or


[05/15/10 - 01:20 PM]
Development Update: Saturday, May 15
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!


AWKWARD SITUATIONS FOR MEN/WRIGHT VS. WRONG (ABC) - Both comedy pilots are reportedly being reshot with an eye towards potential midseason commitments. Debra Messing toplined the latter project, about a conservative pundit and her staff. Stephanie Weir created the Sony Pictures Television/Tantamount-based half-hour, which was supervised by Betsy Thomas. A new showrunner however will be brought in. British comedian Danny Wallace then starred in the former, about his transition from the U.K. to the U.S. with his American wife (Laura Prepon). Wallace himself co-wrote the Warner Bros. Television/Heyday Films-based project alongside Jackie and Jeff Filgo.


THE BIG BANG THEORY (CBS) - TBS has emerged as the winner of the show's off-network rights in a deal valued north of $1 million per episode. In addition, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution has cleared the series on 10 Fox owned-and-operated stations, including the top markets of New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Both runs will begin in the fall of 2011 with TBS exclusively getting the primetime hours. Said sale tops the $800,000 per episode purchase of "Two and a Half Men" by FX back in 2006, a deal which finally kicks in this fall.


FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS (NBC) - Fran Kranz and Ian Reed Kesler have been dropped from the Peacock's recently ordered comedy. Kranz himself tweeted the news: "nbc picked up friends with benefits but not me. i was fired. too big. i kept saying i was huge but people told me it was great. guess not." Kesler's departure was reported by Deadline.com. No other details were given. Danneel Harris, Jessica Lucas and Ryan Hansen rounded out the ensemble. 20th Century Fox Television and Imagine Television are behind the half-hour, which was created by Michael Weber and Scott Neustadter.


HARRY'S LAW (NBC) - Ben Chaplin reportedly is being replaced on David E. Kelley's new series, about Harriet (Kathy Bates), "a curmudgeonly ex-patent lawyer who, having just been fired from her cushy job, is completely disillusioned with her success and looking for a fresh start." No reason was listed for the decision. Chaplin played Matthew, a high school teacher defended by Harriet who ultimately goes to work for her. Brittany Snow, Aml Ameen and Beatrice Rosen also star in the project, which is set up at Warner Bros. Television.


NEXT (NBC) - The Paul Reiser comedy is set to become the 12th scripted series ordered by the Peacock for the 2010-11 season. It's understood six half-hours have been ordered, all of which were already written by Reiser on spec at the time of the pilot's greenlight. Amy Landecker, Andrew Daly, Ben Shenkman, Brock Waidmann, Duane Martin, Koby Rouviere and Omid Djalili also star in the Warner Bros. Television-based project, which stars Reiser as himself, a former television star and family man dealing with life's day-to-day conundrums.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [may 2010]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
      


· AWKWARD SITUATIONS FOR MEN (ABC)
· BIG BANG THEORY, THE (CBS)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS (NBC)
· HARRY'S LAW (NBC)
· PAUL REISER SHOW, THE (NBC)
· TWO AND A HALF MEN (CBS)
· WRIGHT VS WRONG (ABC)





[01/09/26 - 12:02 PM]
A New Season of Hilarie Burton-Morgan's Documentary Series "True Crime Story: It Couldn't Happen Here" Returns February 19 on SundanceTV and Streaming Across AMC+ and All Reality
The new six-episode season examines the challenges and complexities of small-town justice, spotlighting cases that range from unsolved missing persons and wrongful convictions, to death while in police custody.

[01/09/26 - 12:01 PM]
Video: "Eternity" - Official Trailer - Apple TV
"Eternity," starring Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen and Callum Turner, premieres February 13 on Apple TV.

[01/09/26 - 11:01 AM]
"Love Island: All Stars" Returns to Peacock as Season Three Premieres on January 14
The first episode premieres exclusively in the U.S. on Wednesday, January 14, with new episodes streaming on Peacock every day at 9:00/8:00c.

[01/09/26 - 09:05 AM]
Ohtani, Judge, Yankees-Red Sox, Dodgers-Yankees, Cubs-Cardinals, and Additional Premium Matchups Headline "Sunday Night Baseball" Schedule as Major League Baseball Returns to NBC and Peacock
Highlights include the special July 5 "Star-Spangled Sunday" featuring all 15 MLB games exclusively presented nationally on Peacock and NBC.

[01/09/26 - 09:00 AM]
CBS Program Advisory: "Harlan Coben's Final Twist"
Beginning Tuesday, January 13, "Harlan Coben's Final Twist" will air original episodes Tuesdays at 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT, with encore episodes airing Wednesdays at 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT.

[01/09/26 - 08:47 AM]
ESPN's Second Most-Watched NBA Regular Season Ever
Through 21 games, the NBA on ESPN networks is averaging 2.6M viewers, up 35 percent from last season.

[01/09/26 - 08:31 AM]
Video: Peacock Releases Official Trailer, Key Art and New Images for "The 'Burbs"
All 8 episodes will premiere on Peacock Sunday, February 8, 2026.

[01/09/26 - 02:35 AM]
Paapa Essiedu Returns for "The Capture" Series 3 with New Pictures and Further Casting for the Hit Thriller Announced
The BBC has released new pictures from the series which show Paapa alongside Holliday Grainger who leads the cast as Rachel Carey.

[01/08/26 - 06:01 PM]
Video: "Undercover Miss Hong" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A tenacious investigator goes undercover at a securities firm to expose corruption, but her mission is complicated by its new CEO - her former lover.

[01/08/26 - 02:00 PM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Record-Breaking Viewership for 2025-26 FCS Playoffs and Championship
The 2026 FCS Championship Game averaged 2.3 million viewers on ESPN, ranking as the third-best FCS Championship audience ever.

[01/08/26 - 01:17 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Demos
In fact, "Nightline" is ranking No. 1 in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 for the 3rd straight year.

[01/08/26 - 01:16 PM]
ABC News' Primetime Special "The Year: 2025" Earns Nearly 4 Million Total Viewers - Growing by Double Digits Over Last Year in Multiplatform Viewing
The 15th annual year-end special earned 3.857 million Total Viewers, growing impressively over last year's performance by +37% (vs. 2.818 million), after three days of viewing on ABC, Disney+, Hulu and digital platforms.

[01/08/26 - 01:15 PM]
"Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV" Premieres Wednesday, Jan. 14, on ABC and Streams Next Day on Disney+ and Hulu
By exploring the psychological forces that shaped the talk TV genre, the series reveals how these shows transformed from trusted confessional spaces into lightning rods of controversy, leaving a lasting impact on culture, media and the people caught in the chaos.

[01/08/26 - 12:07 PM]
Hulu Acquires Rights to All Seasons of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" from Versant, Expanding the Kardashian Universe Offering of Series and Specials
All titles will be available to stream on Hulu beginning February 17, 2026.

[01/08/26 - 12:01 PM]
Video: Paramount+ Releases Official Trailer for New Docuseries "Handsome Devil: Charming Killer"
The three-part docuseries premieres Tuesday, January 20, exclusively on Paramount+.