or


[04/12/12 - 11:17 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, April 12
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!


CALIFORNICATION (Showtime) - The pay channel's veteran comedy will seed a potential spin-off during its upcoming sixth season about "what happens when an innocent young Catholic school girl is exposed to the evils of rock and roll and falls heads over heels in love with the music and the men who make it." Said character - twentysomething professional groupie Faith, who despite a fondness for sex, drugs and rock and roll, remains quite religious - will recur during a nine-episode arc and, assuming critical and ratings success, continue on her own series thereafter. "Californication" creator Tom Kapinos will presumably executive produce the half-hour. (EW.com)


HEMLOCK GROVE (Netflix) - Dougray Scott ("Desperate Housewives") is in talks to play the male lead on the upcoming drama, "a gripping tale of murder, mystery and monsters set in a ravaged Pennsylvania steel town." He'd play Norman Godfrey, "the older brother of Olivia's (Famke Janssen) late husband, JR, one of the founders of the Godfrey Center for Biomedical Technologies; wealthy, but with modest tastes and an equally modest home, Norman is sickened by Olivia's displays of ostentation and the way in which she spoils her son." Bill Skarsgard, Landon Liboiron and Penelope Mitchell also star in the Gaumont-based project, from director Eli Roth and co-creators Brian McGreevy and Lee Shipman. (Deadline.com)


ROYAL (HBO, New!) - Feature writer Nick Schenk ("Gran Torino") has booked a potential comedy at the pay channel about "a working-class, old-school, politically incorrect, tell-it-as-it-is biker who is forced back into 'the real world' to take guardianship over his nieces and nephew, executing a highly unorthodox parenting style - and inhabits a place he doesn't want to be where everyone's soft and overly PC." Said half-hour is set up at the Sony Pictures Television-based Fedora Entertainment with the company's Peter Tolan and Michael Wimer executive producing alongside Schenk and Television 360's Guymon Casady and Brandon Brito. (Deadline.com)


WHIPPED (FX, New!) - Shawna Kenney's memoir "I Was a Teenage Dominatrix" - about her experience of doing just that for various politicos and elected officials to pay for college at the American University in Washington, D.C. - is being developed as a potential series at the cable channel. Gina Fattore ("Californication") is spearheading the adaptation, which is set up at Vince Vaughn and Peter Billingsley's Wild West Picture Show Productions. No other details were given. (Vulture.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Brooke Nevin will guest star as the daughter of Ted Danson's D.B. Russell on the season finale of "CSI" (THR.com); Donald Glover will turn up on "30 Rock" as a younger version of Tracy Morgan's character on the show's April 26 live episode (TVLine.com); A&E has renewed its hit series "Storage Wars," "Storage Wars: Texas" and "Shipping Wars" (Deadline.com); Seth MacFarlane's revival of "The Flintstones" for FOX has been put on hold due to multihyphenate's busy workload (Deadline.com); and "The Office" executive producer Greg Daniels is reportedly mulling a major reboot of the series as co-stars John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B.J. Novak and Ed Helms may not return or have limited availability next season (Deadline.com).






  [april 2012]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· 30 ROCK (NBC)
· CALIFORNICATION (SHOWTIME)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FLINTSTONES, THE (FOX)
· HEMLOCK GROVE (NETFLIX)
· OFFICE, THE (NBC)
· ROYAL (HBO)
· SHIPPING WARS (A AND E)
· STORAGE WARS (A AND E)
· STORAGE WARS: TEXAS (A AND E)
· UNTITLED CALIFORNICATION SPIN OFF PROJECT (SHOWTIME)
· WHIPPED (FX)





[05/05/26 - 04:00 PM]
"The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins" Renewed for Season Two
The series is the #1 new comedy of the 2025-26 season in the 18-49 demo.

[05/05/26 - 03:52 PM]
ESPN Networks Aired Its Most Viewed First Round of the Current Rights Deal of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
ESPN also delivered three of the top five matchups in the First Round including the Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins Game 1 (2.1 million viewers).

[05/05/26 - 03:36 PM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver the Most-Watched First Round Game 7 in NBA History for Saturday Night's 76ers-Celtics
Saturday night's matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 11.0 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.

[05/05/26 - 02:24 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Flexes Double-Digit Season-to-Date Viewership Increase
2,130,000 viewers tuned-in to FOX on Saturday, May 2, for a two-game slate highlighted by the Cardinals' 3-2 Victory over the Dodgers in most of the country.

[05/05/26 - 02:01 PM]
MGM+ Releases First Look at "American Hostage" Starring Emmy Award Winner Jon Hamm
The psychological thriller tells the harrowing true story of Fred Heckman, a beloved Indianapolis radio reporter who is thrust into the middle of a life-or-death crisis when hostage-taker Tony Kiritsis demands to be interviewed on his popular radio news program.

[05/05/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of April 27 - The Hunt Continues as "Apex" Takes No. 1 for a Second Week
Plus: Revenge might be a dish best served cold, but "Man on Fire" served it up hot, reaching No. 1 on the English TV list with 11 million views.

[05/05/26 - 11:46 AM]
The Rolling Stones Bring Three Nights of Satisfaction to "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" This Month
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood are each set to appear across three separate episodes.

[05/05/26 - 11:31 AM]
OWN's "Heart & Hustle: Houston" Returns May 30 for a High-Stakes Second Season Filled with Fractured Friendships, Bold New Beginnings and Unstoppable Ambition
This season, the bonds that once united the group are tested like never before.

[05/05/26 - 11:00 AM]
Video: Sofia Receives a Visit From Rapunzel in Official Trailer for New Series "Sofia the First: Royal Magic," Debuting May 25 on Disney Jr. and Next Day on Disney+
Additionally, a new short-form series, "Sofia the First: Magical Friends," is also available now on the Disney Jr. channel, Disney+, and Disney Jr. YouTube.

[05/05/26 - 10:31 AM]
Starz's Adrenaline-Fueled New Drama "Fightland" Set to Premiere July 31
The network also released first-look images introducing viewers to the gritty world and the dangerous characters at the heart of the newest family crime drama.

[05/05/26 - 09:55 AM]
Comedian Larry the Cable Guy to Host New Series "American Mayhem"
The high-energy clip show celebrates the wildest, funniest, and most outrageous moments caught on camera across the U.S., all brought to life by the beloved funnyman whose unmistakable voice and humor have made him a household name.

[05/05/26 - 09:31 AM]
New Doc "The American Experiment" Marks The Nation's 250th Anniversary
Streaming this June 24 on Netflix, the five-part historical documentary reexamines the improbable achievement that was the nation's founding, and the radical question at the center of the American Revolution: Can a people govern themselves?

[05/05/26 - 09:01 AM]
Yep! Hulu's "King of the Hill" Season 15 Premieres July 20
Hank and Peggy settle into retirement life on Rainey Street while attempting to keep their neighbors from going off the rails.

[05/05/26 - 09:00 AM]
The History Channel to Premiere New Documentary "The Clash of Nations: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling" on June 19
This powerful documentary explores one of the most iconic rivalries in sports history between heavyweight champions Joe Louis and Max Schmeling.

[05/05/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: Peace Will Have to Wait... "Dutton Ranch" Official Trailer Is Out Now
Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly are joined in the new series by Academy Award nominees Ed Harris and Annette Bening.