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[09/17/10 - 07:09 PM]
Development Update: Friday, September 17
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) |
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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!
CASTLE (ABC) - Lee Tergesen has been tapped as a new antagonist on the crime procedural. He'll play Gates, "a shrewd, hardened, and violent felon who becomes the prime suspect in this season's big '3XK' serial-killer investigation." Tergesen will make his first appearance on the show's seventh episode.
THE COUNCIL OF DADS (FOX, New!) - Peter Tolan ("Rescue Me") has booked yet another project, this time a half-hour comedy at FOX. Said effort, based on the non-fiction book by Bruce Feiler (subtitled "My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me"), revolves around a man who, after being diagnosed with rare, life-threatening cancer, assembles six of his closest friends - each with their area of expertise - who agree to help raise his young twin daughters following his death. Tolan is writing and executive producing the Sony Pictures Television-based project, which has a $1.5 million pilot production commitment. Feiler will serve as a consultant on the adaptation.
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC) - Nancy Travis ("The Bill Engvall Show") has snagged a role on the show's upcoming seventh season. She'll play the mother of Brian Austin Green's character. Travis's casting comes on the heels of John Schneider being tapped as Green's father. Both parents make their debut on the series come episode seven.
MY FORMERLY HOT LIFE (ABC, New!) - Stephanie Dolgoff's bestselling memoir is being eyed for the small screen at ABC. Julie Anne Robinson ("The Middle") is attached to direct and executive produce the potential single-comedy, "a comedic look at the good, the bad, and the ugly moments in a woman's life as she adjusts to the realization that she is no longer forever 21." Dolgoff and Christy Fletcher and Rebecca Gradinger of Fletcher & Co. will serve as co-executive producers. No writer or studio was indicated.
PERSON OF INTEREST (CBS, New!) - J.J. Abrams's latest entry has found a home at CBS. The drama is being penned by Jonah Nolan, who co-wrote "The Dark Knight" and "The Prestige" alongside his director brother, Christopher. No details were given about the crime thriller other than it is set up at Abrams's Warner Bros. Television-based Bad Robot. Abrams, Nolan and Bryan Burk will then executive produce.
SPARTACUS: BLOOD & SAND (Starz) - Andy Whitfield is departing the series as the actor been advised by his doctors to immediately resume aggressive treatment for a recurrence of cancer. "It's with a deep sense of disappointment that I must step aside from such an exceptional project as Spartacus, and all the wonderful people involved. It seems that it is time for myself and my family to embark on another extraordinary journey. Thank you sincerely for the support so far," said Whitfield in a statement.
While Whitfield's exit places season two, originally targeted for September 2011, in limbo, the show's six-episode prequel "Gods of the Arena" is still on track for a January premiere. "Right now, we just want to extend our concern and support to Andy and his family," said Starz's Carmi Zlotnik in the network's portion of the statement. "We will address our programming plans at some later date."
SQUIRRELS (The CW, New!)/UNTITLED COOPER & LEVIN PROJECT (CBS, New!) - Former "Brothers & Sisters" showrunners Jennifer Levin and Sherri Cooper-Landsman have set up a pair of drama projects. First up at CBS as an untitled hour about "a 45-year-old mom of three whose neurosurgeon husband kills himself, leaving her in financial ruin and forcing her to go back to complete the surgical residency she never finished, only now her oldest son is her supervising resident." Richard Shepard, Sean and Bryan Furst are also on board to executive produce, the former of which may direct.
Then at The CW there's "Squirrels," about a woman who, "following a whirlwind affair over graduation weekend with the hottest guy in her med school class, makes a radical decision to give up a plum surgical residency in Chicago in order to be near him, and takes the only remaining spot at UCLA -- psychiatry, a field which she has no belief in." Carol Mendelsohn and Julie Weitz are likewise attached to executive produce. Both hours come from CBS Television Studios.
THAT'S A RECORD (NBC, New!) - Jimmy Fallon is set to executive produce a new game show pilot for the Peacock in which users attempt unusual world records. Chris Hardwick ("Web Soup") is hosting the project, which is based on the Universal Record Database, a website devoted to said feats. Fallon frequently features such efforts on "Late Night," such as the number of bunnies snuggled in a hammock or the fastest time a robot can decorate a cupcake. JD Roth and Todd A. Nelson of 3 Ball Productions are also attached.
