or


[03/08/10 - 12:04 AM]
Development Update: Monday, March 8
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!


BETWIXT (The CW) - Jessy Schram ("Life") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about three teens - Morgan Brower, Nix Uyarak and Celine Halstead - who discover they're actually "changelings," the children of mythological fairies. She'll play one of them, Morgan, who can transform into a creature with claws, fangs and yellow eyes. Allison Miller also stars as Celine, who can fly. Christian Duguay is helming the hour from a script by Elizabeth Chandler. CBS Television Studios and Warner Bros. Television are co-producing.


BODY OF EVIDENCE (ABC) - "Past Life" alum Nicholas Bishop has booked the male lead in the drama pilot, about Megan Hunt (Dana Delany), "a medical examiner whose background as a neurosurgeon gives her a unique and refreshing crime-solving perspective but puts her at odds with nearly everyone." He'll play Peter Maxwell, an employee of the Medical Examiner's Office who's "tall with rough good looks and still maintains the body of the professional football player he once was." Bishop joins the previously cast Geoffrey Arend, Jeri Ryan, John Carroll Lynch and Windell Middlebrooks. Nelson McCormick is helming the ABC Studios-based hour from a script by Chris Murphey.


THE CAPE (NBC) - Dorian Missick ("Six Degrees") has scored a role on the drama pilot, about Vince Faraday (David Lyons), "a former cop set up as a criminal who becomes a masked hero." He's set as Marty Voyt, a former police detective and friend of Vince's who tries to recruit him to join the Lynx Corporation, an ominous company. Writer Tom Wheeler and director Simon West are behind the hour, which is set up at Universal Media Studios.


FRANKLIN & BASH (TBS) - Breckin Meyer and Mark-Paul Gosselaar have scored the title roles on the drama pilot, about "two street lawyers and lifelong friends who, after taking down a white-shoe law firm in a high-profile case, are recruited by the firm's patriarch." Meyer will play Jared Franklin, who "is bent on sticking it to the Man," while Gosselaar is set as Steven Bash, who "has an uncanny ability to connect with a jury and judge." Their casting lifts said contingency off the pilot's production. Kevin Falls and Bill Chais co-wrote the hour, which is set up at Jamie Tarses's Sony Pictures Television-based FanFare Productions.


GLORY DAZE (TBS) - Kelly Blatz, Julianna Guill, Callard Harris, Matt Bush, Hartley Sawyer, Drew Seeley and Tim Meadows have all joined the cast of the drama pilot, about the lives of four incoming freshman in the 1980s who pledge a fraternity at a Wisconsin college. Said quartet consists of Joel Harrington (Blatz), "wide-eyed and eager to leave home and become his own man"; Eli Schwartz (Bush), "a pudgy 18 year old Jewish virgin from suburban Chicago"; Brian Vandergriff (Sawyer), "a tall, athletic Freshman and a quintessential California golden-boy"; and Jason Wilson (Seeley), who keeps a "gourmet coffee maker and the signed photo of Ronald Reagan" in his room. Harris then is set as Mike Reno, a junior that indoctrinates the guys into the world of Omega Chi House, with Guill as Christie Dewitt, who's "everything a Freshman guy could want...and more." Rounding out the ensemble is Meadows as Professor Haines, "a relic of 60's radical politics." Walt Becker and Mike LeSieur co-wrote the hour, the former of which is directing. Said project was previously cast-contingent.


HELLCATS (The CW) - Aly Michalka ("Phil of the Future") and Gail O'Grady ("Desperate Housewives") are the first to be cast in the presentation, a drama set in the world of competitive college cheerleading. The former will play Marty Berger ("wicked smart, an acerbic outsider"), a student at Memphis' Lancer University who's forced to try out for the Hellcats - the college's competitive cheerleading team - after she loses her scholarship. O'Grady will play her mother Wanda who tends bar at a rathskeller type snack bar on campus that serves food and drinks. Kevin Murphy penned the hour, which comes from CBS Television Studios, Tom Welling Productions and Warner Bros. Television.


IT TAKES A VILLAGE (ABC) - James Patrick Stuart ("90210") and Cheyenne Jackson ("30 Rock") are the latest additions to the comedy pilot, about exes - Karen (Leah Remini) and Howard - who join forces to raise their 15-year-old boy, George. Stuart will play Carl, Karen's new husband, a sports fanatic, while Jackson is set as Scott, Howard's "really good looking" boyfriend. Casey Johnson and David Windsor co-created the half-hour, which is set up at ABC Studios and The Mark Gordon Company. Michael Fresco is directing.


