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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!
CHAOS (CBS) - James Murray ("Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about "a group of rogue CIA operatives combating bureaucratic gridlock, rampant incompetence and political infighting." He'll play Billy Collins, "a gregarious, hard living, charmer committed to nourishing his inner-devil over his inner-child" who used to work for the British Secret Service. Freddy Rodriguez also stars in the Tom Spezialy-penned hour, which comes from 20th Century Fox Television. Brett Ratner is directing.
HAWAII FIVE-O (CBS) - Taryn Manning ("Sons of Anarchy") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, about an elite branch of the Hawaii State Police lead by Steve McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin). She'll play Mary Ann McGarrett, Steve's troubled younger sister who returns to Oahu after their father's murder. Daniel Dae Kim also stars in the hour, which comes from co-creators Alex Kurtzman, Peter Lenkov and Roberto Orci. CBS Television Studios is producing.
HITCHED (CBS) - "American Pie" mainstay Eugene Levy is the first to be cast in the comedy pilot, about "a twentysomething newlywed couple who, surrounded by family and friends, are still learning about each other." He'll play Jerry Applebaum, the father of the groom, "a tracksuit-wearing four-times-divorced lothario." Josh Schwartz and Matt Miller are behind the multi-camera half-hour, which is set up at Warner Bros. Television.
LIVIN' ON A PRAYER (CBS) - Joe Manganiello ("How I Met Your Mother") likewise is the first on board the comedy pilot, about "an unmarried couple and their friends in Pittsburgh." He's set as Doug, "a good-guy husband and dad who is a former high school football star." Carter Bays, Craig Thomas, Joe Kelly and Kourtney Kang are all behind the half-hour, which Pamela Fryman is directing. 20th Century Fox Television is the studio attached.
STRANGE BREW (FOX) - Laurie Metcalf ("Easy Money") has signed onto the comedy pilot, about "a family that owns a small but successful regional brewery struggles with working and living together." She'll play the clan's matriarch, Janie Forrest, in the multi-camera project. In addition, Marc Buckland ("Better Off Ted") has been tapped to helm the Warner Bros. Television-based half-hour, which was written by David Kohan and Max Mutchnick.
TERRA NOVA (FOX, New!) - Steven Spielberg and Peter Chernin are on track to team for a potential new drama at the network about "a family from 100 years in the future who travel back in time 150 million years to the strange and inhospitable environs of prehistoric Earth." 20th Century Fox Television is behind the hour, which could be ordered straight to series due to its elaborate sets and visual effects. Craig Silverstein ("Standoff") and British scribe Kelly Marcel co-wrote the script based on an idea of Marcel's. Silverstein, whose involvement is in second position to his "Nikita" pilot at The CW, and Marcel then would executive produce alongside Aaron Kaplan, who packaged the project. Spielberg and Chernin have subsequently been courted as executive producers as well, where they would be joined by the former's DreamWorks Television partners Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank and the latter's Chernin Entertainment TV topper Katherine Pope.
TRAFFIC LIGHT (FOX) - Recent "The Office" guest Nelson Franklin has scored one of the three lead roles on the comedy pilot, about three best friends in Chicago who are in different stages of their relationships. He'll play Adam, "the yellow light," a magazine editor who recently moved into a new house with his girlfriend. Bob Fisher penned the half-hour, which is set up at 20th Century Fox Television.
TRUE BLUE (ABC) - Poppy Montgomery ("Without a Trace") and Marc Blucas ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") have both joined the cast of the drama pilot, about "six former best friends who rose through the ranks at the San Francisco Police Department and reunite to solve the murder of one of their own." She'll play Katherine Miller, "the only female police captain in San Francisco, who was once married to another member of the team." Blucas then is set as JD Conlin, her ex-husband. Peter Horton ("The Philanthropist") has also signed on to direct the hour, which comes from creator Jon Harmon Feldman and ABC Studios.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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