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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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[08/31/26 - 12:48 PM]
TNT Sports' College Football Coverage Highlighted by Season-Long Big 12 Football, Expanded Five-Game CFP Lineup & Multiplatform Programming Across TNT, truTV, HBO Max & Bleacher Report
Kicking off TNT's second year of Big 12 football, the West Virginia Mountaineers will host the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on Saturday, September 5, at Noon ET on TNT, truTV and HBO Max.
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[08/31/26 - 11:03 AM]
ESPN Announces MLB Game of the Day Schedule for September
The September slate includes games on ESPN's linear networks and the ESPN App through MLB.TV, along with a daily selection of out-of-market matchups available through ESPN Unlimited's Game of the Day offering.
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[08/31/26 - 10:09 AM]
Norman Reedus Joins James Marsden in a New Action Thriller Series "Disavowed" Coming to Apple TV
Art Marcum and Matt Holloway are behind the project.
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[08/31/26 - 10:00 AM]
Pluto TV Expands Its Anime Strategy with Major Franchises, Broader English Dub Access and New Simulcast Programming
More than 45 billion minutes of anime content were streamed in the U.S. in 2025, according to Nielsen, underscoring the genre's growing place in mainstream entertainment.
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[08/31/26 - 09:31 AM]
"Tires" Renewed for Season 4 on Netflix
The news arrives as Season 3 earned its highest-ever ranking on the Global Top 10 English TV list, reaching #5 the week of August 17, 2026.
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[08/31/26 - 09:01 AM]
Netflix's "Lupin" Part 4 - First Look Debut
Part 4 will premiere on October 23 on Netflix.
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[08/31/26 - 08:31 AM]
Manny Halley Nets Five Bonus Episodes of Hit Mockumentary Comedy Series "Lot Patrol" on BET
The five bonus episodes will be shot at IMANI Studio, Manny Halley's newly rebranded production facility in Pacoima, formerly operated as Quixote North Valley Studios.
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[08/31/26 - 08:00 AM]
HBO Original Documentary Series "A Killer Story" Debuts September 10
The three-part documentary series examines a polarizing murder case that spanned more than two decades and captured national attention.
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[08/31/26 - 07:31 AM]
Roku Originals and Paris Hilton's 11:11 Media Revisit Fame, Frenzy and Pop Culture in "The It Girls: Inside the 2000s" (wt)
The upcoming documentary will go behind the glossy images of early 2000s tabloid culture to tell the stories of the women who became headlines - and the women still living that story today.
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[08/31/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Tyler Perry's Doing Life" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A single mother and an incarcerated man forge an unlikely bond through heartfelt letters, unlocking a door to redemption, hope and love against all odds.
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[08/31/26 - 07:01 AM]
"Maxton Hall," The Final Season Premieres December 9
Nothing will ever be the same.
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[08/31/26 - 06:00 AM]
HBO Max Brings "The Howard Stern Show" to Streaming, Debuting September 17
Each week, Howard's SiriusXM show will be adapted into a streamable episode for HBO Max.
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[08/30/26 - 08:01 PM]
Video: "My Happy Marriage" Special Episodes - Official Teaser - Netflix
As their relationship blossoms, the young couple face new challenges as Miyo meets Kiyoka's parents and ominous conspirators threaten their peace.
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[08/30/26 - 11:01 AM]
Video: "Outside" - Official Trailer - Netflix
"Outside" is the Sidemen's latest spin-off, moving the action from "Inside's" four walls into the forest.
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[08/28/26 - 11:10 PM]
Development Update: Week of August 24-28
Updates include: Hulu cancels newcomer "Not Suitable for Work"; Peacock eyes "Bel Air" spin-off focusing on Hilary Banks; and Golf Channel pulls "Big Break" reboot series.
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