or


[01/26/10 - 06:48 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, January 26
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!


187 DETROIT (ABC) - Feature director Jeff Nachmanoff ("Traitor") has been tapped to direct the drama pilot, about "a fictional documentary crew [that] follows a top homicide division." Jason Richman penned the ABC Studios-based hour, which also comes from fellow executive producers David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films.


CHAOS (CBS) - Tom Spezialy's drama has snagged a pilot order from the Eye. The 20th Century Fox Television-based hour revolves around "a group of rogue CIA operatives who combat bureaucratic gridlock, rampant incompetence and political infighting." Spezialy penned the hour and is executive producing alongside Rat Television's Brett Ratner and Martha Haight. The company set the project up at the Eye in December.


CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS) - Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland") is in final negotiations to topline the franchise's proposed spin-off about "a group of profilers who work outside the FBI bureaucracy." He would play Sam Cooper, the squad leader, "a dynamic, mysterious, charming and a father figure to the rest of the team, he is a former star profiler in the Behavioral Unit who has been off the radar for the past eight years." Chris Mundy and Ed Bernero are behind the project, which Richard Shepard is attached to direct. ABC Studios, CBS Television Studios and The Mark Gordon Company are co-producing.


DEFENDERS (CBS, New!) - Feature writers Niels Mueller and Kevin Kennedy ("The Assassination of Richard Nixon") have scored a pilot commitment from the Eye for a new drama about "two charismatic and fiery Las Vegas defense attorneys who go to the mat for their clients." The pair penned the script and are executive producing alongside Joe and Harry Gantz. CBS Television Studios is producing.


HUGE (ABC Family, New!) - "My So-Called Life" creator Winnie Holzman is looking to bring Sasha Paley's young-adult novel to the small screen. The proposed drama, which Holzman co-wrote with her daughter Savannah Dooley, "revolves around two girls from different backgrounds who fall for the same guy" at Wellness Canyon, a weight-loss camp. Alloy Entertainment's Leslie Morgenstein and Bob Levy will executive produce the hour alongside Holzman and Robin Schiff ("10 Things I Hate About You"). Casting is currently underway for a potential late March production start.


LIVIN' ON A PRAYER (CBS) - The multi-camera comedy, from the "How I Met Your Mother" quartet of Carter Bays, Craig Thomas, Kourtney Kang and Joe Kelly, has found a home at CBS. The Eye has ordered a pilot for the project, which revolves around "a Pittsburgh couple who are dating - and mulling the next stage of their relationship." The news comes less than 24 hours after CBS ordered a sixth season of "Mother" and co-creators Bays and Thomas inked a three-year, eight-figure overall deal with producer 20th Century Fox Television.


MIDLAND (FOX) - Marc Webb ("(500) Days of Summer") has signed on to direct the drama pilot, "a soap set against the backdrop of an oil business that centers on a polygamist living a double life." He'll work from a script by Kyle Killen for 20th Century Fox Television. No other specifics were given.


THE REMEMBERER (CBS) - Ed Redlich's drama script, about "a female NYPD detective who possesses the ability to remember everything - a gift in her job but a curse in her personal life," has received the go ahead to produce a pilot. Redlich co-wrote the hour alongside John Bellucci for Sony Pictures Television and CBS Television Studios. Sony-based Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly are also attached as executive producers. It's based on a short story of the same name by J. Robert Lennon, featured in the anthology "Who Can Save Us Now?: Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories." The Eye gave a script commitment to the hour back in September with a penalty attached should it not go to pilot.


ROUGH JUSTICE (NBC, New!) - Conan O'Brien is back in business with NBC as the network has commissioned a pilot for "Justice," a potential drama from his Conaco production banner. John Eisendrath penned the hour, which "follows an ex-Supreme Court justice who quits the Court to start his own legal practice." Eisendrath then will executive produce alongside O'Brien and his Conaco partners Jeff Ross and David Kissinger. Universal Media Studios is the studio attached as a result of O'Brien's $33 million settlement, which included a provision that the company stick with the studio through the end of the current development cycle.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [january 2010]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (ABC FAMILY)
· CHAOS (CBS)
· CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS)
· CRIMINAL MINDS: SUSPECT BEHAVIOR (CBS)
· DEFENDERS, THE (CBS)
· DETROIT 187 (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (CBS)
· HUGE (ABC FAMILY)
· LIVIN' ON A PRAYER (CBS)
· LONE STAR (FOX)
· OUTLAW (NBC)
· UNFORGETTABLE (A AND E)





