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[09/20/10 - 06:13 PM]
Development Update: Monday, September 20
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!
AGAINST THE WALL (Lifetime) - Australian actress Rachael Carpani ("McLeod's Daughters") has scored the lead role on the pilot, a drama set in Chicago about a policewoman who causes a rift with her three cop brothers when she decides to join the department's Internal Affairs division. She'll play said woman, Abby Kowalski, in the project, which Dean Parisot has signed on to direct from a script by Annie Brunner. Universal Cable Productions is the studio attached.
THE AMANDA KNOX STORY (Lifetime, New!) - Hayden Panettiere ("Heroes") is set to topline a new docudrama at the cable channel from Pilgrim Films and Television based on the true story of Amanda Knox, a U.S. exchange student convicted by an Italian trial jury of brutally murdering her roommate. 20-year-old Knox, her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, and Ivory Coast native Rudy Guede were arrested in November 2007 and ultimately convicted for the killing of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher. The salacious details about Knox and company made headlines in the U.S. with Senator Maria Cantwell of Knox's home state of Washington decrying the verdict as the result of anti-Americanism in Italy. Robert Dornhelm is directing the project from a script by Wendy Battles while Craig Piligian, Battles, Trevor Walton and Craig Anderson executive producing and Randy Sutter producing.
EXTREME MAKEOVER: WEIGHT LOSS EDITION (A.K.A. OBESE) (ABC) - The Alphabet has rebranded the upcoming series "Obese" as "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition." 3 Ball Productions is behind the hour-long series, which "follows morbidly obese individuals through a year of their life as they work to lose at least half of their body weight." It's understood casting is already underway for a second six-episode cycle due to the lengthy lead time needed to produce the series while the show itself may expand to two hours as a result of the abundant footage available. J.D. Roth and Todd A. Nelson are the executive producers while Chris Powell (TLC's "The 650-Pound Virgin") serves "as their coach, moving into their homes with their families."
HOMELAND (A.K.A. PATRIOTS) (Showtime, New!) - Howard Gordon's drama, an import of the Israeli series "Prisoners of War," has found a home at Showtime with Ben Affleck ("The Town") in talks to direct. The "24" alum co-wrote the pilot alongside Alex Gansa and Gideon Raff, the creator of the original series. Said hour will revolve around an American solider who's rescued after going missing 10 years ago in Iraq and a female CIA operative who investigates the circumstances surrounding his return, after receiving a tip he may actually be part of an upcoming terror plot. Gordon, Gansa and Raff are executive producing with Avi Nir and Ron Telem for Fox 21 and the Keshet Broadcasting Group.
LAW & ORDER: LOS ANGELES (NBC) - Peter Coyote ("FlashForward") has been tapped as the District Attorney on the upcoming spin-off. He'll serve as the supervisor to Alfred Molina and Terrence Howard's characters, both ADAs who will alternate their services each week. Skeet Ulrich, Corey Stoll, Megan Boone, Regina Hall and Rachel Ticotin also star in the hour, which launches next week.
LEGENDS (NBC, New!) - Howard Gordon ("24") has booked his third project this development cycle, about a "CIA operative with an uncanny gift for 'legends' - aka false identities - who is sent on a variety of missions, while simultaneously coping with the possibility that his own identity may be a 'legend' itself." The project, which has a put pilot commitment, is based on a book by Robert Littell. Mark Bomback ("Live Free or Die Hard") is penning the hour and executive producing alongside Gordon and Jonathan Levin for 20th Century Fox Television.
NECESSARY ROUGHNESS (USA) - Callie Thorne ("Rescue Me") has been cast in the lead role on the drama pilot, about "a tough, sexy Long Island divorcee (Thorne) who, to make ends meet, becomes the therapist for a professional football team and quickly becomes sought after by other athletes, musicians, politicians and those living in the spotlight." Elizabeth Kruger and Craig Shapiro co-wrote the 90-minute pilot, production of which was casting said role. Sony Pictures Television is behind the project with Kruger and Shapiro executive producing alongside Donna Dannenfesler, Joe Sabatino and Kevin Dowling, the latter of which will direct.
