 |
 |
[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 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[10/27/26 - 03:36 PM] College Football on FOX Scores Big Numbers in Week 8 7,015,000 viewers tuned into FOX "Big Noon Saturday" for Indiana's win over Michigan.
|
[10/27/26 - 03:14 PM] FOX's "America's Game of the Week" Roars with 24,670,000 Viewers in Week 7 The network's Sunday window ranks as the #1 program in all of television through the first seven weeks of the season (24,749,000 average).
|
[10/27/26 - 03:03 PM] No Time Like October: FOX Sports Drives in 12,259,000 Viewers for Game 1 and 10,854,000 Viewers for Game 2 Both telecasts were the most-watched of their respective days on any network.
|
[10/27/26 - 02:59 PM] NBC and Peacock Deliver Most-Watched WNBA Finals Game 4 Ever Led by Gabby Williams' 17 points, Golden State's 67-62 win over Atlanta peaked at 2.5 million viewers for the game's exciting conclusion from 3:30-3:45 p.m. ET.
|
[10/27/26 - 02:40 PM] "College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Continues Record-Setting Season; ESPN Networks Deliver Three of the Top Five Games Across All Nets Ole Miss/Texas (8.1 million) was the top game of the week and added to ESPN's nine total games this season with 8+ million viewers.
|
[10/27/26 - 02:06 PM] Chiefs-Seahawks Is Most Watched Week 7 NBC "Sunday Night Football" Game Since 2013, Averaging 26.3 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock The audience peaked at 29.0 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9:30-9:45 p.m. ET).
|
[10/27/26 - 02:01 PM] ABC Decks the Halls with Festive Holiday Programming for 2026 Highlights include joyful episodes of "Abbott Elementary," "America's Funniest Home Videos," "Celebrity Family Feud," "Press Your Luck," "Scrubs" and "What Would You Do?: Holiday Edition."
|
[10/27/26 - 01:01 PM] "Crystal Lake" Makes Killer Debut on Peacock "Crystal Lake" has generated 1.3 billion minutes watched over its first 11 days, making it the fourth highest scripted original series ever on Peacock.
|
[10/27/26 - 12:01 PM] Video: "Allen" - Official Trailer - Netflix 20 years after his encounter with an alien, Petey never moved on. Now his old friend has returned, and the reason why is complicated - and unexpected.
|
[10/27/26 - 12:01 PM] School Is Back in Session: FOX Enrolls Summer Breakout Hit "Nation's Dumbest" for a Second Season Hosted by acclaimed comedian Jack Whitehall, the series will return to FOX for a new season of pop quizzes, physical challenges and classroom chaos, as a fresh group of celebrities compete to avoid earning the distinction no one wants: the title of The Nation's Dumbest.
|
[10/27/26 - 11:31 AM] Video: "The Mosquito Bowl" - Red Band Trailer - Netflix In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, four college football stars enlist in the US Marines, discovering the strength of brotherhood and the cost of war.
|
[10/27/26 - 11:08 AM] Melissa Joan Hart Set to Star in and Executive Produce Lifetime's New Ripped from the Headlines Movie "Black Widow Killer: The Judy Buenoano Story" (wt) The film also stars Chris Bauer and Matthew Settle.
|
[10/27/26 - 11:01 AM] Professional Bowlers Association Reimagines Tournament Formats and Expands 2027 PBA Tour Broadcast Schedule to 30 Live Events Across The CW Network, ESPN App, CBS, Paramount+, and CBS Sports Network The best players in the world from over 30 countries will compete February through June in five PBA major tournaments and title events on the biggest stage in the sport.
|
[10/27/26 - 11:00 AM] FOX Entertainment Studios and Endemol Shine North America Break New Ground with "Fear Factor" Vertical Series The new vertical video production, set to debut on Holywater Tech's My Drama platform, marks the first time an established unscripted television franchise has been transformed into an original scripted series.
|
[10/27/26 - 10:01 AM] Video: Peacock Debuts Official Trailer & Key Art for New Amy Poehler Comedy "Dig" The series follows a team of dedicated archaeologists (and less-dedicated college students) who spend their summer working on a dig site in Greece.
|
|
|
|