Barry Frost (Young), as her new partner." Bridges then is set as Franke Rizzoli Jr., "Jane's younger brother, a Boston patrol officer who worships her and hopes to make detective someday." Janet Tamaro penned the hour and is executive producing alongside Bill Haber.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
|
|
|
 [october 2009]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| | | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[11/24/25 - 11:10 AM]
BET+ Original Film "Never Alone for Christmas: Memphis" Premieres Thursday, December 11
The film stars Melissa L. Williams, Juhahn Jones, K. Michelle, Chris Sakyi, and Tom Arnold.
|
[11/24/25 - 11:03 AM]
"WWE Survivor Series: WarGames" to Exclusively Stream in U.S. on ESPN App This Saturday November 29
Said event will feature the biggest Men's "WarGames" match ever as WWE Superstars Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will participate.
|
[11/24/25 - 10:31 AM]
Original Series "All's Fair" Renewed for a Second Season
Season one launched on November 4 and became the biggest Hulu original scripted series premiere in three years, based on the first three days of streaming.
|
[11/24/25 - 10:02 AM]
BritBox Gets Ready to Rock: Sally Wainwright Original Series "Riot Women" Premieres January 14
Other upcoming highlights include: "Death in Paradise" and "Beyond Paradise" Christmas specials; and "Shetland" returns for its milestone tenth season.
|
[11/24/25 - 10:01 AM]
HBO Original Documentary "Music Box: Wizkid: Long Live Lagos" Debuts December 11
The film explores how art and music have the power to shift global perception and awareness through the story of Nigerian superstar Wizkid as he prepares for his groundbreaking performance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England.
|
[11/24/25 - 09:08 AM]
Video: "Masterpiece" Winter/Spring 2026 Preview
"All Creatures Great and Small," "Miss Scarlet," "The Forsytes," and "The Count of Monte Cristo" are on tap in the coming months.
|
[11/24/25 - 09:04 AM]
Video: "Jingle Bell Wedding" - Official Trailer - The Roku Channel
A New Year's Eve wedding is in the works for Jack (Joey McIntyre) and Jessica (Michelle Morgan) in this sequel to "Jingle Bell Love."
|
[11/24/25 - 09:00 AM]
AMC+ Original Series "Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale" Returns December 25 with an Alluring Second Season
The suspenseful six-episode drama, based on the novel by V.V. James, follows four women, a wicked secret, and a murder investigation that shakes Sanctuary, an idyllic English town, to the core.
|
[11/24/25 - 08:58 AM]
Video: First Extended Trailer for the Highly Anticipated Drama "Y: Marshals" Starring Luke Grimes, Reprising His Role of Kayce Dutton, Now Available
With the Yellowstone Ranch behind him, Dutton joins an elite unit of U.S. Marshals, combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana.
|
[11/24/25 - 08:01 AM]
Season Four of the HBO Original Drama Series "Industry" Debuts January 11
At the top of their game and living the lives they set out to have as Pierpoint grads, Harper (Myha'la) and Yasmin (Marisa Abela) are drawn into a high stakes, globetrotting cat-and-mouse game when a splashy fintech darling bursts onto the London scene.
|
[11/24/25 - 08:01 AM]
Game On! Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson's "Good Sports" to Kick Off First Episode with Guests Serena Williams, Rich Eisen, and Kaylee Hartung
Prime Video also confirmed that Jerry O'Connell and Bobby Moynihan would appear in the series' first field pieces.
|
[11/24/25 - 07:01 AM]
HBO Max Launches Limited Time Black Friday Offer: 70% Off Basic with Ads Plan
Beginning today, eligible subscribers can sign up for HBO Max's Basic with Ads plan with a special Black Friday offer of $2.99 per month for the first 12 months, which is a discount of 70% off from the original price of $10.99 per month.
|
[11/24/25 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "Simon Cowell: The Next Act" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Simon Cowell is looking for the next hit boy band. And he's risking it all to find them. Will these young singers prove he's still got the Midas touch?
|
[11/24/25 - 04:00 AM]
Chance the Rapper and Julianne Hough Join Rita Ora and Rob Gronkowski as Co-Hosts of "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2026"
Returning to the heart of Times Square, Ryan Seacrest is once again joined by chart-topping artist and global entertainer Rita Ora, who will help lead the night's iconic New York countdown.
|
[11/23/25 - 11:01 AM]
Video: "Stranger Things 5" - Volume 1 Trailer - Netflix
We have a plan...it's a bit insane.
|
|
|
|