[11/05/26 - 01:00 PM]
FOX Entertainment Studios Signs First Look Deal with Cottage Industry Entertainment
The deal encompasses a slate of scripted television series and feature films based on both original projects and literary adaptations, including "The Whittiers," the New York Times bestselling novel by Danielle Steel, which FOX has recently optioned for television adaptation.

[11/05/26 - 12:01 PM]
HBO Original Documentary "The Hotline" Debuts November 18
The film offers an unprecedented look inside an overdose prevention helpline Never Use Alone (NUA), which connects people using opioids with compassionate operators, acting as a fragile tether between life and death.

[11/05/26 - 10:31 AM]
Video: HBO Max Unveils Official Trailer for HBO Original Documentary Series "The Killing of the Golden Rooster" Debuting November 12
All three episodes will be available on HBO Max beginning November 12.

[11/05/26 - 10:31 AM]
"Clarkson's Farm" Star Kaleb Cooper Headlines New Series "Kaleb Off the Farm," Coming to Prime Video January 8
The show follows Kaleb's adventures Down Under as he heads from Diddly Squat Farm to the Outback, in search of farming gold in Australia.

[11/05/26 - 10:01 AM]
NBC Releases "The Rockford Files" Premiere Date & (760) JIM-ROCK Hotline
The premiere episode will air Saturday, Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT immediately following NBC's NFL telecast.

[11/05/26 - 10:01 AM]
HBO Original Docu-Comedy Series "Oobah: Scams for a Better Tomorrow" Debuts November 22
Known for his viral stunts, including creating London's #1-rated fake restaurant, Oobah Butler sets his sights on the world's biggest industries and most powerful institutions.

[11/05/26 - 09:30 AM]
"Yaga" Is the #1 Exclusive Series Launch in the History of AMC+
The series also charted as the #1 social drama across all U.S. TV and streaming on its premiere day.

[11/05/26 - 09:21 AM]
Video: "Get Huge: Looksmaxxing to Death" - Official Trailer - Hulu
What happened to Leo Longevity? From Academy Award winner Adam McKay comes a Hulu original documentary.

[11/05/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Style Wars" - Official Trailer - Hulu
72 fashion fanatics face off on a stage where looks, age, profession, experience, and fame mean nothing compared to the fit. Who will rise to the top?

[11/05/26 - 09:01 AM]
Hallmark Christmas Cruise 2027 to Set Sail Aboard Celebrity Reflection
With overwhelming fan demand leading to sold-out cruises every year since its inaugural sailings in 2024, the Hallmark Christmas Cruise is a can't-miss holiday tradition with joyful fun and immersive programming that create lasting memories.

[11/05/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: Andrew Yancy Is Back in New Trailer for "Bad Monkey" Season Two
It will make its global debut on Apple TV with one episode on Wednesday, December 2, 2026, followed by one new episode every Wednesday through February 3, 2027.

[11/05/26 - 09:00 AM]
Chris Pratt to Receive King of Comedy Award at "CBS Presents Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (KCAs)"
Pratt will receive the coveted Silver Blimp in celebration of his career, before facing Nickelodeon's iconic slime.

[11/05/26 - 08:31 AM]
Record Breaking Comedian Nate Bargatze Sets Fourth Netflix Stand-Up Special "Good for Nathan"
The special, premiering November 24, was filmed in Fort Worth, Texas.

[11/05/26 - 08:01 AM]
Jonathan Pryce, James D'Arcy, Lena Olin, Camille Cottin, Alun Armstrong, Jessica Raine and Paul Ready join Sky Original "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Produced by Left Bank Pictures, the eight-part mystery thriller is a timely evolution of one of the world's most celebrated literary thriller franchises, with the Millennium novels having sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.

[11/05/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: Witness a Savage Homecoming in the Final Season of "Yellowjackets" Premiering November 20
"Yellowjackets" is the saga of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness.