 |
 |
[02/22/10 - 12:03 AM]
Development Update: Monday, February 22
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!
THE BIG C (Showtime) - "Sex and the City" alums Jenny Bicks and Michael Engler have both joined the upcoming comedy, about a suburban wife and mother (Laura Linney) whose cancer diagnosis forces her to shake up her life. Bicks will serve as the half-hour's showrunner while Engler is set as a co-executive producer and in-house director. Darlene Hunt penned and Bill Condon helmed the pilot, which also stars Gabourey Sidibe, John Benjamin Hickey, Oliver Platt and Phyllis Somerville. Linney, Neal Moritz and Vivian Cannon also serve as executive producers for Sony Pictures Television.
THE JENSEN PROJECT (NBC, New!) - Muse Entertainment has booked another two-hour backdoor pilot at the Peacock, this time about "12 geniuses who move to an isolated spot in the Allegheny Mountains to spend their time inventing ways to fix the world's problems and then share their discoveries freely and anonymously with the world." Kellie Martin, Brady Smith, Patricia Richardson and LeVar Burton all star in the project, which picks up as "a few decide to take their latest invention, cash in and make names for themselves, launching a cross-country race as the others try to stop them." Monica Macer penned the script while Douglas Barr is attached to direct. Production then is set to begin on Monday in Montreal in a deal similar to Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart's time buy for the upcoming "Secrets of the Mountain." Joel Rice, Jeff Grant and Brian Wells are the executive producers.
LOVE BITES (NBC) - Becki Newton ("Ugly Betty") is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, which is billed as "an anthology of love and sex." She'll play Annie, "an optimistic, infectiously bubbly social worker who is a virgin." Cindy Chupack is behind the hour, which comes from Universal Media Studios and Working Title Films.
NEVERMIND NIRVANA (FOX) - Rachael Leigh Cook ("Psych") has joined the cast of the pilot, a comedy about "two grown Indian-American brothers who clash with their controlling immigrant parents as they assimilate American culture." She'll play Elizabeth Van Pelt, the girlfriend of one of them. Harish Patel and Utkarsh Ambudkar also star in the Ajay Sahgal-penned half-hour, which is set up at 20th Century Fox Television.
SCOUNDRELS (ABC) - Neal McDonough ("Desperate Housewives") is the latest addition to the upcoming drama, about "the matriarch (Virginia Madsen) of a family of criminals who decides it's time for her brood to go straight after her husband is sentenced to a long prison term." He'll play Wolfgang "Wolf" West, said husband, in the hour, which comes from co-creators Lyn Greene and Richard Levine. Gary Cole originated the role in the project's previous incarnation, "Good Behavior." ABC Studios and South Pacific Pictures are co-producing.
STRANGE BREW (FOX) - Jere Burns ("Surviving Surburia") has scored a role on the comedy pilot, about "a family that owns a small regional brewery and struggles with working and living together." He'll play Ted, the patriarch of the Forrest clan, who was "once a weathered ourdoorsmen [however] the last 10 years has turned him into a withered indoorsmen." Also signing as Ted and Janie's (Laurie Metcalf) kids are Aya Cash, Skylar Astin and Mo Mandel. Cash will play "beautiful, highly-intelligent, highly-underachieving" Lizzy, the eldest sibling who works as Ted's secetary. Astin and Mandel then are believed to be playing fraternal twins Kyle, "the alpha twin," and Clay, "the sweeter, gentler one." David Kohan and Max Mutchnick are behind the Warner Bros. Television-based project, to be directed by Marc Buckland.
UNCLE NIGEL (TBS) - Charles Dutton, Lea Thompson and Jeff Davis are all the latest additions to the drama pilot, about Nigel Wells (Gary Cole), "a veteran Philadelphia homicide detective who takes on his inexperienced, incompetent nephew Ronnie (Matt Jones) as a partner." Dutton is set as Captain Elliot Mackey, "the tightly wound, immaculately dressed" deputy of detectives. Thompson then is playing Abby Wells - Ronnie's mom, Nigel's sister - a "single, beautiful, open-hearted" woman. Lastly, Davis is on board as Detective Frank Frankel, "a smug, resentful prick" who serves as Ronnie's nemesis in the squad. Andy Breckman penned the hour and is executive producing.
UNTITLED LARRY CHARLES/ANT HINES PROJECT (CBS) - Nicollette Sheridan ("Desperate Housewives") has joined the cast of the pilot presentation, about "a British lowlife (Paul Kaye) who moves to L.A. to reconnect with his daughter, a precocious teen superstar." She'll play "the girl's outrageous stage mother and the deadbeat dad's long-lost love." Larry Charles is helming the semi-scripted comedy, which was conceived by Ant Hines. Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount are co-producing.
UNTITLED RICHARD HATEM PROJECT (ABC) - Katee Sackhoff ("24") is set to topline the drama pilot, about "a beautiful female detective who teams with a disgraced ex-cop to solve crimes and untangle the conspiracy that sent him underground." She'll play said woman, Julia Scott, who's "strong in body and soul." Sackhoff's involvement would seem to indicate her run on the FOX drama will either be short-lived or reduced should it return for a ninth season. Gary Fleder is helming the ABC Studios-based hour from a script by Richard Hatem.
UNTITLED WYOMING PROJECT (The CW) - Sean Faris ("The Vampire Diaries") and newcomer Renee Smith are the first to be cast on the drama pilot, about a horse trainer who becomes the patriarch of a Wyoming ranch and responsible for his three younger sisters - Dinah (16), Maggie (13) and Bird (9) - after their parents die. Faris will play Gideon Thorpe, the aforementioned trainer, who's described as "rugged, a young John Wayne." Smith then is set as Dinah, the eldest sister, who's "short but sturdy, a sixteen-year old version of Holly Hunter in 'Broadcast News.'" Daniel Palladino and Amy Sherman-Palladino co-wrote the hour, which comes from CBS Television Studios and Warner Bros. Television.
WORTHY (FOX) - 20th Century Fox Television has pulled out of the drama pilot, about "an Arizona politician who is blackmailed by a mob boss following a hit-and-run accident." It's not clear how said development will affect the show's production status. Originally ordered to pilot back in October, no casting has since been announced. Davey Holmes penned the hour with Jake Kasdan attached to direct. Gavin Polone also serves as an executive producer.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
|
|
|
 [february 2010]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[01/03/25 - 04:06 PM]
College Football Playoff Quarterfinals Score Strong Viewership Across ESPN Platforms
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential registers 21.1 million viewers, the most-watched non-NFL sporting event since the 2024 CFP National Championship.
|
[01/03/25 - 12:00 PM]
ESPN NBA Schedule Update: Memphis Grizzlies Visit San Antonio Spurs on January 17
This matchup replaces the previously scheduled Charlotte Hornets vs. Chicago Bulls game.
|
[01/03/25 - 11:31 AM]
MGM+ Unveils "Godfather of Harlem" Season Four First Look Images
In Season 4, Bumpy Johnson continues his bloody war for control of Harlem against New York's Mafia families, while contending with the emergence of a potential rival in newly arrived Black gangster Frank Lucas.
|
[01/03/25 - 10:00 AM]
Video: "Grosse Pointe Garden Society" - Official Sneak Peek - NBC
When four members of a suburban garden club get entangled in a scandalous murder, they're forced to bury the body - in their own well-manicured flower beds.
|
[01/03/25 - 09:09 AM]
Lifetime Unveils Full "Voices of a Lifetime" 2025 Slate with Music Icons Mary J. Blige, Lisa Lisa and Gloria Gaynor
The movie event kicks off on Saturday, January 25 at 8:00/7:00c with an all-new original movie executive produced by Mary J. Blige along with Jordan and John Davis.
|
[01/03/25 - 08:37 AM]
Date Announcement and First Look: Hulu Original Series "Shoresy"
Created by and starring Jared Keeso, "Shoresy" returns for season four on Wednesday, February 26 with all six new episodes exclusively available in the U.S. on Hulu.
|
[01/03/25 - 08:00 AM]
Video: AMC/AMC+ Release a Gripping New Teaser Trailer for Hit Noir Thriller "Dark Winds" Starring Zahn McClarnon
"Dark Winds" will return with an expanded third season exclusively on AMC and AMC+ on Sunday, March 9 at 9pm ET/PT with new episodes airing weekly on Sundays.
|
[01/03/25 - 07:00 AM]
Peacock Exclusively Streams DreamWorks' "The Wild Robot" Beginning January 24
Directed by three-time Academy Award nominee Chris Sanders, the heartwarming critically acclaimed film is voiced by Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Matt Berry, Ving Rhames, Mark Hamill and Catherine O'Hara.
|
[01/02/25 - 10:31 PM]
Video: "Paatal Lok" Season 2 - Official Teaser - Prime Video
A down and out cop lands the case of a lifetime when four suspects are nabbed in the assassination attempt of a prime time journalist.
|
[01/02/25 - 09:31 PM]
Video: "Black Warrant" - Official Trailer - Netflix
One jailer, thousands of criminals, and the dark secrets of a prison like never before.
|
[01/02/25 - 01:03 PM]
Video: All-New Extended Trailer for Survivalist Competition Series "Extracted" Set to Premiere Monday, February 10 on FOX
"Extracted" features 12 untrained competitors attempting to survive extremely grueling conditions, perilous terrain, and the threat of fearsome predators in the unforgiving Canadian wilderness.
|
[01/02/25 - 01:00 PM]
ABC's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2025" Is Top Program of the Night Across Primetime and Late-Night
The festive, star-studded celebration rings in the new year with 18 million total viewers during late-night edition - peaking at 22 million viewers during midnight quarter hour.
|
[01/02/25 - 12:51 PM]
Prime Video Registers TNF's Most-Watched Season in the 19-Year History of the Package Across Key Demographics
According to Nielsen's Panel Only measurement, TNF on Prime Video posted an +11% average viewership increase among total viewers over the previous season (13.20 million vs. 11.86 million).
|
[01/02/25 - 12:03 PM]
Video: Official Season 7 Trailer - "The Rookie"
John Nolan, once the oldest rookie in the LAPD, has used his life experience, determination and sense of humor to keep up with rookies 20 years his junior.
|
[01/02/25 - 12:01 PM]
Diddy's Inner Circle Breaks Their Silence in Peacock's All-New Documentary Special "Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy"
The 90-minute documentary special tells the story of Sean Combs' early years and his decades-long transformation to Puffy and then to Diddy, with crucial insight into the forces that shaped the man and may have made him a monster.
|
|
|
|
