[03/03/10 - 12:08 AM] Development Update: Wednesday, March 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!
187 DETROIT (ABC) - Michael Imperioli ("Life on Mars") has booked the lead role on the drama pilot, about "Detroit's top homicide division as seen through the cameras of a fictitious documentary crew." He'll play Joseph Fitch, "a smart, tough-minded veteran detective with a short fuse who has a near-perfect record for clearing cases and putting murderers in cages." Aisha Hinds, D.J. Cotrona, John Michael Hill and Natalie Martinez also star in the ABC Studios-based hour, to be directed by Jeff Nachmanoff. Jason Richman is the creator.
CUTTHROAT (ABC) - Jon Seda ("The Pacific") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, about Nina Cabrera (Roselyn Sanchez), "an upscale Beverly Hills widow and soccer mom who runs an international drug cartel." He's on board as Frankie, Nina's stylish cousin and second in command. Seda joins the previously cast Escher Holloway and Peggy Lipton. Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters are behind the hour, which Bronwen Hughes is directing. 20th Century Fox Television is producing.
EPISODES (Showtime) - Claire Forlani ("CSI: NY"), Kathleen Rose Perkins ("'Til Death") and Stephen Mangan ("Free Agents") have all joined the cast of the upcoming Matt LeBlanc-led comedy, about "a British couple whose hit UK show is turned into a dumbed-down American sit-com starring LeBlanc (as himself)." Forlani and Mangan will play said duo, Beverly ("a strong, self-possessed woman who suffers no fools") and Sean ("bright, both in his intelligence and his sunny outlook"), while Perkins is set as Carol Ranson ("A real person. Or an incredible facsimile."), the head of primetime programming at the network. David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik are behind the half-hour, which is set up at Jimmy Mulville's Hat Trick Productions.
GAME OF THRONES (HBO) - The pay channel has given a series commitment to its adaptation of George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series of fantasy novels. A total of 10 episodes have been ordered of the project, about "an epic struggle for power set in a vast and violent kingdom," with production set to begin in Belfast this summer for a spring premiere. Mark Addy, Sean Bean, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey are among the show's ensemble cast. Tom McCarthy helmed the pilot from a script by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who are also executive producing the series. Carolyn Strauss, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis, Ralph Vicinanza and Martin himself serve as co-executive producers with Joanna Burn, Mark Huffam and Frank Doelger producing.
HAPPY ENDINGS (ABC) - "Scrubs" co-star Eliza Coupe has scored a role on the comedy pilot, about Alex and Dave, "a couple who, after breaking up at the altar, must figure out how they and their four friends can maintain their relationship." She'll play Jane, one of Alex's bridesmaids, who's married to Brad (Damon Wayans Jr.), one of Dave's groomsmen. Coupe's involvement is in second position to her duties on "Scrubs," should it return. Casey Wilson also stars in the Sony Pictures Television-based half-hour, which Anthony and Joe Russo are directing from a script by David Caspe.
HOW TO BE A BETTER AMERICAN (ABC) - Missi Pyle ("Grey's Anatomy") and Johnny Sneed ("Unhitched") have each been cast in the comedy pilot, about "a father (Jason Jones) who embarks on a journey to be a better person and drags along his family kicking and screaming." She's on board as Hugh�s wife Katie, "a stressed out whirlwind of efficiency," while he's playing Chad, Nate's "overweight, unemployed brother." Brian Bradley and Steven Cragg are behind the half-hour, which is set up at ABC Studios.
MATADORS (ABC) - Jason Behr and Merle Dandridge are the latest to book roles on the drama pilot, about "two feuding families' battle against each other as one populates the state attorney's office and the other manages an influential private law firm." Behr is playing Gabriel Lodari ("handsome, focused"), Juliana's (Michelle Borth) cousin, who also works as a prosecutor. Dandridge then is set as Brooke Comas ("charm meets no-nonsense attitude"), an investigator for the other family. David Strathairn, Jonathan Scarfe and Zach Gilford also star in the pilot, which Yves Simoneau is directing from a script by Jack Orman. Sony Pictures Television is producing.
