[07/07/10 - 06:38 PM] Development Update: Wednesday, July 7 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!
BEING HUMAN (Syfy) - Mark Pellegrino ("Supernatural") has joined the cast of the show's American incarnation, about three twentysomething roommates: a ghost (Meaghan Rath), a vampire (Sam Witwer) and a werewolf (Sam Huntington). He'll play Bishop, the "charismatic but menacing mentor" of Witwer's character. No other details were given.
CHAOS (CBS) - Tom Spezialy, the creator of the much-ballyhooed drama pilot, has inked a blind script with CBS Television Studios. The spy dramedy, whose cast options expired last week, was set up at 20th Century Fox Television where it likewise originated as a blind script commitment.
CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS) - Marg Helgenberger has signed a new deal with the veteran drama, the first of several renegotiations expected from the ensemble. No financial details however were specified. George Eads, Eric Szmanda, Paul Guilfoyle and former cast member-turned-recurring-player Jorja Fox are also in negotiations for new deals however co-star Liz Vassey, as previously reported, won't be back.
LAW & ORDER: LOS ANGELES (NBC) - Skeet Ulrich ("Jericho") is the first to be cast in the latest installment of the franchise. He'll play Rex Winters, an "ex-Marine who possesses the natural intuition of a cop." EW.com further details the role as: "His experience during the Rodney King riots - which occurred during his second month on the job - shaped his philosophy on police work. Basically, he believes the world is in chaos, and people are either good or bad. As an added twist, he's married to his ex-partner." Casting is underway for the show's other roles, including Rex's partner, a captain, a prosecutor and his assistant.
A LEGAL MIND (USA) - Patrick J. Adams has booked the lead role on the drama pilot, about "a brilliant but unmotivated college student who gets recruited by a top Manhattan corporate law firm despite not being a lawyer." Aaron Korsh is behind the 90-minute pilot, which had previously been cast-contingent. Dutch Oven Productions and Universal Cable Productions are co-producing.
REVIVING OPHELIA (Lifetime, New!) - Jane Kaczmarek ("Malcolm in the Middle") and Kim Dickens ("Treme") are set to topline a new original movie at the cable channel about "adult sisters who must lean on each other when confronted with their daughters' problems - particularly when one of the teenagers is being abused by her boyfriend." They'll play said duo in the project, which is based on Mary Pipher's nonfiction book of the same name (subtitled "Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls"). Bobby Roth is directing from a script by Teena Booth with Joel S. Rice and Michael Prupas executive producing for Muse Entertainment. Production is underway for an air date later this year.
WEEDS (Showtime) - Eric Lange ("Lost") is set to recur on the show's upcoming sixth season. He'll play Ellis Tate, an old classmate of Nancy's. Lange joins the previously announced Richard Dreyfuss, Linda Hamilton and Peter Stormare in the new season as well as returning guest stars Alanis Morissette and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
