or


[02/11/11 - 10:31 PM]
Development Update: Friday, February 11
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!


17TH PRECINCT (NBC) - Stockard Channing ("The West Wing") is the first to board the drama pilot, a police procedural set in a world where magic rules instead of science. She'll play Mira Barkley, a veteran detective on the cusp of retirement who's asked to transfer back to homicide to mentor Jimmy Travers (yet to be cast), a burgeoning detective. Sony Pictures Television is behind the hour, which Michael Rymer is directing from a script by Ronald D. Moore.


AMONG THE SPIRITS (Syfy, New!) - Steve Valentine and Paul Chart's graphic novel, about Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle solving mysteries in 1920s, is being developed as a potential drama series at the cable channel. The duo are co-writing the small screen take for Entertainment One and executive producing alongside Daniel J. Frey. Said effort would then follow Houdini and Doyle "who, with the help of a female cop, try to solve bizarre murders and strange occurrences that look like hauntings and other supernatural events using steampunk technology."


BIG MIKE (A&E) - Anthony Ruivivar ("The Whole Truth") and Nicole Ari Parker ("The Deep End") are the latest additions to the drama pilot, about Mike O'Bannon (Greg Grunberg), a plus-sized homicide detective in a world where plus-sized is a minus. Ruivivar is set as Mike's partner/childhood friend, Armando Romero, an ex-Marine who - much to Mike's chagrin - has the annoying ability to eat twice his weight in food every day and not gain a single pound. Parker then will play Grace Peterson, the duo's smart, efficient lieutenant, the youngest to hold said post in San Diego history. In addition, Paris Barclay ("In Treatment") has been tapped to direct the Sony Pictures Television-based hour, which was co-created by Ed Decter and John Strauss. Ken Leung also stars.


HOME GAME (CBS) - Rob Riggle ("Gary Unmarried") has been tapped for the lead role on the comedy pilot, about a retired NFL player who returns home to his wife (Constance Zimmer) and three teenage daughters. He'll play Mark, the man in question, who's loosely based on former NFL star Mark Schlereth. Riggle was previously attached to a comedy from Robert Smigel that didn't move forward to the pilot stage. Christopher J. Nowak and Warren Bell co-wrote the multi-camera project, which comes from CBS Television Studios.


IDENTITY (ABC) - Wentworth Miller ("Prison Break") and Orlando Jones ("The Evidence") are reportedly in talks to join the cast of the drama pilot, a procedural set at the Identity Crimes Division, the FBI's first cyber-crime unit mixed with traditional investigators. Miller would play John Bloom, a former undercover agent who's reluctantly drafted to the team, with Jones as Anthony Wareing, a prideful, ambitious agent. John Glenn penned the hour for ABC Studios.


LIVE TO DANCE (CBS) - The Paula Abdul-led competition series won't be returning for a second season, TVLine.com reports. Wednesday's finale posted a modest 4.706 million viewers and a 0.9 rating among adults 18-49, well behind its broadcast competition. A CBS spokesperson however maintains that no final decision has been made.


SMALLVILLE (The CW) - Michael Rosenbaum has closed a deal to reprise his role of Lex Luthor in the show's May 13 series finale. "It feels like the stars are aligning, literally. We couldn't be more excited about having Michael back," executive producers Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson told TVLine.com. "And as far as the way he returns... there'll be no doubt about how Lex becomes the great rival in Clark Kent's life. He is the villain of the story." Rosenbaum himself added that, "I'm simply doing it for all of the fans out there who made Smallville the great success it is... I appreciate all of their passion, their relentlessness and even their threats. Ha ha. I can't wait to hug the old crew back in Vancouver one last time and see all of my old friends once again..... Oh, and for Lex to become the badass he's destined to be."


TAGGED (FOX) - Gary Cole ("Entourage") is the first to be cast on the comedy pilot, a workplace ensemble set at the Los Angeles County's coroner's office. He'll play James Percy, a "stiff, serious, professorial type and the most respected man in the building." David Guarascio and Moses Port co-wrote the half-hour, which is set up at Sony Pictures Television.


UNTITLED MORGAN SPURLOCK PROJECT (HBO, New!) - Oscar-winners Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana ("Brokeback Mountain") are developing a potential series at the pay channel billed "a big-canvas Texas political drama." Said hour is based on an idea by Morgan Spurlock who will executive produce alongside McMurtry, Ossana, Adam Shulman, Jennifer Berman, The Shuman Co.'s Larry Shuman and Warrior Poets' Jeremy Chilnick.