PAN AM (ABC, New!) - Jack Orman ("Men of a Certain Age") and Thomas Schlamme ("Mr. Sunshine") are set to team for a potential new drama about the defunct air carrier. Said hour, which comes from Sony Pictures Television and has a pilot commitment, will be set in the mid-1960s and focus on "the pilots and flight attendants who once made Pan Am the most glamorous way to fly." Schlamme will direct the project from a script by Orman with Nancy Ganis executive producing alongside the duo. Sid Ganis is also attached as a co-executive producer. Pan Am formally closed in 1991 following a much-ballyhooed bankruptcy.
SHARK TANK (ABC) - Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and chairman of cable channel HDNet, is the latest addition to the show's second season. He'll appear in three episodes as a guest venture capitalist. Cuban joins Jeff Foxworthy, who's likewise set to appear in three installments during the upcoming sophomore run. Cuban previously was the centerpiece of the Alphabet's short-lived reality competition "The Benefactor" in 2004.
UNTITLED MO MANDEL PROJECT (NBC, New!) - Comedian Mo Mandel ("Chelsea Lately") has set up a new comedy at the Peacock which "chronicles what a group of 20 somethings do in the last five years of their lives before the Earth is destroyed by a meteor." Mandel is writing the half-hour and may co-star in the pilot, should it move forward. 3 Arts Entertainment is producing.
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[05/18/13 - 09:03 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Tops Viewers, Demos with "Shark Tank"
The show's two-hour season finale powers the Alphabet to victory.
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[05/18/13 - 08:59 AM]
"Rock Center with Brian Williams" Scores Its Second-Highest Adult 18-49 and Total-Viewer Results in Three Months
NBC spins the numbers for Friday, May 17.
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[05/18/13 - 08:51 AM]
ABC Wins Friday as "Shark Tank" Closes Out with its Best-Ever Finale and Strongest Season Ever
ABC spins the numbers for Friday, May 17.
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[05/17/13 - 03:51 PM]
Thursday's Cable Ratings: TNT, ESPN Top Charts with NBA Playoffs
Plus: numbers for AMC's "Small Town Security," MTV's "Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous" and FX's "Anger Management."
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[05/17/13 - 01:47 PM]
Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton Set to Return to "The Voice" in Fall
Plus: Shakira and Usher will pair with Levine and Shelton for the sixth cycle in midseason.
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[05/17/13 - 12:16 PM]
Video: Showtime(R) Releases Official Trailer for Eighth and Final Season of "Dexter(R)"
The show's swan song begins Sunday, June 30 at 9:00/8:00c on the pay channel.
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[05/17/13 - 09:48 AM]
ABC, ESPN Combine to Exclusively Televise 2013 NBA Western Conference Finals
The San Antonio Spurs/Memphis Grizzlies series opens this Sunday, May 19 on ABC.
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[05/17/13 - 09:01 AM]
Unaired Episodes of "Don't Trust the B---- In Apartment 23" Now Online and Select Mobile Devices
The eight episodes will be live through June 2.
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[05/17/13 - 09:00 AM]
"Phineas and Ferb's" Breakout Internet Star Dr. Doofenshmirtz Is Back for a Special "Shark Tank" Installment of "Doof's Daily Dirt"
Plus: DisneyChannel.com extends "Doof's Daily Dirt" web series for another 26 episodes beginning this summer.
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[05/17/13 - 08:46 AM]
"The Office" Finale Out-Rates Every Telecast of the Show for the Past 16 Months
NBC spins the numbers for Thursday, May 16.
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[05/17/13 - 08:33 AM]
ABC's "Scandal" Marks Most-Watched Telecast Ever and Spikes Over Last Season's Finale
ABC spins the numbers for Thursday, May 16.
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[05/17/13 - 08:23 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: FOX, "American Idol" Top Night of Finales
Plus: NBC remains stuck in fourth place despite its swan song for "The Office."
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[05/17/13 - 07:27 AM]
Syfy Announces Fifth and Final Season of Original Series "Warehouse 13"
Said Mark Stern: "'Warehouse 13' has been an incredible signature series for us."
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[05/17/13 - 07:27 AM]
HGTV and DIY Network Announce New Programming Roles for Steven Lerner and Freddy James
Lerner has been elevated to senior vice president of programming and production and James was named senior vice president, strategic development and program integration.
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[05/16/13 - 11:09 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, May 16
Updates include: "Silicon Valley" latest to series at HBO; USA "unlikely" to pick up ABC's "Happy Endings"; and The CW is casting for its Samantha Jones on "The Carrie Diaries."
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