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[02/24/11 - 10:39 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, February 24
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!
17TH PRECINCT (NBC) - Eamonn Walker ("The Whole Truth")
has joined the cast of the pilot, a police drama set in an alternate version of San Francisco where magic rules instead of science. He's set as Wilder Blanks, the precinct's Detective Chief Inspector, who has the "deep-set eyes of a man who's seen more than his share of terrible things in his half-century of life." Stockard Channing and Jamie Bamber also star in the project, from Sony Pictures Television. Michael Rymer is directing from a script by Ronald D. Moore.
BRAVE NEW WORLD (NBC) - Jazz Raycole, Robbie Benson and Anna Popplewell have all scored roles on the pilot, a workplace comedy set at Pilgrim Village, a theme park that specializes in recreations of New England in 1637. Raycole will play Hillary King ("pretty in a borderline plain, wholesome way and the 'actress' of the bunch") with Anna Popplewell as Maura Taft ("a smoking hot dark-haired beauty, even swaddled in her bulky Pilgrim clothing") and Benson as, presumably based on his age, Damon Heller ("very much marches to the beat of his own drummer - who might be missing an arm"). Ed Begley Jr., Nicholas Braun and Will Greenberg also star in the Sony Pictures Television-based effort, penned by Peter Tolan.
COMBAT HOSPITAL (ABC) - Michelle Borth ("The Forgotten") has booked the lead role on the upcoming drama, an international co-production set in a military-medical hospital in Afghanistan. The actress, who had a holding deal with the network, will play Major Rebecca Kincaid, a trauma surgeon at the aforementioned hospital who was "dumped by her fiance just before she left for Afghanistan." Daniel Petrie Jr. penned the pilot, from Sienna Films, Artists Studios and Look Out Point.
EXIT STRATEGY (FOX) - Elyes Gabel (U.K.'s "Identity") and Lina Esco ("Cane") are the latest additions to the drama pilot, about a team of CIA agents who are sent in to fix operations gone bad. They'll play Tarik Fayad ("handles transport, flash-dresser, blue eyes - rare for someone born in Tehran
") and Mia Hendricks ("the team's youngest, CIA by way of MIT and a hard South Boston childhood"), respectively. Megan Dodds and Ethan Hawke co-star in the 20th Century Fox Television-based hour, from director Antoine Fuqua and writer David Guggenheim.
GLORY DAZE (TBS) - The cable channel has reportedly pulled the plug on the series, about a group of friends who are trying to navigate college life in 1980s Wisconsin. The show averaged a modest 1.236 million viewers during its 10-episode run, including a 0.6 rating among adults 18-49. Said numbers fell short of fellow freshman entries "Are We There Yet?" (2.6 million, 1.1 rating in adults 18-49) and "Neighbors from Hell" (1.4 million viewers, 0.6 rating in adults 18-49).
HELL'S KITCHEN (FOX) - The network is reportedly on track to order two more cycles of the Gordon Ramsay-hosted competition. Production on both seasons will begin in April with season nine due in the late summer and season 10 at a later unspecified date. Seasons seven and eight ran nearly back-to-back this past year - just six weeks apart. FOX previously commissioned a second season of fellow Ramsay entry "Masterchef," which likewise is expected to roll out sometime this summer.
I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER (FOX) - Katie Finneran ("Wonderfalls") is the first to be cast in the comedy pilot, about two women who now have daughters just like the girls who picked on them in high school. She'll play Nikki Miller ("very pretty, but is the kind of woman who puts a lot of effort into it"), one of said moms in the half-hour, which comes from co-creators Ellen Kreamer and Sherry Bilsing-Graham. Andy Ackerman is directing for Warner Bros. Television.
MAN UP! (ABC) - Dan Fogler ("Balls of Fury") has booked the final principal role on the comedy pilot, about a group of guys all at a different stages in their romantic relationships - Will (Mather Zickel), the leader; Kenny, the joker; and Craig (Christopher Moynihan), the poet. He'll play the aforementioned Kenny ("sarcastic, immature, slight geek who doesn't know it"), whose sister Theresa (Teri Polo) is married to Will. Amanda Detmer also stars as Kenny's ex-wife with Henry Simmons as her new boyfriend. Beth McCathy-Miller is directing the ABC Studios-based project from a script by Moynihan.
OTHER PEOPLE'S KIDS (ABC) - Bonnie Somerville ("Cashmere Mafia") and Johnny Sneed ("Unhitched") have both landed roles on the comedy pilot, about Adam, a 32-year-old guy with no responsibilities who suddenly finds himself with an insta-family when he falls in love with an older woman who has two kids, an ex-husband, an ex-mother-in-law and her new lover. Bonnie will play said older woman, Michelle ("awesome but overwhelmed by responsibilities"), with Sneed as Dave ("more Jay Harrington than Jay Harrington"), her ex-husband. Malcolm Barrett also stars in the ABC Studios-based half-hour, from creator Hunter Covington.
SMASH (NBC) - Tony-nominee Christian Borle ("Legally Blonde: The Musical") has booked the male lead on the drama pilot, a show-within-a-show vehicle about a group of people who come together to put on a Broadway musical. He'll play Tom ("lovely, brilliant, volatile"), a composer who spearheads the effort - a Marilyn Monroe musical - alongside lyricist Julia (Debra Messing). Michael Mayer is directing the Universal Media Studios-based hour from a script by Theresa Rebeck. Jack Davenport, Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty also star.
