or


[11/03/09 - 06:05 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, November 3
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!


APPETITE FOR SELF-DESTRUCTION (HBO, New!) - Steve Knopper's book, subtitled "The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age," is being developed as an original movie by the pay channel. Playwright Victoria Stewart is penning said adaptation, which chronicles the past 30 years, "beginning with the crash of the disco craze in the late 1970s, through the CD boom in the late 1980s and 1990s, the music industry's battle with Napster and other free file-sharing online services in the 2000s and the sharp decline in sales of CDs, which have been replaced by digital downloads." Bob Cooper is producing.


DELTA BLUES (TNT) - Clark Johnson ("The Shield") has been tapped to direct the drama pilot, about "an outstanding but unusual Memphis cop who moonlights as an Elvis impersonator and lives with his mother." He'll work from a script by Liz Garcia and Josh Harto. Smokehouse Pictures's George Clooney and Grant Heslov are executive producing the Warner Horizon Television-based hour with Henry Bronchtein and Abby Wolf-Weiss serving as co-executive producers.


IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA (FX) - Twentieth Television has cleared repeats of the cable comedy on 23 stations covering about 45% of the country. Tribune stations in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.; Fox stations in Chicago, Phoenix and Minneapolis; CBS stations in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Dallas; and Sunbeam's Boston's station are all on board to carry the show's off-cable run, which begins in the fall of 2011.


JERSEYLICIOUS (Style, New!) - Endemol USA has landed an eight-episode order for a new reality series which tracks the intertwined professional and romantic lives of six stylists at a Central New Jersey beauty salon. Alex Duda ("The Tyra Banks Show") is executive producing the project, which will also feature "intrinsically Garden State makeovers and hairstyles." The series is expected to roll out in the spring of 2010.


THE MARRIAGE REF (NBC) - Tom Papa ("Come to Papa") has been tapped to host the Jerry Seinfeld-produced series, in which a panel of comedians and celebrities serve as advocates during marital disputes. Papa then will serve as the "ref" who ultimately judges which spouse is correct. Production on its six-episode order is set to begin in January. Ellen Rakieten is executive producing alongside Seinfeld.


REX IS NOT YOUR LAWYER (NBC) - "Doctor Who" alum David Tennant has been tapped for the lead role on the drama pilot, about "a top Chicago litigator who begins suffering panic attacks and takes up coaching clients to represent themselves in court." He'll play the title role of Rex Alexander. In addition, David Semel has been tapped to direct the hour from a script by co-creators Andrew Leeds and David Lampson. He'll likewise executive produce alongside showrunner Barry Schindel and non-writing executives Gail Berman, Lloyd Braun and Gene Stein. Leeds and Lampson will then serve as supervising producers.


SHAMELESS (Showtime) - Mark Mylod ("Entourage") has been tapped to direct the drama pilot, about the working-class Chicago Gallagher family. William H. Macy is toplining the hour as the clan's alcoholic patriarch who "usually ends up passed out on the living room floor." Mylod previously helmed the pilot to the show's original U.K. incarnation. John Wells is behind the U.S. take and is executive producing alongside original creator Paul Abbott.


UNTITLED KRISTIE ALLEY PROJECT (A&E, New!) - The cable channel has ordered 10 half-hour episodes of a new reality series about the life of actress/tabloid fodder Kirstie Alley. FremantleMedia North America is behind the project, which will track her life as a single mom and her efforts to lose weight as well as launch a weight loss program. Alley previously toplined the short-lived Showtime series "Fat Actress," which took a comedic take on her weight struggles. George Moll ("Rock the Cradle") and Alley are executive producing alongside A&E's Robert Sharenow and Colleen Conway.


V (ABC) - "Chuck" executive producer Scott Rosenbaum has been tapped as the new showrunner of the freshman drama, which launches tonight on the Alphabet. Said development is the result of a new two-year, seven-figure overall deal Rosenbaum has inked with producer Warner Bros. Television. He'll take over from Scott Peters, who in turn took over from original showrunner Jeffrey Bell. Just four installments have been completed of its 13-episode order, the remaining installments of which will roll out in March. Peters nevertheless will continue as executive producer alongside Jason Hall while Bell is expected to depart.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [november 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· APPETITE FOR SELF-DESTRUCTION (HBO)
· CHUCK (NBC)
· COME TO PAPA (NBC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DOCTOR WHO (DISNEY PLUS)
· ENTOURAGE (HBO)
· FAT ACTRESS (SHOWTIME)
· IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA (FXX)
· JERSEYLICIOUS (STYLE)
· KIRSTIE ALLEY'S BIG LIFE (A AND E)
· MARRIAGE REF, THE (NBC)
· MEMPHIS BEAT (TNT)
· REX IS NOT YOUR LAWYER (NBC)
· SHAMELESS (SHOWTIME)
· SHAMELESS (SUNDANCE)
· SHIELD, THE (FX)
· TYRA BANKS SHOW, THE (SYNDICATION)
· V (ABC)





