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[02/09/11 - 10:54 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, February 9
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!
BAD MOM (ABC) - Chris Koch ("Traffic Light") is set to direct the comedy pilot, about Julia, a single mother of two, who's forced to actually raise her kids once her mother, Marian - who had been filling said void, decides she wants her life back. ABC Studios is behind the half-hour, which was created by Sharon Horgan.
THE COUNCIL OF DADS (FOX) - Anthony and Joe Russo ("Running Wilde") have been tapped to direct the comedy pilot, about a man who, after being diagnosed with rare, life-threatening cancer, assembles four of his closest friends - each with their area of expertise - who agree to help raise his daughters following his death. Peter Tolan penned the Sony Pictures Television-based project, which is based on Bruce Feiler's book of the same name.
HART OF DIXIE (The CW) - Jason Ensler ("Franklin & Bash") has been booked to direct the Rachel Bilson-led drama pilot, about a young big-city doctor who inherits a medical practice in an oddball Southern town. Leila Gerstein penned the project for Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage's Warner Bros. Television-based Fake Empire.
IN CRISIS (ABC) - Henry Ian Cusick ("Lost") and Katie Lowes ("Easy Money") are the latest additions to the drama pilot, about the life and work of professional fixer Olivia Price (Kerry Washington) and her dysfunctional staff. He'll play Stephen ("handsome and male and brilliant in a way that makes you worried you'll do something inappropriate like lick him"), a litigator who works for her firm. Lowes then is believed to be playing Quinn Rielly ("[she] hates the fact that people assume that because she is pretty, she is not smart - because she is smart"), the group's latest addition. Columbus Short also stars in the ABC Studios-based hour, which comes from director Paul McGuigan and creator Shonda Rhimes.
THE OVER/UNDER (USA) - Anthony Carrigan ("The Forgotten") is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, about Paul Keller, "a day trader with a massive gambling problem [who] is fired from his job six months after a bad trade costs his firm millions. Shut out of the job market, he and his beautiful, photographer wife retreat to a neighborhood on the cusp of gentrification. He finds an unlikely partner and starts to turn his life around in an unexpected way." He'll play the aforementioned partner Marino Puzzo, "an attractive, good-natured, ambitious Italian kid," who starts a high-end bookie business with Paul to save his family's failing hardware store. Sheila Callaghan penned the hour for Fox Television Studios and Universal Cable Productions.
PARTNERS (ABC) - Scottie Thompson ("Trauma") is the first to be cast in the drama pilot, about "two female police detectives who are fiercely loyal to one another since they're also secretly sisters." She'll play one of them, Mattie Scott, who's "all day tough, she's disarmingly beautiful if she ever slows enough to offer a good look." Edward Allen Bernero is behind the ABC Studio-based hour, to be helmed by Yves Simoneau.
PERSON OF INTEREST (CBS) - Jonah Nolan's drama, about "a CIA paramilitary officer, presumed dead, who is recruited to work on a secret project for a reclusive billionaire," has been ordered to pilot by the network. Said hour comes from the Warner Bros. Television-based Bad Robot Productions with the company's J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk executive producing alongside Nolan.
PLAYING WITH GUNS (Comedy Central) - Kelen Coleman ("The Office") has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about "childhood friends who have grown up to become small town cops, trying to get the most out of their badges while doing the least amount of police work possible." She'll play a hot lesbian cop in the project, which also stars Danny Masterson and Ethan Suplee. Bob Castrone, Brian Levin and Jason Zumwalt co-wrote the Lionsgate-based project, to be directed by Brian Robbins.
REM (NBC) - David Slade ("The Twilight Saga: Eclipse") is in talks to direct the drama pilot, about a cop who - following an accident - finds himself living in two different realities. Kyle Killen penned the hour for 20th Century Fox Television.
RINGER (CBS) - Fellow "Lost" alum Nestor Carbonell has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about Bridget Cafferty (Sarah Michelle Gellar), "a troubled young woman who, while on the run from the mob, hides out by inhabiting the life of her wealthy twin sister, Siobhan Marx, until she learns that her twin's life has a bounty on it as well." He'll play Victor Machado, a "muscular and manicured" FBI agent in charge of keeping Bridget safe so she can testify against the mob. Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder co-wrote the hour, which Richard Shepard is directing. ABC Studios and CBS Television Studios are co-producing.
SMASH (NBC) - Megan Hilty is the latest addition to the drama pilot, about "a cross section of characters who come together to put on a Marilyn Monroe musical on Broadway led by the musical's composer Tom and lyricist Julia (Debra Messing)." She'll play Ivy, "Tom's go-to girl for acting out scenes in progress who is hugely disappointed when she is told she is too old to play Marilyn and has to be part of the chorus." Michael Mayer is directing the Universal Media Studios-based hour from a script by Theresa Rebeck.
SMOTHERED (ABC) - Kyle Howard ("My Boys") has booked the male lead on the comedy pilot, about a young couple with a one-year-old daughter who find themselves smothered by their two very different sets of parents - his are pretentious and disengaged while hers are scrappy and exuberant. He'll play Zack, one half of the aforementioned couple, in the half-hour, which comes from co-creators Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen. Warner Bros. Television is producing, while Andy Ackerman is attached to direct.
