or


[06/28/10 - 06:14 PM]
Development Update: Monday, June 28
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!


ALPHAS (Syfy) - David Strathairn is in talks to topline the drama pilot, about "a team of ordinary citizens who possess extraordinary and unusual mental skills." He'll play "the overseer/team leader/prescribing doctor and all around mother hen to the team: an eccentric, absent-minded professor at times, who is also a cunning and manipulative power-player willing to bend the rules in pursuit of his objectives." Additionally, Ryan Cartwright has signed onto the project as "a member of the team who has Asperger's syndrome [who] can 'read' wireless transmissions passing through the ether." Jack Bender is helming the 90-minute pilot from a script by Zak Penn and Michael Karnow.


BEING HUMAN (Syfy) - Sam Witwer ("Smallville"), Meaghan Rath ("The Assistants") and Sam Huntington ("Cavemen") have reportedly been cast in the principal roles of the upcoming drama, a domestic take on the popular U.K. soap about supernatural roommates. Witwer will play vampire Aidan with Rath as ghost Molly and Huntington as werewolf Josh. Anna Fricke, Chris Coelen and Jeremy Carver are the executive producers.


BREAKING IN (FOX) - The network has asked for two additional scripts for the Christian Slater/Bret Harrison-led comedy pilot, about a group of twentysomething geniuses who are tasked with cracking security systems. Said order will give FOX extra time to mull a potential midseason order for the project, which comes from creator Adam F. Goldberg and director Seth Gordon. Producer Sony Pictures Television is expected to extend the options on Slater and Harrison while FOX makes a decision.


CINEMA VERITE (HBO) - Lolita Davidovich and Kathleen Quinlan are the latest additions to the pay channel's behind-the-scenes look at the making of the groundbreaking 1973 PBS documentary series "An American Family." Quinlan will play Mary, "one of Patty Loud's (Diane Lane) best friends who introduces Patty to producer Gilbert Craig (James Gandolfini) and talks her into letting her family be the subject of his documentary." Davidovich then is set as "Patty Loud's sexy and fashionable best friend, whom Patty accuses of having an affair with her husband Bill (Tim Robbins)." Also signing on are Willam Belli and Nick Eversman in unspecified roles. Caitlin Custer, Patrick Fugit, Shanna Collins and Thomas Dekker also star.


CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS) - Janeane Garofalo is in negotiations to join the franchise's planned spin-off, about an elite team of agents within the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit who use unconventional methods of investigation and aggressive tactics to capture the nation's most nefarious criminals. No details were given about her character, a new addition to the team.


CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS) - Franchise shepherds Carol Mendelsohn and Ann Donahue have inked massive four-year overall deals with CBS Television Studios. Said pacts, financial details of which weren't specified, will keep them at the helms of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "CSI: Miami," respectively, for the foreseeable future. Mendelsohn will likewise do the same for the upcoming drama "The Defenders."


DEXTER (Showtime) - Departing showrunner Clyde Phillips has inked a two-year overall deal with Lionsgate Television. There he'll develop new series projects for the studio, both comedies and dramas. Specifics about the financials however weren't released.


FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS (NBC) - Andre Holland has joined the cast of the midseason comedy, about a group of twenty-something singles as they navigate the difficult, and often confusing, world of dating. He'll play Hoon, an oversexed personal trainer. Ian Reed Kesler originated the role in the pilot and was subsequently recast.


THE HARD LIFE (CMT) - Steve Hytner ("Seinfeld") has landed a role on the comedy pilot, about parents Bobby (Matthew Lillard) and Gina (Gillian Vigman) as they struggle with modern vs. old school parenting. He'll play Bobby's father as seen in 1974 flashbacks: "your typically strict 60's/70's dad - unwavering, no-nonsense and blunt, with a kids-should-be-seen-and-not-heard perspective on parenting." Bill Diamond is behind the single-camera half-hour.


LONESTAR (FOX) - Peter Horton has joined the freshman drama as an executive producer. There he'll serve as in-house director on the series, including helming the show's second and 13th episodes. Kyle Killen is behind the hour, which is also executive produced by Kerry Kohansky, Paul Weitz, Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman. In addition, Horton has inked a premium script commitment with FOX and producer 20th Century Fox Television and will also direct a pilot for the pair next season.