[05/04/26 - 12:39 PM]
Video: "Busted on Bodycam" - Official Trailer - Tubi Original
Armon Wiggins hosts a loud, viral ride through jaw-dropping bodycam footage, unpacking chaos, drama, and the wildest real-life moments caught on tape.

[05/04/26 - 09:31 AM]
Video: National Geographic Documentary Films Debuts Trailer for Sundance Standout "Time and Water," From the Academy Award Nominated Director of "Fire of Love," Sara Dosa
The documentary opens in theaters globally starting May 29 and later this year on National Geographic and Disney+.

[05/04/26 - 09:01 AM]
One Final Call: "The Night Agent" Starts Production on Fourth and Final Season
"Ever since the initial success of 'The Night Agent,' I've been obsessed with eventually delivering a proper and thrilling conclusion to the show and to Peter Sutherland's journey," said Shawn Ryan.

[05/04/26 - 08:06 AM]
"Son of a Critch" Gets Ready to Graduate as Cameras Roll on the Final Season of the Coming-of-Age Comedy
In its final season, "Son of a Critch" finds Mark in his last year of high school just as Newfoundland's cod moratorium crisis turns his world upside down.

[05/04/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "The Four Seasons" - Season 2 Official Trailer - Netflix
The friends reunite for four new seasonal get-togethers, as they process a personal loss and embrace the regrets and reinventions of middle age.

[05/04/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Wanda Sykes: Legacy" - Official Trailer - Netflix
In her next stand-up comedy special, Wanda Sykes returns to her alma mater with a fearless funny takedown of everything from the state of the world to the cultural clash over washcloths.

[05/04/26 - 07:01 AM]
Maverick Entertainment Announces Peacock Premiere Date for "Another Man's Wife" Starring Sydney Mitchell, Moritz J. Williams, and Taye Diggs
The film will premiere exclusively on Peacock on May 8, 2026.

[05/04/26 - 06:31 AM]
Lifetime Announces New Faith Based Movie "Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery" Starring Erica Campbell, CJ Williams, Trai Byers and Jasmine Guy
In the film, a renowned Christian feminist icon and bestselling author, finds her world turned upside down when she becomes the target of a blackmail scheme.

[05/04/26 - 06:03 AM]
Video: "The Golden Life" First Teaser Brings Drama, Chaos & Clashes to Florida - E! News
See Sonja Morgan, Luann de Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, Ramona Singer and Kelly Bensimon let loose (and make it nice) in the first sneak peek at E!'s upcoming series.

[05/04/26 - 06:01 AM]
Filming Begins on the Third and Final Season of "Breathless"
In this third season, the arrival of podcast host Judit Casat (Belén Cuesta) as the hospital's new manager will put all the medical staff under pressure, and especially board president Patricia Segura (Najwa Nimri).

[05/03/26 - 02:40 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers the Most-Watched Kentucky Derby on Record, Averaging 19.6 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock in Historic "Run for the Roses"
Viewership peaked at 24.4 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. ET, as jockey Jose Ortiz guided Golden Tempo around the final turn to win by a neck over Renegade, and made Cherie DeVaux the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner.

[05/02/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "My 2 Cents" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Zero and Wild Boar run a small bar, but financial troubles and misunderstandings put them both under pressure - just as a figure from the past returns.

[05/01/26 - 11:32 PM]
Development Update: Week of April 27-May 1
Updates include: NBC cancels "Brilliant Minds," "Stumble"; ABC passes on comedy pilot "Do You Want Kids?"; and CBS locks in episode orders for nine series next season.

[05/01/26 - 02:01 PM]
Video: "Impuros" - Official Trailer - Hulu
Step into '90s Rio, where a criminal mastermind builds an empire.

[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.