TRUE LIES (ABC, New!) - A small screen take on James Cameron's 1994 feature of the same name, about a super-spy (Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film) whose family discovers his real job, has found a home at ABC. Rene Echevarria ("Castle") is penning the adaptation which he'll executive produce alongside Cameron and his Lightstorm Entertainment banner for 20th Century Fox Television. The Alphabet has given a script commitment to the project with a penalty attached should it not go to pilot.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[07/14/26 - 12:00 PM]
FOX Sets Fall 2026 Premiere Dates for a Season of Returning Favorites, Iconic Franchises, and Big Television Moments
The network's fall season kicks off Monday, September 21 with the return of "Celebrity Name That Tune" and "Celebrity Weakest Link."
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[07/14/26 - 11:00 AM]
"Big Brother" Delivers Most-Watched Premiere Since 2021
On social media, the premiere was the most-engaged and most-viewed premiere since 2020.
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[07/14/26 - 10:52 AM]
Lifetime Reteams with Angie Harmon to Star and Executive Produce Two New Installments of "Buried in Barstow"
The wheelhouse of movies follow former assassin Hazel King (Angie Harmon) as she tries to build a quiet life for herself and her daughter but her dark past keeps coming back to haunt her.
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[07/14/26 - 10:03 AM]
New Original Competition Series "Cocktail Wars" Hosted by Lance Bass and Joey Fatone to Premiere on August 18 on E!
In a series of themed challenges, "Cocktail Wars" pits America's buzziest mixologists against each other in a lively, high-stakes competition with $10,000 on the line in every episode.
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[07/14/26 - 10:02 AM]
Ruiz Jr. Faces Knyba at Prudential Center, Newark, NJ on September 4 - Live on TNT and DAZN
The third headline show of TNT Sports and DAZN's "The Fight," the new monthly live boxing series, will be broadcast co-exclusively in the U.S. on TNT, truTV?and DAZN and worldwide on DAZN.
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[07/14/26 - 09:43 AM]
CBS Leads 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Nominations with 48
"Beyond the Gates" and "The Young and the Restless" both received nominations for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series.
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[07/14/26 - 09:31 AM]
Netflix and Mythical Partner Up to Bring "Good Mythical Morning," "Mythical Kitchen" and "Last Meals" to Netflix
Beginning September 7, the same day as "Good Mythical Morning's" season 30 premiere, members can watch new episodes dropping day-and-date alongside YouTube and a library of episodes from these iconic series, giving fans more ways to enjoy their daily dose of Mythical entertainment.
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[07/14/26 - 09:06 AM]
"The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only Live" - Premiere Event Performance to Make Streaming Debut on AMC+ on August 23
Additionally, highlights from the electrifying premiere event, featuring original songs from series composer Daniel Hart and performed by Sam Reid, will be screened for fans in Hall H at Comic Con International on Friday, July 24.
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[07/14/26 - 09:01 AM]
FOX Nation Teams Up with Conor McGregor and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship for New Competition Series "World's Baddest Man"
Premiering in summer of 2027, the series is hosted by McGregor, who is prominently featured throughout as elite domestic and international fighters compete in a high-stakes, bracket-style tournament for the chance to be crowned the World's Baddest Man.
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[07/14/26 - 08:42 AM]
ESPN to Air 2026 WNBA All-Star Draft Featuring Legends Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon on July 15
The 2026 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game will be played in Chicago at United Center on Saturday, July 25, and broadcast on ABC and Disney+ (8:30 p.m. ET).
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[07/14/26 - 08:01 AM]
First Look at Suspenseful New Thriller Series "Below" - On Netflix October 8
Calvin Penney (Josh Hartnett) is a big hearted but stubborn fisherman living in a small Newfoundland town, who's still haunted by his father's mysterious death from decades ago.
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[07/14/26 - 08:00 AM]
TLC's New Series "Double Lives of Suburban Wives" Reveals Secrets Behind Everyday Suburban Lives
The series follows these couples as they navigate the complexities of marriage, parenthood and suburban life alongside careers in adult content creation.
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[07/14/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "The Shards" - Official Trailer - FX
Set against the vivid backdrop of 1980s Los Angeles, the series follows a group of privileged high school seniors at an elite prep school as they navigate identity, sex, jealousy, obsession and the dangers lurking beneath the surface of American adolescence.
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[07/14/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "The Whisper Man" - Official Trailer - Netflix
When his young son vanishes, a widower enlists help from his estranged father, a retired detective who put away the serial killer now linked to the case.
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[07/14/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: Apple Original Films Unveils Trailer for Action-Packed "Mayday"
Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh team up in "Mayday," a genre-bending, action-packed buddy comedy that flips the spy thriller on its head.
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