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[03/29/12 - 11:31 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, March 29
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!


1600 PENN (NBC) - Benjamin Stockham ("Sons of Tucson") has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about a dysfunctional First Family where the out-of-control oldest son Skip (Josh Gad) returns home and becomes not only it's biggest liability but also the glue holding everyone together. He'll play Xander ("sensitive, scrawny, pipsqueak philosopher, rebelling against authority"), President Dale Gilchrist's (Bill Pullman) youngest son in the 20th Century Fox Television-based half-hour, which comes from co-creators Jon Lovett, Josh Gad and Jason Winer. Amara Miller, Andre Holland, Brittany Snow and Jenna Elfman also star. (THR.com)


666 PARK AVENUE (ABC) - Samantha Jade Logan has been cast in the drama pilot, about a young couple (Rachael Taylor, Dave Annable) who accept an offer to manage one of the most historic apartment buildings in New York City where they begin to experience supernatural occurrences. She's on board as Nona Clark ("14, green nailpolish, skinny jeans"), a resident with a unique gift. Erik Palladino, Helena Mattsson, Mercedes Masohn, Robert Buckley, Terry O'Quinn and Vanessa Williams also star in the Warner Bros. Television-based hour, from director Alex Graves and writer David Wilcox. (ABC)


AMERICAN JUDY (ABC) - Ira Ungerleider ("Friends with Benefits") has been tapped as the showrunner of the Judy Greer-led comedy pilot, about a cosmopolitan woman who gets married and becomes a fish out of water in the suburbs. There he'll supervise Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan and executive produce alongside David Gardner, Peter Principato and Paul Young for ABC Studios. Mimi Kennedy, Elaine Hendrix, Jadon Sand, Madison Lintz, Ken Marino and Erica Ash also star. (ABC)


AWESOMETOWN (ABC) - Josh Bycel ("Happy Endings") and Jonathan Fener ("American Dad") have joined the comedy pilot - about a group of twentysomethings in the suburbs of Seattle, a mecca for the folks who have happily put on the cruise control of life - as executive producers. They'll also serve as showrunners on the Adam Sztykiel-penned half-hour should it move forward to series. Amanda Crew, Ben Rappaport, Brett Gelman, Dennis Miller, James Earl III and Nick Kocher star in the project, to be directed by Jesse Peretz for 20th Century Fox Television. (ABC)


HOUSE OF CARDS (Netflix) - Michel Gill, Jayne Atkinson and Sandrine Holt are the latest additions to the David Fincher-produced drama, about Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), the Majority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives who after being passed over for Secretary of State hatches a plot to bring down the new president. Gill will play said commander-in-chief, Garrett Walker ("the apotheosis of leadership, charisma and dignity, a master politician who is not above making ruthless choices"), with Atkinson as Sen. Catherine Durant, "a conservative Democratic representative from the South," and Holt as Gillian, "the leader of a grass-roots organization that provides clean water to third-world countries." Constance Zimmer, Corey Stoll, Kate Mara, Kristen Connolly, Michael Kelly, Robin Wright and Sakina Jaffrey also star. (Deadline.com)


PENOZA (ABC) - Mido Hamada and Wil Traval have both been cast in the drama pilot, about Marta Walraven (Radha Mitchell), the widow of an assassinated criminal who is suddenly forced to adopt her late husband's (Anson Mount) role in order to protect her family. Traval will play her brother, Irwin Lazarev ("roguishly handsome, brash, always ready to turn on the charm"), with Hamada presumably as either rival mobster Christian Schiller or FBI agent James Leeflang. Erin Cahill, Erin Moriarty, Jaime Ray Newman, Jakob Salvati, Lee Tergesen, Luke Goss, Rade Serbedzija, Sterling Beaumon and Suleka Mathew also star in the ABC Studios-based hour, which Mark Pellington is directing from a script by Melissa Rosenberg. (ABC)


THE UNPROFESSIONAL (ABC) - Aiden Potter and Sabrina Carpenter have both been cast in the comedy pilot, about Hilary Pfeiffer-Dunne (Mary McCormack), a high-powered executive who now faces the biggest challenge of her life when she finds herself unemployed and acting as a full-time mom to her two teenagers. They'll play said kids - Dylan ("a smart ass - because he's smart") and Harper ("self-conscious, over-dramatic and a little compulsive"), respectively - in the Warner Bros. Television-based half-hour, from writer Kari Lizer and director Craig Zisk. Greg Germann and Mo Gaffney also star. (ABC)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Kali Hawk, Jennifer Bartels, Jermaine Fowler and Lilrel Howery have all been cast in FOX's upcoming "In Living Color" revival (Deadline.com); "Battlestar Galactica" alum Ronald D. Moore has inked a new two-year overall deal with Sony Pictures Television, his home since the show's end (Deadline.com); "Alcatraz" executive producer Jennifer Johnson has signed a two-year overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television, wrapping her run at Warner Bros. Television after five years (Deadline.com); Daniella Alonso will recur on "Covert Affairs" as a therapist for the CIA while Rena Sofer is due back as Arthur's (Peter Gallagher) ex-wife (TVLine.com); and Elizabeth Banks will likewise return as Avery Jessup on "30 Rock," her first appearance on the show in over a year (TVLine.com).






  [march 2012]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· 1600 PENN (NBC)
· 30 ROCK (NBC)
· 666 PARK AVENUE (ABC)
· ALCATRAZ (FOX)
· AMERICAN DAD (FOX)
· AMERICAN JUDY (ABC)
· AWESOMETOWN (ABC)
· BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (SCI FI)
· COVERT AFFAIRS (USA)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS (NBC)
· HAPPY ENDINGS (ABC)
· HOUSE OF CARDS (NETFLIX)
· IN LIVING COLOR (FOX)
· RED WIDOW (ABC)
· SONS OF TUCSON (FOX)
· UNPROFESSIONAL, THE (ABC)





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