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[11/22/10 - 06:45 PM]
Development Update: Monday, November 22
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!


A 100% CHANCE OF RAYNE (ABC, New!) - Harris Goldberg ("Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo") has landed a new semi-autobiographical comedy at the Alphabet about "a perpetually single guy whose younger sister's ugly duckling childhood girlfriend shows up on his door step 10 years later, now blossomed into a gorgeous, yet flawed 21 year old." Vince Manze is executive producing the half-hour, which was originally set up at NBC, alongside Goldberg. Separately, Harris is also behind "To Be Continued" at HBO. Gary Randall is likewise executive producing said effort, about generational love.


ALCATRAZ (FOX) - Jorge Garcia ("Lost") is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, about "a group of missing Alcatraz prisoners and guards who reappear in the present day [and] the efforts of a team of FBI agents to track them down and unravel the mystery behind their disappearance 30 years prior." He'll play hippy geek Dr. Diego Soto in the project, which comes from co-creators Elizabeth Sarnoff, Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt. J.J. Abrams's Warner Bros. Television-based Bad Robot Productions is producing while Danny Cannon is attached to direct. Production begins in January in San Francisco and Vancouver.


BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: BLOOD & CHROME (Syfy) - Jonas Pate ("Caprica") has signed on to direct the two-hour backdoor pilot, which "takes place in the 10th year of the first Cylon war" and follows Ensign William Adama, "barely in his 20's and a recent Academy graduate, finds himself assigned to the newest battlestar in the Colonial fleet... the Galactica." Bradley Thompson, David Eick, David Weddle and Michael Taylor are all executive producing for Universal Cable Productions.


THE BIG BANG THEORY (CBS) - Co-star Simon Helberg has closed a new deal with Warner Bros. Television that will reportedly raise his salary to $125,000 an episode, up from his current $40,000 per installment payday. Said pact leaves Kunal Nayyar as the only regular cast member yet to complete renegotiations with the studio. Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, and Jim Parsons wrapped their talks back in September.


EDEN (USA) - Jace Alexander ("Royal Pains") has been tapped to helm the drama pilot, about "a young hotel worker who, with the help of his escaped con artist cousin Eddie, gets a job as the concierge at an elite NYC hotel." Ken Hanes and Mary Hanes are behind the Universal Cable Productions-based project, production of which is cast-contingent.


EXIT 19 (Lifetime) - Miguel Ferrer ("Bionic Woman") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, which "follows single mother Gloria Shepherd (Ally Walker) as she juggles her demanding personal and professional lives raising two children while working as a New York Police Department homicide detective." He'll play her boss in the project, which also stars Tisha Campbell-Martin and Chris Payne Gilbert. Jeffrey Bell penned the hour for ABC Studios and CBS Television Studios.


THE GREAT STATE OF GEORGIA (ABC Family) - Majandra Delfino is set to star opposite Raven Symone in the comedy pilot, about "an exuberant plus-sized performer from the south and her science geek best friend who try to make headway in New York City." She'll play Jo, the aforementioned best friend, in the project, which comes from co-creators Jeff Greenstein and Jennifer Weiner. ABC Studios is producing.


LOCKE & KEY (FOX) - Miranda Otto ("Cashmere Mafia") is set to star while Mark Romanek ("One Hour Photo") is in negotiations to direct the drama pilot, about "an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them.... and home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all." She'll play Nina Locke, a mother of three, who survives "an unspeakable horror and attempts to rebuild their lives at Keyhouse, their family home in Lovecraft, Massachusetts." Josh Friedman is behind the hour, based on the IDW comic book of the same name, which is being co-produced by 20th Century Fox Television, K.O. Paper Products and DreamWorks Television.


THE LYING GAME (ABC Family) - Andy Buckley ("The Office") has scored a role on the drama pilot, about Emma (Alexandra Chando), "a kind-hearted foster kid who can't catch a break. She finds out she has an identical twin sister, Sutton, who - unlike Emma - was adopted by wealthy parents and is seemingly living an ideal life." He'll play Sutton's adoptive father, "a happily married plastic surgeon." Mark Piznarski is directing the Warner Horizon Television-based hour from a script by Charles Pratt, Jr.


NO WONDER MY PARENTS DRANK (ABC, New!) - Jay Mohr ("Gary Unmarried") is once again eyeing the small screen, this time at ABC. Marsh McCall ("Ruby & the Rockits") and Mohr himself are co-writing the potential half-hour, which is based on the comedian's book about fatherhood released earlier this year. No studio was indicated as attached.


THE RABBIT FACTORY (TNT) - Jim Sadwith ("Life Is Wild") has signed to direct the pilot, a drama about "recently widowed police Detective Mike Lomax and his newly married partner, Terry Biggs, [as they] delve into a world of mystery, intrigue and occasional hijinks." Steven Weber and D.L. Hughley star in the Lionsgate Television-based project, which comes from creator Alan Loeb and is based on the Marshall Karp novel of the same name. Sadwith takes over from Gregory Hoblit, who was originally attached.


RHODES TO RECOVERY (CBS, New!) - Ilene Chaiken ("The L Word") has snagged a script order from the Eye for a new drama about "an openly gay female trauma surgeon and her new colleague, a straight male neurosurgeon. Their lives at work -- and at home -- become complicated when one starts dating the other's ex-wife." She'll write and executive produce the hour alongside CBS Television Studios-based producers Eric and Kim Tannenbaum.


THE SINGING BEE (CMT) - The cable channel has quietly ordered a fourth season of the game show, its third on the network. Melissa Peterman, who stars in CMT's upcoming original comedy "Working Class," hosts the series. Phil Gurin and Bob Horowitz executive produce the hour for Juma Entertainment and the Gurin Co.


VEEP (HBO) - Juila Louis-Dreyfus has closed her deal to topline the comedy pilot, about a former Senator who finds being Vice President is nothing like she expected and everything everyone ever warned her about. Armando Iannucci is behind the half-hour, which he'll write, direct and executive produce alongside Chris Godsick and Frank Rich. Louis-Dreyfus will likewise receive a producing credit.






  [november 2010]  
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· 100 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAYNE, A (ABC)
· ALCATRAZ (FOX)
· BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (SCI FI)
· BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: BLOOD & CHROME (SYFY)
· BIG BANG THEORY, THE (CBS)
· BIONIC WOMAN (NBC)
· CAPRICA (SYFY)
· CASHMERE MAFIA (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· EDEN (USA)
· GARY UNMARRIED (CBS)
· L WORD, THE (SHOWTIME)
· LIFE IS WILD (CW)
· LOCKE & KEY (FOX)
· LOST (ABC)
· LYING GAME, THE (ABC FAMILY)
· NO WONDER MY PARENTS DRANK (ABC)
· OFFICE, THE (NBC)
· PROTECTOR, THE (LIFETIME)
· RABBIT FACTORY, THE (TNT)
· RHODES TO RECOVERY (CBS)
· ROYAL PAINS (USA)
· RUBY & THE ROCKITS (ABC FAMILY)
· SINGING BEE, THE (CMT)
· STATE OF GEORGIA (ABC FAMILY)
· TO BE CONTINUED (HBO)
· VEEP (HBO)
· WORKING CLASS (CMT)





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