[10/28/10 - 08:29 PM] Development Update: Thursday, October 28 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!
AGAINST THE WALL (Lifetime) - Marisa Ramirez, Brandon Quinn and Chris Johnson are all the latest additions to the pilot, "a family drama set in Chicago about policewoman Abby Kowalski (Rachael Carpani), who causes a rift with her three cop brothers when she decides to join the department's Internal Affairs division." Ramirez will play Abby's new partner at Internal Affairs; with Quinn as Abby's younger brother Richie, a Chicago Patrol Officer; Johnson as Abby's longtime friend, a lawyer. Kathy Baker and Treat Williams also star in the Universal Cable Productions-based hour from director Michael Fresco and writer Annie Brunner.
GIRLS WHO LIKE BOYS WHO LIKE BOYS (Sundance) - The World of Wonder-produced series is set to premiere Tuesday, December 7 at 10:00/9:00c. Here's how the cable channel details the project: "Sundance Channel explores the love affair between straight women and their gay best friends in the network's primetime original series, "Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys." This groundbreaking documentary series explores the emotional and social tensions that frame the relationships of four couples, each of whom are dealing with a different aspect of their lives. The eight part, half-hour program is produced for Sundance Channel by World of Wonder and was filmed in and around New York City."
I'M BOY CRAZY (Showtime, New!) - Alexi Wasser is set to star and executive produce a potential comedy at the pay channel based on her blog of the same name, ImBoyCrazy.com. Daisy Gardner ("Californication") is attached to co-create the Los Angeles-set half-hour, which centers on "a girl (Wasser) looking for love, purpose, and the meaning of her life, one dude at a time." Lynda Obst is also on board to executive produce alongside 3 Arts Entertainment's Dave Becky and Alan Rautbort.
JOAN & MELISSA: JOAN KNOWS BEST? (A.K.A. MOTHER KNOWS BEST?) (WE tv) - The Joan and Melissa Rivers-led series, formerly known as "Mother Knows Best?", will premiere Thursday, January 20, at 9:00/8:00c. Here's how the network details the series: "Melissa Rivers is experiencing Los Angeles domestic bliss -- she has a sweet young son, a great live-in boyfriend and her infamous mother, Joan Rivers lives on the opposite side of the country. In WE tv's brand-new series, Melissa's world is rocked when her mother Joan sets out to switch coasts, change her lifestyle and infiltrate Melissa's home. When Joan moves in and takes over her daughter's life, chaos ensues. At times loving and at times tumultuous, this ultimate mother/daughter showdown will address the question plaguing daughters since the beginning of time: does mother really know best?"
JUSTIFIED (FX) - Joseph Lyle Taylor ("Close to Home") is set to recur on the show's upcoming sophomore season. He'll play "a cop whose family consists of pot farmers and is a brother to a new character on the show, played by Jeremy Davies." Season two is due in February.
NECESSARY ROUGHNESS (USA) - Mehcad Brooks ("My Generation") has landed a role on the drama pilot, about "tough, sexy Long Island divorcee Danielle Santino (Callie 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." He's on board as one of her clients: "a star wide receiver for the Hawks who has been unable to hold onto the ball recently while regularly getting into trouble with the law." Marc Blucas and Scott Cohen also star in the Sony Pictures Television-based project, to be helmed by Kevin Dowling off a script by Craig Shapiro and Liz Kruger.
ONCE UPON A TIME (ABC, new!) - Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis ("Lost") are back in business with the Alphabet as the pair have booked a potential drama at the network billed as "a modern-day take on fairy tales, with a female protagonist who comes from a unique background." "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof is consulting on the project, which is set up at ABC Studios. As for specifics, the show "takes place in a small Maine town during the present time" and features "a mix of sci-fi and fantasy with a strong mystery element."
SADDLE RANCH (VH1, New!) - The cable channel has ordered eight to 10 half-hour episodes of a new reality series focusing on the Hollywood hopefuls working at the Saddle Ranch Chop House, a restaurant "known for being packed with attractive locals, reality stars and tourists, some of whom take their chances on the bar's mechanical bull." Bunim-Murray Productions is behind the project, with Jonathan Murray, Gil Goldschein and Scott Freeman executive producing alongside Saddle Ranch owner Larry Pollack. Jeff Olde, Jill Holmes and Sean Boyle will oversee the series for VH1. Production is expected to be completed in time for a spring premiere.
SHAMELESS (Showtime) - Vanessa Bell Calloway ("Hawthorne") has scored a role on the upcoming drama, about "a far-from-stellar working class patriarch (William H. Macy) of an unconventional Chicago brood of six motley kids (headed by eldest sibling Emmy Rossum) who keep the home afloat while he's out drinking and carousing." She'll play the vivacious mother Shanola Hampton's Veronica, the best friend of Rossum's character.
SOO (FX, New!) - Barry Josephson ("Bones") is developing a small screen take on the 2007 Korean movie of the same name (also known as, "Act of Revenge"). Said hour, to be penned by feature writer Josh Olson ("History of Violence"), tells the story of a hitman who, after witnessing the killing of his estranged twin brother, decides to assume his life and become a policeman to find those responsible. Alexander Young and CJ Entertainment's Ted Kim and Jiwon Park will also serve as executive producers.
A STAND-UP MOTHER (A.K.A. UNTITLED TAMMY PESCATELLI PROJECT) (WE tv) - The Tammy Pescatelli-led reality series has a title and a premiere date: Thursday, January 20 at 10:00/9:00c. Said hour is detailed as follows by the network: "Tammy Pescatelli left her rising comedy career in Los Angeles to raise her son in Meadville, PA - a town of 14,182 people- 50 of which are Tammy's crazy loud extended family. Determined to have it all, Tammy and her husband both pursue their careers in Los Angeles while giving their son Luca the small town upbringing he deserves. As a result, their relatable struggle to balance career and family takes on a slapstick tone as they constantly trade off the baby to hit the road and make people laugh. Full of chaos, hilarious moments, and love, Tammy's struggle to give her all to every aspect of her life will charm even the most cynical viewer."
UNTITLED LENA DUNHAM PROJECT (HBO) - Jemima Kirke, Allison Williams and Adam Driver have all landed roles on the comedy pilot, about "the assorted humiliations and rare triumphs of three girlfriends in their early 20's: Hannah (Lena Dunham), an eternal intern at a publishing house in SoHo and a hopeful writer; Marnie (Williams, daughter of the NBC News anchor Brian Williams), a sexy, bitchy and ambitious assistant at a slick political PR firm whose goal id to practice environmental law; and Jessa (Kirke), a space cadet with hippie tendencies who wants to be an artist/educator." Driver then will play "a handsome but slightly off carpenter with whom Hannah has been sleeping for the past seven months." Judd Apatow and Jenni Kohner are executive producing the half-hour, which Dunham wrote and will direct/co-executive produce.
UNTITLED ROB SCHNEIDER PROJECT (CBS, New!) - Rob Schneider is set to topline a potential comedy at the Eye about "a solitary guy who marries into a huge Mexican-American family." Lew Morton ("Big Lake") is penning/executive producing the half-hour, which comes from CBS TV Studios-based executive producers Eric and Kim Tannenbaum. Schneider will also executive produce the semi-autobiographical project alongside his brother John via their From Out of Nowhere Productions banner.