KINDREDS (NBC) - Kathy Bates ("The Office") is reportedly in final talks to topline the drama pilot, about "a curmudgeonly former patent lawyer (Bates) and her group of misfit associates." Said character, Harry Korn, was originally written as a man. He was detailed as "mid-fifties, an exasperated curmudgeon" who while crusty, has "an undeniable sweetness to him." Ben Chaplin also stars in the David E. Kelley-penned hour, to be helmed by Bill D'Elia. Warner Bros. Television is producing.


MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED (FOX) - Tim Peper is the latest addition to the comedy pilot, about "a group of friends who were superstars in high school but are facing the reality of adulthood." He's on board as Griff Brooks, who was once voted most likely to succeed but is now unemployed. Kaitlin Doubleday, Kathryn Hahn and Malcolm Barrett also star in the half-hour, which comes from creator David Walpert and 20th Century Fox Television. Michael Patrick Jann is directing.


THE PINK HOUSE (NBC) - Michael Cassidy ("Privileged") has booked one of the lead roles on the comedy pilot, about "two Midwestern guys who move to Los Angeles and rent a house on the beach." He'll play one of them, either John "Fitz" Fitzgerald or Rob "Bernie" Burnett, both of whom are described as in their "twenties, handsome and in good shape." Katharine McPhee also stars in the Universal Media Studios-based half-hour, which was penned by Kenny Schwartz and Rick Weiner. Michael Lembeck is directing.


TRUE BLUE (ABC) - Scott Foley ("The Unit") is the latest to book a role on 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." He'll play Peter Callahan ("mid-30s, moviestar good looks, Italian suit"), now an Assistant District Attorney. Ana Ortiz, Eric Lange, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Marc Blucas and Poppy Montgomery also star in the ABC Studios-based hour, which Peter Horton is directing from a script by Chris Brancato and Jon Harmon Feldman.


UNTITLED TAD QUILL PROJECT (CBS) - The Eye has shelved the comedy pilot, about "a widowed father of a 12-year-old boy who re-enters the dating world." Said decision is reportedly tied to difficulties in casting the lead, Jack Lewis, and Sebastian, his 12-year-old son. Tad Quill is behind the multi-camera half-hour, which is set up at CBS Television Studios.


UNTITLED WYOMING PROJECT (The CW) - Ryan Hawley and Kathleen Chalfant have each booked roles on the drama pilot, about Gideon (Sean Faris), a horse trainer who becomes the patriarch of a Wyoming family after both their parents pass away. Hawley will play Dakin, Gideon's younger, estranged brother who returns home from Stanford University to help out. Chalfant then is set as Marie December, the crotchety grandmother of Gideon's love interest Lucy (Scarlett Johnson), whom she's returned home from New York to take care of. Alan Ruck and Renee Smith co-star in the hour, which comes from co-creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino. CBS Television Studios and Warner Bros. Television are producing.


WRIGHT VS. WRONG (ABC) - Patrick Fugit ("Almost Famous") and Melissa Rauch ("The Big Bang Theory") have both joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about Evelyn Wright (Debra Messing), "a driven conservative pundit who tries to maintain her public persona despite facing her own vulnerabilities." He'll play Adrian Manly, Evelyn's contributing writer, "a hip, NYU grad biding his time until he can get a job at The Daily Show... he and his wife, Tami, are organic, Prius liberals." She's set as Crystal Ball, Evelyn's personal assistant, whose "wide-eyed freshly scrubbed face makes it hard to peg her age, she could be 18 or 40... she is the best Christianity has to offer; kind, non-judgemental, joyous, a true lamb of God." Andy Fickman is helming the Sony Pictures Television-based project, which was penned by Stephanie Weir.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [march 2010]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· 30 ROCK (NBC)
· 90210 (CW)
· BIG BANG THEORY, THE (CBS)
· BODY OF PROOF (ABC)
· CAPE, THE (NBC)
· CHANGELINGS (CW)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FRANKLIN & BASH (TNT)
· GLORY DAZE (TBS)
· HARRY'S LAW (NBC)
· HELLCATS (CW)
· IT TAKES A VILLAGE (ABC)
· LIFE (NBC)
· MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED (FOX)
· OFFICE, THE (NBC)
· PAST LIFE (FOX)
· PINK HOUSE, THE (NBC)
· PRIVILEGED (CW)
· SIX DEGREES (ABC)
· TRUE BLUE (ABC)
· UNIT, THE (CBS)
· UNTITLED TAD QUILL PROJECT (CBS)
· WRIGHT VS WRONG (ABC)
· WYOMING STORY (CW)





