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[03/23/11 - 11:14 PM] Development Update: Wednesday, March 23 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!
BRAVE NEW WORLD (NBC) - Tyler Blackburn ("Pretty Little Liars") has landed a role on the pilot, a workplace comedy set at Pilgrim Village, a theme park that specializes in recreations of New England in 1637. He'll play another member of the staff, John Litchfield, "handsome, buff, tanned and shirtless; he's everything you'd want in a Native American." Anna Popplewell, Ed Begley Jr., Jazz Raycole, Nicholas Braun, Robbie Benson and Will Greenberg also star in the half-hour, from writer Peter Tolan and Sony Pictures Television.
FREE AGENTS (NBC) - Anthony Head, Al Madrigal and Joe Lo Truglio have booked the final principal roles in the comedy pilot, which "explores the attraction between two quirky PR executives working together - Alex (Hank Azaria) and Helen (Kathryn Hahn) - who both are on the rebound, Alex from a divorce and Helen from the loss of a fiance." Head, who co-starred in the original U.K. incarnation, will return as their boss Stephen ("handsome, charming, amoral"), the CEO of Dayton Group. Madrigal then will guest as fellow executive Gregg ("40, with the soft, exhausted look of a married man with kids") with Lo Truglio as Walter, the company's oddball security guard. Mo Mandel and Natasha Leggero also star in the Universal Media Studios-based half-hour, from director Todd Holland and writer John Enbom.
GAME CHANGE (HBO) - Four-time Academy Award nominee Ed Harris has been cast as John McCain in the upcoming original movie, about the Arizona senator's failed 2008 presidential campaign. Julianne Moore also stars as Sarah Palin in the project, which is based on John Heilemann and Mark Halperin's book of the same name. Jay Roach is directing from a script by Danny Strong.
HERD MENTALITY (CBS) - Eliza Dushku has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about Nick Herd (Damon Wayans), a sports radio host whose acerbic ways get him in trouble at home and at work. She'll play his co-host Casey ("thirtyish, tall, and sexy") in the CBS Television Studios-based project, which Andy Cadiff is directing from a script by Bill Martin and Mike Schiff. Danny Comden also stars.
HOMEGROWN (CBS) - Tricia O'Kelley ("The New Adventures of Old Christine") has booked a role on the comedy pilot, about Joe Reilly (yet to be cast), a blue collar man who wrestles with how to parent his unmarried grown daughter, Eileen (Becki Newton), and her 12-year-old son while sharing a house with them, his wife and his recently widowed mother. She'll play Eileen's older sister, "a put together hot mom." Jackie and Jeff Filgo are behind the Warner Bros. Television-based half-hour, to be directed by Andy Ackerman. Shane McRae also stars.
HUNG (HBO) - Kaitlin Doubleday ("Cavemen") is set to recur on the show's upcoming third season. She'll play Logan, a former student of Ray's (Thomas Jane) who once again crosses his path. Leven Rambin was previously tapped for said role but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.
IT'S BRODY STEVENS (HBO, New!) - Brody Stevens is set to topline a potential half-hour at the pay channel, a mocumentary starring the actor/comedian as himself. Zach Galifianakis ("Bored to Death") and Mike Gibbons ("Tosh.0") co-created the project, which recently completed a low-budget presentation directed by Jonathan Krisel ("Saturday Night Live"). Said effort is the result of a first-look deal Galifianakis recently signed with HBO. Galifianakis, who guest starred in the pilot and may recur on the series, will then executive produce alongside Gibbons.
LOVELIVES (NBC) - Smith Cho ("100 Questions") has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about a couple - Tim (Ryan Hansen) and Holly (Amanda Loncar) - and their challenges of love and fidelity. She'll play Kate, the sarcastic ex-wife of Tim's brother Blake (Sean Maguire) who's still friends with Holly. Chris Sheridan is behind the half-hour, which is set up at 20th Century Fox Television.
RIZZOLI & ISLES (TNT) - Chris Vance ("Dexter") has booked a multi-episode arc on the drama's upcoming second season. He'll play Sgt. Major Charles "Casey" Jones, "an old flame of Rizzoli's (Angie Harmon) who comes back into her life just as she's struggling to recover from being shot and nearly killed in the line of duty." The series returns Monday, July 11 at 10:00/9:00c on the cable channel.
SECRET CIRCLE (The CW) - Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain have stepped down as executive producers on the drama pilot, about Cassie Blake (Britt Robertson), a California teen who moves to her mom's hometown of New Salem, Maine and discovers that she comes from a family of witches. Said decision is billed as an amicable departure, as Kevin Williamson was brought on to oversee the hour back in January. Craft and Fain, who serve as consulting producers on Williamson's "The Vampire Diaries," then will focus on development as part of their overall deal with Warner Bros. Television.
SPRING/FALL (HBO) - The Tea Leoni-led comedy, about the dysfunctional partnership between two women with different approaches to career, family, and friendship set against the backdrop of New York's fashion world, has been ordered to pilot. Kate Robin penned the half-hour and is executive producing alongside Leoni, her manager Jimmy Miller and R.J. Cutler ("The September Issue"). Production is set to begin in June.
UNTITLED DAN GOOR PROJECT (NBC) - Audrey Esparza has boarded the comedy pilot, about Adam Foote (Andrew J. West), a young doctor who spends as much time taking care of his parents as he does his patients. She'll play Liz Stratton, a "cute, quirky" registered nurse whom Adam develops an attraction. Brad Morris and Jean Smart co-star in the Universal Media Studios-based half-hour, from writer Dan Goor.
