or


[11/03/10 - 06:12 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, November 3
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!


ARE YOU THERE VODKA? IT'S ME CHELSEA (NBC, New!) - Chelsea Handler's autobiography is being developed as a multi-camera comedy at the Peacock. Dottie Zicklin ("Dharma & Greg") and Julie Ann Larson ("Ruby & the Rockits") are penning the adaptation, which won't feature the comedian herself in the title role. Said half-hour, which has a put pilot commitment, will instead track "a twentysomething woman named Chelsea who won't have the same profession as comedian/author Handler but will carry a lot of the traits in her character." Handler will nevertheless executive produce alongside her Borderline Amazing Productions partner Tom Brunelle as well as Werner Entertainment's Tom Werner and Mike Clements for Warner Bros. Television.


COMMUNITY (NBC) - The Peacock has ordered two additional episodes for the show's sophomore season. Said pickup brings its season total to 24 episodes. Last week the series posted a season high 2.4 rating among adults 18-49 with its Halloween-themed episode.


DOCUMENTAL (HBO, New!) - "Tropic Thunder" alums Justin Theroux and Steve Coogan are set to topline a potential comedy at the pay channel about "a documentary filmmaker (Theroux) who tracks down his idol, an equally inept filmmaker (Coogan), and documents his return to his craft." Theroux is writing and directing the half-hour, which will be shot in London. Paul Simms ("Bored to Death"), Red Hour Films's Ben Stiller and 3 Arts Entertainment's Michael Rotenberg and Nick Frenkel will executive produce alongside Theroux and Coogan. Stuart Cornfeld, Stiller's producing partner, will also serve as a consultant.


FOURTH ESTATE (AMC, New!)/LONG GRAY LINE (ABC, New!) - Former MTV News correspondent Gideon Yago has sold a pair of drama projects, both of which he'll write and executive produce. The latter - "a sudsy drama set at West Point" - also comes from director/executive producer Gary Fleder. The former - a drama centering on an investigative journalist whose "world is upended when he takes on a major scandal - and some truths about the reporter himself are in danger of being exposed" - likewise comes from Landscape Entertainment's Robert Cooper and JJ Jamieson. No studios were listed as attached.


LUCK (HBO) - Three-time Oscar nominee Joan Allen ("The Contender") is set to recur on the upcoming Dustin Hoffman-led drama, "a provocative look at horse racing - the owners, gamblers, jockeys and diverse gaming industry players." She'll play "a woman who runs a program that uses prison inmates to care for broken-down racehorses." Production on the series is underway for a premiere date sometime in 2011.


REST (NBC, New!) - Milo Ventimiglia ("Heroes") is set to topline a potential new drama at the Peacock based on his comic of the same name, "a pulse-pounding sci-fi thriller" that "tells the tale of John Barret, a white-collar New Yoker whose life changes when he becomes addicted to a drug that prevents him from falling asleep!" Said hour comes from Storyline Entertainment's Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and Top Cow's Marc Silvestri and Matt Hawkins all of whom will executive produce alongside Ventimiglia and his Divide Pictures partner Russ Cundiff. Philip Levens ("Knight Rider") is on board to pen the hour and will likewise executive produce. The "Rest" comic was created by Mike O'Sullivan, written by Mark Powers and produced by Ventimiglia and Cudiff. No studio was indicated.


ROCCO'S DINNER PARTY (Bravo) - The Rocco DiSpirito-led project, "in which DiSpirito sizes up some of the country's most promising aspiring chefs to see if they have the chops to impress at a private dinner party attended by his discriminating guests," has reportedly been ordered to series. Chachi Senior, Dave Noll and Linda Lea are the executive producers with DiSpirito himself serving as a producer.


UNTITLED JOHN HAMBURG/IAN HELFER PROJECT (FOX, New!) - Feature writer/director John Hamburg ("I Love You, Man") has booked a single-camera comedy at the network about "a father and son, both recently divorced, who become roommates and explore the dating world together." 20th Century Fox Television and Chernin Entertainment are behind the half-hour, which Hamburg will co-write with Ian Helfer. Hamburg, Helfer, Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope then will executive produce the project, which was the result of a blind script deal Hamburg inked with the studio over the summer.


UNTITLED MICHAEL PATRICK KING PROJECT (NBC, New!) - "Sex and the City" franchise steward Michael Patrick King is reportedly close to a pilot commitment from the Peacock for a new "Shampoo"-esque dramedy about "a straight Beverly Hills hairdresser in his 50s who is struggling to stay young and relevant in a place where looks are everything." King wrote the project on spec and will executive produce for Warner Bros. Television, where is overall deal is based.






  [november 2010]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· ARE YOU THERE, CHELSEA? (NBC)
· BORED TO DEATH (HBO)
· COMMUNITY (YAHOO)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DHARMA & GREG (ABC)
· DOCUMENTAL (HBO)
· FOURTH ESTATE (AMC)
· HEROES (NBC)
· KNIGHT RIDER (NBC)
· LONG GRAY LINE (ABC)
· LUCK (HBO)
· MANN'S WORLD (NBC)
· REST (NBC)
· ROCCO'S DINNER PARTY (BRAVO)
· RUBY & THE ROCKITS (ABC FAMILY)
· SEX AND THE CITY (HBO)
· UNTITLED HAMBURG & HELFER PROJECT (FOX)





[12/16/25 - 01:33 PM]
Next on Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN - January 2026
Highlights include new seasons of "Tell Me Lies" and "A Thousand Blows" plus the premieres of "The Beauty" and "Wonder Man."