THE OFFICE (NBC) - Co-star Steve Carell has reaffirmed his decision to depart the series after the upcoming seventh season. "I think [season] 7 will be my last year," he told EW.com during the premiere of his new animated film, "Despicable Me." "I want to fulfill my contract. I think it's a good time to move on." Earlier this year the actor indicated during a BBC radio interview that next season "would probably" be his last.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [june 2010]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· ALPHAS (SYFY)
· BEING HUMAN (SYFY)
· BEING HUMAN (BBC AMERICA)
· BREAKING IN (FOX)
· CAVEMEN (ABC)
· CINEMA VERITE (HBO)
· CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS)
· CRIMINAL MINDS: SUSPECT BEHAVIOR (CBS)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· CSI: MIAMI (CBS)
· DEFENDERS, THE (CBS)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DEXTER (SHOWTIME)
· FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS (NBC)
· HARD LIFE, THE (CMT)
· LONE STAR (FOX)
· OFFICE, THE (NBC)
· SMALLVILLE (CW)





[04/29/26 - 10:01 AM]
Netflix Announces New Adult Animated Comedy Series "Dad's House"
In small-town suburban Australia, thirteen year old child of divorce, Sean, spends every second weekend with his laidback, but well meaning dad, Ian.

[04/29/26 - 10:01 AM]
HBO Original Documentary "The A List: 15 Stories from Asian and Pacific Diasporas" Debuts May 13
The film is a tapestry of personal vignettes from across the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities in America.

[04/29/26 - 09:46 AM]
Netflix Wins Romantic Drama "Lovesick," Orders Hot Package Straight-to-Series
The straight-to-series Netflix drama stars Danes as Annika, a renowned breast cancer surgeon whose world changes after receiving her own cancer diagnosis.

[04/29/26 - 09:05 AM]
"The Other Bennet Sister" Premiere: BritBox Shines a Light on Austen's Overlooked Heroine This May
Other highlights include "Twenty Twenty Six," "I Literally Just Told You," and "QI."

[04/29/26 - 09:01 AM]
Celebrate Sir David Attenborough's 100th Birthday with "Ocean with David Attenborough"
The world's preeminent natural historian turns 100 on May 8.

[04/29/26 - 09:01 AM]
Season 2 of "Ransom Canyon" Returns to Netflix on Thursday, July 23, 2026
The new season of the beloved western drama, starring Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly, features eight brand new episodes.

[04/29/26 - 09:00 AM]
Video: The Main Stage Is Set - Trailer and Guest Judges Revealed for "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" Season 11 Premiering May 8 on Paramount+
Brian Tyree Henry, Bronwyn Newport, Christina Ricci, Cooper Koch, Evan Mulrooney, Gina Gershon, Jamal Sims, Janelle James, Juno Temple, Kate Hudson, La Toya Jackson, Law Roach and Reneé Rapp will serve as celebrity guest judges for the eleventh season.

[04/29/26 - 08:28 AM]
First Look at Adam Scott, Michelle Monaghan and Robert De Niro in "The Whisper Man," Premiering August 28th
When his eight-year-old son is abducted, a widowed crime writer looks to his estranged father, a retired former police detective, for help, only to discover a connection with the decades-old case of a convicted serial killer known as "The Whisper Man."

[04/29/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: Peacock Debuts First Look Teaser & New July 9 Premiere Date for "The Five Star Weekend"
The series stars Jennifer Garner, D'Arcy Carden, Gemma Chan, Regina Hall, Chloë Sevigny, Harlow Jane and Timothy Olyphant.

[04/29/26 - 08:00 AM]
TLC Unveils New Season of "90 Day: The Last Resort" as Six Couples Face Make-or-Break Moments in an English Castle
This season, "90 Day Fiance" couples Jenny and Sumit, Shekinah and Sarper, Kara and Guillermo, Paola and Russ, Thais and Patrick, and Rebecca and Zied have all reached relationship breaking points.

[04/29/26 - 06:36 AM]
Video: "Lukkhe" - Official Trailer - Prime Video
"Lukkhe" is an adrenaline filled, musical drama set in the beating heart of Punjab.

[04/29/26 - 06:01 AM]
Apple TV Unveils First Look at "Trying" Season Five, Premiering Globally July 8
The eight-episode comedy will make its global return to Apple TV with its first episode on Wednesday, July 8, followed by one episode weekly through Wednesday, August 26.

[04/29/26 - 05:01 AM]
The CW Network Sets Partnership with The Roku Channel for Next-Day Streaming of CW Entertainment Programming
Additionally, new installments of "WWE NXT" will be made available to stream on The Roku Channel every Wednesday following its live Tuesday night broadcast on The CW.

[04/29/26 - 05:00 AM]
The CW Network and ESPN Team Up to Stream More Than 800 Hours of Live Events from CW Sports on the ESPN App
All CW Sports will broadcast live on The CW Network as well as stream live on the ESPN App for fans with an ESPN Unlimited subscription plan.

[04/29/26 - 04:01 AM]
Free Live Stream Weekend for Reelz+ App and ReelzPlus.com to Watch Hit Series "On Patrol: Live" on the 350th Live Show Weekend
Viewers simply visit reelzplus.com or download the Reelz+ app and follow on-screen prompts to create a free account with no strings attached to watch for free on Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2.