  [february 2011]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· 17TH PRECINCT (NBC)
· AMONG THE SPIRITS (SYFY)
· BIG MIKE (A AND E)
· DEEP END, THE (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· ENTOURAGE (HBO)
· EVIDENCE, THE (ABC)
· GARY UNMARRIED (CBS)
· HOME GAME (CBS)
· IDENTITY (ABC)
· IN TREATMENT (HBO)
· LIVE TO DANCE (CBS)
· PRISON BREAK (FOX)
· SMALLVILLE (CW)
· TAGGED (FOX)
· UNTITLED MORGAN SPURLOCK PROJECT (HBO)
· WEST WING, THE (NBC)
· WHOLE TRUTH, THE (ABC)





[12/06/25 - 04:01 PM]
Video: "The Boys" Explosive Final Season Premiere Date & Teaser Drop at CCXP Brazil
The fifth and final season will premiere exclusively on Prime Video on April 8, 2026.

[12/06/25 - 02:46 PM]
Paramount and UFC Announce New Seasons of "Dana White's Contender Series" and "The Ultimate Fighter"
Beginning in 2026, Paramount+ in the U.S., Latin America, and Australia will become the exclusive home for all episodes of both series.

[12/06/25 - 02:27 PM]
Video: "School Spirits" Returns - Paramount+ Drops First Look at Season Three Premiering January 28
The date was unveiled alongside first look images at today's Paramount+ CCXP panel in São Paolo, Brazil featuring series lead and executive producer Peyton List.

[12/06/25 - 02:12 PM]
Video: Oscar-Nominee Paul Giamatti Surprises Fans at CCXP and Reveals Exclusive Scene from "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy"
The series will premiere globally with two episodes on Thursday, January 15 on Paramount+, and in Japan on Tuesday, January 23.

[12/06/25 - 10:47 AM]
Hulu Debuts First-Look Images from "The Testaments" Out of Brazil Comic Con
"The Testaments," a new chapter from the showrunner and executive producers of "The Handmaid's Tale," is coming in April 2026 to Hulu.

[12/06/25 - 10:31 AM]
Video: Date Announcement & Teaser Debut - Hulu's "Paradise" Season 2
The second season of the Emmy Award-nominated series premieres Monday, February 23 with three episodes, followed by new episodes weekly on Hulu and Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the US and Disney+ internationally.

[12/05/25 - 03:31 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, hitting nine-week highs in both measures.

[12/05/25 - 03:30 PM]
In Anticipation of "Avatar: Fire and Ash," ABC News to Premiere Two New Specials This December
First up: "Avatar: A New Era - Special Edition of 20/20" premieres Friday, December 12 on ABC.

[12/05/25 - 02:05 PM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Best College Football Regular Season Since 2011; "College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Scores Most-Watched Season Ever
ESPN networks aired the most-watched game in 34 of 42 key Saturday windows, including seven of 14 noon windows, 13 of 14 late afternoon windows and all 14 prime windows.

[12/05/25 - 12:35 PM]
2025 CFB Viewership Surges on FOX & FS1
The 2025 regular season wrapped with big numbers for "Big Noon Saturday," "Big Noon Kickoff" and more - including year-over-year gains across the board.

[12/05/25 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Premiere Week Episodes Post Gains and Lead In Live Plus 35-Day Multiplatform Viewership
"Tracker" delivered 17.3 million viewers, up +6% versus its year-ago premiere.

[12/05/25 - 10:05 AM]
"Landman" Booms Into a Third Season Renewal and Breaks Viewing Records on Paramount+
The second season is set to be a top three series among all original content the week of November 17 and a top two series for the week of November 24 according to Nielsen preliminary data.

[12/05/25 - 09:45 AM]
Video: "Taylor" - A CW Documentary Special - Trailer
The special - airing Saturday, December 13 - explores the global phenomenon of Taylor Swift and digs deep across the musician's 20-year career, a period that has seen her transcend the realm of pop star to become a cultural icon like no other.

[12/05/25 - 08:45 AM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched Women's College Volleyball Season on Record
Said coverage averaged 190,000 viewers, up 36% from the 2024 season.

[12/05/25 - 08:31 AM]
Peacock Exclusively Streams Monkeypaw Productions' "Him" Beginning December 19
The film stars Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers, Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies and more.