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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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[09/11/26 - 11:31 AM]
AMC Global Media Greenlights "Point Break"
More than three decades after the events of the original film, a new heist crew inspired by the Ex-Presidents has emerged and the FBI must rely on a mysterious ex-pro surfer with a checkered past to infiltrate them.
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[09/11/26 - 10:39 AM]
Video: FOX Sports Unveils Star-Studded FOX NFL Campaign Featuring Tom Brady and Michael Strahan
The first two spots "Break Room" and "Barb" debut today and will be featured on FOX, FOX One and FOX Sports social platforms with two additional spots debuting in the coming weeks.
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[09/11/26 - 08:00 AM]
ESPN Films' "14 Days in Gainesville" Premieres September 15 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
The new "30 for 30" documentary examines an unforgettable two-week period in the history of the University of Florida and its football program.
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[09/10/26 - 05:01 PM]
Netflix Greenlights and Unveils Ensemble Cast for Mystery Noir Series "Outback" (wt)
Based on the popular webtoon "G'Day," the series builds on the original's dark, mysterious tension while dramatically reimagining its characters, backstories, and relationships.
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[09/10/26 - 02:46 PM]
Creative Elements Announced for the 78th Emmy Awards, Sept 14. on NBC and Peacock
The broadcast will feature celebrations of the milestone 30th anniversary of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" with David Boreanaz and Sarah Michelle Gellar, and the 50th anniversary of "Charlie's Angels" with Kate Jackson, Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith.
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[09/10/26 - 01:01 PM]
Video: NBC Debuts Official Promo & Highlights Key Art for "One Chicago"
The franchise follows the professional and personal lives of first responders and public service workers who lays themselves on the line to save and protect the citizens of the Windy City.
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[09/10/26 - 01:00 PM]
CBS Announces 2026 Premiere Dates and Milestones for the #1 Daytime Lineup
The network has held its spot as the highest-rated network in daytime for 40 consecutive seasons.
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[09/10/26 - 12:03 PM]
Get Unprecedented Access Inside Las Vegas' Golden Nugget Casino in "Secret Life of a Vegas Casino" - Premieres Tuesday, September 29 on Discovery Channel
Just off the chaos of busy Fremont Street, cameras capture the real-life and often shocking moments that unfold around the clock: unruly guests, high-pressure special events and the relentless efforts required to keep thousands of people safe and entertained each day.
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[09/10/26 - 11:06 AM]
Video: Tubi Drops Official Trailer for New Original Horror-Comedy Film "Buzzkill"
When a group of sorority sisters find themselves trapped with a vengeful killer, party-girl Nora (Siena Agudong) knows that the drunker she gets, the more her tipsy memories start revealing clues about who's murdering her friends.
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[09/10/26 - 11:06 AM]
Ovation TV to Debut the U.S. Premiere of "Murdoch Mysteries" Season 20 on October 5
Set in Toronto at the dawn of the 20th century, the one-hour drama series explores the intriguing world of William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson), a methodical and dashing detective who pioneers innovative forensic techniques to solve some of the city's most gruesome murders.
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[09/10/26 - 11:02 AM]
Wisconsin-Notre Dame on NBC & Peacock Is NBC Sports' Third-Most Watched Notre Dame Football Game Since 2005, Averaging 8.1 Million Viewers
The audience for the No. 4 Fighting Irish's 41-13 victory peaked at 9.7 million viewers in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET) as Notre Dame led 13-10.
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[09/10/26 - 11:01 AM]
Video: "Prison Break: Black Creek" - Now in Production - Hulu
Welcome to Black Creek Penitentiary.
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[09/10/26 - 11:01 AM]
HBO to Debut the Tony and Olivier Award-Winning Play "Oh, Mary!" in 2027
Cole Escola, Giles Terera, Bianca Leigh, Tony Macht and Michael Urie will star in the filmed adaptation.
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[09/10/26 - 11:00 AM]
E!'s New Gilded Pleasure Is Here! "The Golden Life" Premieres Tuesday, October 20 at 10 PM ET/PT
Kelly Bensimon, Countess Luann De Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, Sonja Morgan, and Ramona Singer are bringing decades of friendship and feuds to sunny Palm Beach, FL, for a new start in the Sunshine State.
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[09/10/26 - 10:31 AM]
Karen Kingsbury's "The Christmas Ring" to Premiere as Part of Great American Christmas 2026
Jana Kramer, Ben Hollingsworth, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Ashley Brown, and Jessie James Decker star in the project, which is based on the 2025 book of the same name.
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