[06/02/26 - 01:17 PM]
FX's "The Drop: A Snowfall Saga" Set as New Title for Spinoff Series Coming Later This Year on FX and Hulu
Set in '90s Los Angeles, the new series follows "Snowfall" characters Wanda (Gail Bean) and Leon (Isaiah John) as they fight to take West Coast rap mainstream while gang wars erupt and record labels move to exploit hip hop culture for their own gain.

[06/02/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 25 - "The Boroughs" Makes Itself at Home at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Nemesis" stole away with the No. 2 spot on the list, commanding 5.9 million views.

[06/02/26 - 12:00 PM]
FOX Announces Additional Summer 2026 Premiere Dates
Highlights include the return of "Kitchen Nightmares" on Tuesday, July 21 and "Beat Shazam" on Tuesday, July 28.

[06/02/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: BET Debuts Trailer and Announces Premiere Date for New Original Comedy Series, "Lot Patrol" from Manny Halley Productions
The series will premiere on BET on June 30, 2026 at 10 pm ET / 9 pm CT.

[06/02/26 - 09:29 AM]
Catch a New Season of "Lakefront Bargain Hunt Renovation" Premiering June 16 on Magnolia Network
With a bit of imagination and a lot of muscle, families transform their new vacation homes into the relaxing getaways they had always envisioned.

[06/02/26 - 09:21 AM]
BET Announces First-Ever Board of Advisors, Marking a New Era of Leadership and Cultural Stewardship
Established under the leadership of Louis Carr, President of BET, the Board brings together an influential collective of cultural icons, business leaders, and industry visionaries who will help guide BET's continued evolution as a force at the intersection of media, community, and culture.

[06/02/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders" - Season 3 Official Trailer - Netflix
A new batch of hopefuls face fierce competition, high expectations and even higher kicks as they vie for a spot with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

[06/02/26 - 08:30 AM]
Video: The Reign Ends Here - "All the Queen's Men" Reveals Trailer and First Look at Fifth and Final Season Premiering June 10 Only on Paramount+
The series will launch with two episodes, followed by a weekly rollout culminating in the mid-season finale on Wednesday, July 22.

[06/02/26 - 08:01 AM]
"Kaulitz & Kaulitz" Season 3 - Exclusively on Netflix from July 23, 2026
Germany's most popular twins once again take us along for the ride in their turbulent lives, sharing intimate moments, arguments, and scenes that go straight to the heart.

[06/02/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Tony Hinchcliffe: Man of the People" - Sneak Peek - Netflix
Tony Hinchcliffe returns with another brutally unapologetic hour from comedy's favorite equal-opportunity offender.

[06/02/26 - 07:01 AM]
"The Marlow Murder Club" Is Back in Action Filming Season 4
Season 3 premieres this fall on PBS.

[06/02/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: Apple TV Unveils Trailer for Third Season of Its Globally Acclaimed Drama "Silo"
The 10-episode third season will premiere on Apple TV with the first episode on July 3, followed by one new episode every Friday through September 4, 2026.

[06/01/26 - 05:01 PM]
Video: "Husbands in Action" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A detective teams up with his ex-wife's new husband to chase down her kidnappers. Can this unlikely duo put aside their differences for one wild rescue?

[06/01/26 - 02:03 PM]
Exclusive Announcement Live From Crime Con 2026: Season 4 of the Hit Docuseries "Betrayal" to Stream on Hulu This August
In a room of thousands of fans of true crime and scandals, the team made a surprise exclusive announcement that Season 4 of the popular docuseries will stream on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for Bundle subscribers this August.

[06/01/26 - 02:02 PM]
"Squatters: Get the F*** Out of My House," A New Docuseries from Executive Producers Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, Begins Streaming June 4 on Hulu
The six-part series follows ordinary people blindsided by manipulators who know exactly how to weaponize tenant protections and turn the legal system against the very people it's supposed to protect.