SMOTHERED (ABC) - Julie White ("Transformers") has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about a young couple - Zach (Kyle Howard) and Gillian 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. She'll play Patty, Gillian's "scrappy" mom in the half-hour, which comes from Warner Bros. Television. Andy Ackerman is directing from a script by Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen.
UNTITLED WHITNEY CUMMINGS PROJECT (NBC) - Chris D'Elia ("Glory Daze") and Beverly D'Angelo ("Entourage") have both boarded the comedy pilot, about Whitney and Alex, a young couple navigating the ups and downs of a committed relationship in today's complicated world. He'll play the aforementioned Alex Green ("easygoing, smart, handsome without trying") with D'Angelo as Patti Morris ("self-absorbed, defensive, three time divorcee"), Whitney's mother. Universal Media Studios is behind the half-hour, which was written by Cummings.
WORK IT (ABC) - Amaury Nolasco ("Chase") and John Carapulo ("Wild West Comedy Show") have both been cast in the comedy pilot, about two out-of-work car salesmen, Lee and Angel - both husbands and fathers - who dress as women by day to get jobs working as pharmaceutical reps. Nolasco - whose casting is second position to the hiatused "Chase" - will play the latter, the more macho of the two, with Carapulo as Brian, Angel's drinking buddy and Lee's unsocialized brother-in-law. Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen co-wrote the half-hour for Warner Bros. Television, to be directed by Beth McCathy-Miller.
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[02/26/26 - 02:46 PM]
Netflix Declines to Raise Offer for Warner Bros.
"The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, we've always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance's latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid," said co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters.
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[02/26/26 - 02:19 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Soars to Season High with Best Audience in Over a Year
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 157 consecutive weeks across all key measures.
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[02/26/26 - 02:08 PM]
Britbox Unveils Spring Slate with "The Lady" Starring Mia McKenna-Bruce; Premieres March 18
Other highlights include the return of "Hope Street" and the debut of "Mudtown."
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[02/26/26 - 01:36 PM]
Paramount Comments on Warner Bros. Discovery Board's Determination of Paramount's Proposal as Superior
David Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Paramount, said: "We are pleased WBD's Board has unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offer, which delivers to WBD shareholders superior value, certainty and speed to closing."
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[02/26/26 - 01:16 PM]
Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors Determines Revised Proposal from Paramount Skydance Constitutes a "Company Superior Proposal"
Under the terms of the Netflix merger agreement, this notice triggers a four business day period during which Netflix has the right to propose revisions to the Netflix merger agreement so that the PSKY proposal would cease to constitute a "Company Superior Proposal."
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[02/26/26 - 01:00 PM]
FOX Television Network Renews Hit Joel McHale Series "Animal Control" for Season Five
In addition, the first three seasons of the series are currently streaming on Netflix, and the show has been sold in territories around the world.
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[02/26/26 - 10:31 AM]
More Stars Take the Stage to Present at the 98th Oscars
Javier Bardem, Chris Evans, Chase Infiniti, Demi Moore, Kumail Nanjiani and Maya Rudolph are among the featured talent.
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[02/26/26 - 10:30 AM]
Video: AMC Networks Unveils Captivating Sneak Peek Scene from "The Vampire Lestat"
In the new rock and roll centric season, the Vampire Lestat goes on an electric multi-city tour while being haunted by "muses" from his wild and rebellious past.
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[02/26/26 - 10:21 AM]
Feed the Children Teams Up with FOX's "Next Level Chef" to Put Child Hunger to Bed
The year-round campaign rallies the public alongside donors, volunteers, and partners to provide kids with the food and resources they need to rise and thrive every day.
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[02/26/26 - 10:01 AM]
"Running Point" Season Two Returns April 23 on Netflix
Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson) is no longer the surprise choice to lead the Los Angeles Waves, she's the one everyone is watching.
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[02/26/26 - 10:01 AM]
Season Three of the HBO Original Comedy Series "The Comeback" Debuts March 22
New episodes of the eight-episode season will debut weekly leading up to the series finale on Sunday, May 10.
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[02/26/26 - 10:00 AM]
CBS Launches New Podcast "NCIS: Partners & Probies" Hosted by Series Stars Brian Dietzen and Diona Reasonover, Offering Fans an Inside Look at the #1 TV Franchise Worldwide
Premiering Tuesday, March 3, new episodes will roll out weekly.
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[02/26/26 - 09:14 AM]
FOX Sports Assembles World-Class Broadcast Team for 2026 World Baseball Classic
Headlining FOX MLB's coverage of Team USA matchups and knockout rounds are highly acclaimed play-by-play announcers Joe Davis, Adam Amin and Kevin Kugler; expert analysts John Smoltz, A.J. Pierzynski and Adam Wainwright; and veteran reporters Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci.
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[02/26/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: Trailer & Key Art - "Sunny Nights" Starring Will Forte & D'Arcy Carden
After a critical acclaimed Australian debut, the darkly comedic crime drama starring Will Forte and D'Arcy Carden makes its U.S. debut on March 11 on Hulu.
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[02/26/26 - 09:01 AM]
BritBox Announces April 7th Premiere for "A Taste for Murder"
The six-part crime procedural produced by Eagle Eye Drama and in association with ITV Studios stars Warren Brown, Phyllis Logan, and Cristiana Dell'Anna, and was shot on location in Croatia and Italy last year.
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