UNTITLED PETER KNIGHT PROJECT (CBS) - Ben Rappaport ("Outsourced") has been tapped for the male lead on the comedy pilot, about a group of assistants and junior executives as they juggle love, friendship and the corporate ladder. He's set as one of them, Danny (billed as "a young John Cusack"), the casting of which is in second position to the NBC comedy. Michelle Trachtenberg also stars as Ben's crush Gracie, who gets promoted out of the mail room, further complicating their relationship. Neil Patrick Harris is directing the half-hour, which comes from Sony Pictures Television and CBS Television Studios.
WEEKENDS AT BELLEVUE (FOX) - David Alpay ("The Tudors") and actor/rapper Xzibit are the latest additions to the drama pilot, about Ellie Harlow (Lauren Ambrose), the weekend physician in charge of Bellevue's psychiatric emergency room, a one-woman front line charged with assessing and treating some of the city's most vulnerable and troubled citizens. Alpay is set as fellow doctor Ben Jacobs ("mid 30s, Ivy-League"), who Ellie trained with while at Columbia; while Xzibit will play Chuck Franklin ("tall and hulking"), an ER nurse who's been at Bellevue for 18 years and nothing
phases him. Amber Stevens, Eric Winter and Janet McTeer also star. Jack Bender is helming the Universal Media Studios-based hour from a script by Lisa Zwerling.
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[04/15/25 - 12:01 PM] Netflix Top 10 Week of April 7: "Adolescence" Continues Ascent, Now at No. 3 on Most Popular TV List Documentary series were popular this week with "Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing" (9.8 million views) debuting at No. 1 on the English TV list and "Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer" (3.8 million views) at No. 6.
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[04/15/25 - 11:29 AM] "American Idol" Packs a Punch With Sunday and Monday Wins On linear, Sunday's "Hollywood Week: Showstopper" was the top entertainment program of the night in Total Viewers (5.92 million) and the top program of the night among Adults 18-49 (0.57 rating) on broadcast and cable.
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[04/15/25 - 10:33 AM] FOX Sports Films Announces "Culture of Winning: Polynesian Football Pride" Premiering April 20 on FOX Executive produced by and featuring Tua Tagovailoa, the film takes a deep dive into the pillars of Polynesian culture and explores why these cornerstones drive unrivaled success on the field and create positive impact in their communities.
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[04/15/25 - 10:30 AM] "America's Most Wanted: Missing Persons" Premieres Monday, April 28 & Special "America's Most Wanted: John Walsh's Dirty Dozen" Premieres Wednesday, May 14 on FOX As previously announced, "America's Most Wanted" returns with an all-new season Monday, April 21 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX and next day on Hulu.
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[04/15/25 - 10:01 AM] Video: "Untold: Shooting Guards" - Official Trailer - Netflix What really went down between Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton? This exposé unpacks how a gambling dispute led to guns drawn in an NBA locker room.
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[04/15/25 - 10:00 AM] Season Three of "And Just Like That..." Debuts May 29 The 12-episode season will debut new episodes weekly on Thursdays, concluding with the season finale on August 14.
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[04/15/25 - 10:00 AM] Date Announcement: Hulu Original "Atsuko Okatsuka: Father" "Atsuko Okatsuka: Father" will premiere on Friday, June 13 on Hulu, and is the eighth Original special in Hulu's new stand-up comedy slate, Hularious.
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[04/15/25 - 09:31 AM] Video: "#1 Happy Family USA" - Final Trailer - Prime Video The series follows the maniacally upbeat Husseins - the most patriotic, most peaceful, and most definitely-not-suspicious Muslim family in post-9/11 "Amreeka."
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[04/15/25 - 09:13 AM] "Kevin Costner's The West" to Premiere on The History Channel with Back-to-Back Episodes Beginning Memorial Day at 9PM ET/PT The eight-episode documentary series will provide a fresh look at the sweeping and complex history of the American West through a wide range of conflicts - all driven by the desperate struggle to control the land itself.
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[04/15/25 - 09:11 AM] Upcoming MGM+ Comedy Series "American Classic" Casts Academy Award Nominee Laura Linney Linney will play Kristen Forrest Bean, who grew up acting in the Millersburg Festival Theater founded and run by the Bean family.
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[04/15/25 - 08:34 AM] Chicago Cubs vs Los Angeles Dodgers on ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" Is Most-Watched MLB Game of Season Across All Platforms The broadcast peaked at 9:30 p.m. ET with 2,445,000 viewers.
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[04/15/25 - 08:24 AM] ESPN Earns Its Best Nielsen Q1 Viewership Since 2017, Further Cementing a Stellar Start to 2025 In addition, ESPN's average-minute-audience was up 22% overall and 15% in the Persons 18-49 demo from Nielsen Q1 in 2024.
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[04/15/25 - 08:01 AM] Video: "Snakes and Ladders" - Official Trailer - Netflix From the creator of "The House of Flowers," Manolo Caro and Cecilia Suárez return with "Snakes and Ladders" - a dark and provocative comedy that explores the cost of power and status.
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[04/15/25 - 08:00 AM] Another Shocking Season of "Mama June: Family Crisis" Returns Friday, May 30, at 8PM ET/PT on We TV This season, June fights for custody of Kaitlyn after Anna's tragic passing.
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[04/15/25 - 07:01 AM] Video: "The Four Seasons" - Official Trailer - Netflix The decades-long friendship between three married couples is tested when one divorces, complicating their tradition of quarterly weekend getaways.
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