[12/16/25 - 01:04 PM]
FX's "Seven Sisters" Ordered to Series on Hulu
Elizabeth Olsen, Cristin Milioti and J. Smith-Cameron lead the new family drama featuring Anthony Edwards, Meredith Hagner, Odessa Young, Zoë Winters, Bridget Brown, Carolyn Kettig, Philip Ettinger, and Ryan Eggold.

[12/16/25 - 12:02 PM]
Video: "Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story" - Official Trailer - Netflix
People sought her guidance - then came her child abuse arrest with mom influencer Ruby Franke. Unpack the chilling case of therapist Jodi Hildebrandt.

[12/16/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of December 8 - "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery" Cracks the Case at No. 1 in the Top 10
New comedy series "Man vs. Baby" took No. 1 on the English TV list with 19.1 million views, with the Rowan Atkinson vehicle eliciting laughs over the bumbling Trevor Bingley trying to earn money house-sitting for millionaires while a lost baby keeps him on his toes.

[12/16/25 - 11:01 AM]
Video: Trailer & Key Art - Hulu Original Series "The Artful Dodger" Season 2
The comedy-adventure series starring Thomas Brodie-Sangster, David Thewlis and Maia Mitchell returns for season two on February 10 on Hulu and Disney+.

[12/16/25 - 10:01 AM]
Snoop Dogg to Headline Lions-Vikings with "Snoop's Holiday Halftime Party" During NFL Christmas Gameday Live on Netflix
Snoop Dogg takes the reins at halftime, promising chart-topping tracks, plenty of holiday spirit, and special guests, making for what is sure to be an unforgettable performance.

[12/16/25 - 09:52 AM]
Video: "The Life of Chuck" - Trailer - Hulu
From author Stephen King and director Mike Flanagan, the film - starring Tom Hiddleston, Jacob Tremblay, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Karen Gillan - streams December 26.

[12/16/25 - 09:08 AM]
MGM+ Greenlights Series Adaptation of Iconic Western "The Magnificent Seven"
After a peaceful Quaker village is massacred by mercenaries working for a greedy and ruthless land baron trying to force them off the land he covets, seven gifted but flawed mercenaries are hired by the community to protect them from the land baron's hired guns.

[12/16/25 - 09:01 AM]
"Miss Austen" Returns for Season 2 on "Masterpiece"
This newest season is largely based on Gill Hornby's latest novel, "The Elopement," which further delves into the family life of Jane and Cassandra Austen.

[12/16/25 - 09:00 AM]
Meet the 11 New Survivalists and the Families Who Hold Their Fate as FOX's Survival Competition Series "Extracted" Returns for Season Two
Only one competitor and their family will endure it all and walk away with a life-changing quarter million dollar grand prize!

[12/16/25 - 09:00 AM]
CBS Announces "Christina Aguilera: Christmas in Paris," A New Holiday Special Airing Monday, Dec. 22 on CBS and Paramount+
Filmed in front of an intimate audience above the Musée du Quai Branly, Aguilera performs both holiday classics and her career hits against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, fashioned into a shimmering Christmas tree.

[12/16/25 - 08:30 AM]
The Epic New Landmark Natural History Series, "Kingdom," Premieres Saturday, January 24 on BBC America and AMC+
The six-part series chronicles the dramatic real-life sagas of four African rival animal families - leopards, hyenas, wild dogs, and lions - as they all fight to claim a remote Zambian paradise as their home.

[12/16/25 - 08:03 AM]
HGTV Adds Over 30 Episodes of Original Content to 2026 Slate with New Series "Wild Vacation Rentals" and Renewals for "Zillow Gone Wild" and "Castle Impossible"
Coming early next year, "Nobody Wants This" actresses and comedians Sherry Cola and D'Arcy Carden will embark on an epic girls' trip of a lifetime to visit America's extraordinary vacation homes in the new HGTV series "Wild Vacation Rentals."

[12/16/25 - 08:01 AM]
Video: Gather 'Round Faithfuls! Peacock Debuts Official Trailer for Season 4 of "The Traitors"
Season 4 debuts with the first three supersized episodes on Thursday, January 8 at 6pm PT/9pm ET, followed by two new episodes on Thursday, January 15, and one new episode weekly through the finale and reunion event on February 26.

[12/16/25 - 08:01 AM]
Netflix and iHeartMedia Announce Exclusive Video Podcast Partnership for Top iHeartPodcasts
More than 15 industry-leading iHeartPodcasts will stream only on Netflix including "My Favorite Murder," "The Breakfast Club," "Bobby Bones Presents: The Bobbycast," "Behind the Bastards," "The Psychology of Your 20s" and more.