WEEKENDS AT BELLEVUE (FOX) - The network's small screen take on the Julie Holland's memoir of the same name, about a psychiatrist in charge of the weekend shift of Bellevue Hospital psychiatric unit, has been ordered to pilot by the network. Lisa Zwerling ("The Event") penned the hour, which was originally set up at NBC and the Universal Media Studios-based BermanBraun. She'll also executive produce alongside Gail Berman, Lloyd Braun and Gene Stein.
WONDER WOMAN (NBC) - Jeffrey Reiner ("The Event") is close to signing on to direct the drama pilot, about the iconic DC Comics heroine of the same name. He'll work from a script by David E. Kelley for Warner Bros. Television. Reiner takes over for McG, who had previously been targeted to helm the hour.
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[02/10/26 - 10:27 AM]
MLB.TV Launches on ESPN Beginning February 10
Beginning today, fans can purchase MLB.TV through ESPN platforms with flexible options designed to meet a range of viewing needs.
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[02/10/26 - 09:26 AM]
Warner Bros. Discovery Confirms Receipt of Further Amended Unsolicited Tender Offer from Paramount Skydance
The Board is not modifying its recommendation with respect to the Netflix Merger Agreement.
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[02/10/26 - 09:04 AM]
Video: "Dear Killer Nannies" - Teaser - Hulu
"Dear Killer Nannies" is a gripping coming-of-age series told through Juampi's perspective as a child, the son of Colombia's most notorious drug lord, Pablo Escobar Gaviria.
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[02/10/26 - 09:02 AM]
Video: National Geographic Documentary Films and Abramorama Unveil Trailer, Coast-to-Coast Theatrical Simulcast, and Disney+ and Hulu Streaming Date for Werner Herzog's "Ghost Elephants"
The film follows National Geographic Explorer Steve Boyes on an epic journey as he sets out with some of the last remaining master trackers in the world in pursuit of an animal long believed to be a myth.
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[02/10/26 - 09:00 AM]
HBO Original Comedy Special "Chris Fleming: Live at the Palace" Debuts February 27
From the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, comedian Chris Fleming bursts onto the screen with a fun and lighthearted blend of skillful storytelling and wild physicality in his first HBO stand-up special.
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[02/10/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "The 32nd Annual Actor Awards" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Host Kristen Bell is ringing up SAG-AFTRA members everywhere to spread the word about the 32nd Annual Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA.
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[02/10/26 - 08:00 AM]
Paramount+ and CBS Partner to Air "UFC 326: Holloway vs. Oliveira 2" Live on Paramount+ and CBS Television Network
Plus, CBS announced today "This Is UFC," tracing UFC's rise from underground spectacle to global powerhouse, airing Friday, February 20, (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+.
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[02/10/26 - 08:00 AM]
The Chaos Continues as Another Explosive Season of "Mama June" Returns Friday, March 13 with New Friends and New Foes
The new season promises to deliver everything fans love about the Shannon family and more, from family feuds and fires to Mama drama and a wedding.
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[02/10/26 - 06:28 AM]
Great American Media Partners with Bestselling Author Melissa Ferguson to Adapt "Meet Me in the Margins" and Upcoming Novel, "The Christmas Yes List" into New Original Movies for 2026
Known for her heartfelt storytelling, faith-forward themes, and charming romantic comedies, Ferguson has become a favorite among readers of Christian romance and romantic comedy novels.
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[02/10/26 - 06:01 AM]
Paramount Enhances Its Superior $30 Per Share All-Cash Offer for Warner Bros. Discovery and Provides Update on Regulatory Progress
Paramount's enhanced offer provides definitively superior value and certainty, as reflected in added provisions and distinguishing elements.
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[02/10/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "One Piece" Season 2 - Official Trailer - Netflix
Netflix's epic high-seas pirate adventure returns for Season 2 - unleashing fiercer adversaries and the most perilous quests yet.
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[02/09/26 - 11:01 AM]
"Celebrity Jeopardy! All Stars" Programming Update
The previously announced premiere date will be shifting two weeks and now premieres Friday, March 13 on ABC, streaming next day on Hulu.
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[02/09/26 - 09:32 AM]
Video: Oxygen Unveils Premiere Date and Official Trailer for "A Plan to Kill" Season Two
Season two is set to premiere Sunday, March 8 at 7pm ET/PT.
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[02/09/26 - 09:04 AM]
A Tradition Reimagined: ESPN and Disney Launch "We're Going," The First Marketing Campaign for ESPN's Inaugural Super Bowl
Following Sunday's Super Bowl LX, ESPN and Disney unveiled "We're Going," a high-energy, fast-paced, cameo-filled marketing campaign for ESPN's inaugural Super Bowl, set for February 2027.
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[02/09/26 - 09:01 AM]
CNN and Variety Announce Special Town Hall Conversation Event with Timothee Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey
The special will air Saturday, February 21 at 7pm ET/PT on CNN and stream live for subscribers of CNN's streaming offering.
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