OFF THE MAP (ABC) - Jason George ("Grey's Anatomy") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about "three doctors who leave the comfort of the U.S. to work at an isolated tropical clinic, Cruz del Sur." He's on board as Dr. Otis Abbot, a brilliant ER doctor who "enjoys being brilliant, the ladies, and a good dirty joke." Caroline Dhavernas, Enrique Murciano, Martin Henderson and Valerie Cruz also star in the Jenna Bans-penned hour, which comes from ABC Studios and Shondaland Productions.
OUTSOURCED (NBC) - Diedrich Bader and Jessica Gower are both the latest additions to the comedy pilot, about "a recently demoted manager (Ben Rappaport) at a novelties company who is shipped to India to manage a ragtag group of customer-service reps." Gower is set as Tonya, "an athletic, statuesque blonde" Australian who runs a call center, while Bader is on board as Charlie Davies, "one big, sweaty American" who runs "another call center who refuses to assimilate to Indian culture and has American junk food shipped to him." The half-hour is set up at Universal Media Studios where Ken Kwapis is directing from a script by Robert Borden.
PAWN STARS (History) - The cable channel is reportedly on track to order New York and Miami-based spin-offs of its popular reality franchise, about the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. Brent Montgomery and Colby Gaines of Leftfield Pictures are behind the series, which posted 5.1 million viewers on Monday, a series record for the network. No other details were given about the potential spin-offs.
PERFECT COUPLES/UNTITLED ADAM CAROLLA PROJECT (NBC) - "30 Rock" alum Jon Pollack has inked a two-year overall deal with producer Universal Media Studios. The pact, financial details of which weren't released, covers his duties on the studio's pilots "Perfect Couples" and the untitled Adam Carolla project, both of which he co-created (with Scott Silveri on the former and Adam Carolla and Kevin Hench on the latter). Most recently Pollack served as a consulting producer on NBC's "Community," which he departed at midseason to focus on his development.
PLEADING GUILTY (FOX) - Jason Isaacs ("Brotherhood") has been tapped for the lead role on the drama pilot, about Mack Malloy, "an ex-cop and recovering alcoholic now serving as a partner in a top-drawer corporate law firm." His casting as Malloy ("early 40s, a big handsome Irish lunk") lifts said contingency off the pilot's production. Jason Tracey is behind the 20th Century Fox Television-produced hour, which is based on Scott Turow's book of the same name. Hart Hanson also serves as an executive producer, as do Katherine Pope, Peter Chernin and Jon Avnet, who's attached to direct.
THE REMEMBERER (CBS) - The Eye has postponed production on the drama pilot, about a female FBI agent who remembers everything, which helps her career but makes for turmoil in her personal life. Said decision is tied to difficulties casting the lead, Carrie Wells, who's detailed as "mid 30s, loose black curls, pale cheeks with a hint of freckle [and] enormous luminous violet eyes, intensely focused, hyper-alert." Ed Redlich and John Bellucci penned the hour, which is based on J. Robert Lennon's short story of the same name. CBS Television Studios, Sony Pictures Television and Timberman-Beverly Productions are co-producing.
ROUGH JUSTICE (NBC) - Jesse Bradford ("The West Wing") is the first to book a role on the drama pilot, about Cyrus Garza, "a conservative Supreme Court justice who goes into private practice." He'll play Eddie Franks, one of Garza's clerks, "a short, tightly wound Brooks Brothers conservative." Terry George is helming the hour for Conaco Productions and Universal Media Studios. John Eisendrath penned the script.
WHO GETS THE PARENTS? (ABC) - Lindsay Price ("Eastwick") has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about "a couple (Jane Kaczmarek, Adam Arkin) who are divorcing after 30 years and take more active roles in the lives of their three adult children." She'll play Brenda, the "loving but slightly spoiled" wife of sensitive middle child Neil (Derek Richardson), who's "always caught between his wife and mother." Joe Port and Joe Wiseman are behind the ABC Studios-based half-hour, which also stars Andrew West.
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