or


[07/30/12 - 11:19 PM]
Development Update: Monday, July 30
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!


BACKSTROM (A.K.A. UNTITLED EVERT BACKSTROM PROJECT) (CBS) - The Eye has laid claim to 20th Century Fox Television's small screen take on the Backstrom books by renowned Swedish criminologist/novelist Leif G.W. Persson. Said project was originally set up FOX - where it landed a put pilot commitment last year - with Stephen Gaghan attached to pen the adaptation. Hart Hanson ("Bones") has since stepped in to spearhead the hour, about "an overweight, offensive, irascible detective as he tries and fails to change his self-destructive behavior," which now has a pilot production commitment. Hanson will pen the script and executive produce with Persson and his agent Niclas Salomonsson also receiving executive producer credits. (Deadline.com)


CONQUEST (Showtime, New!) - Director Ron Howard and screenwriter Jose Rivera ("The Motorcycle Diaries") are set to team for a potential period drama which "tells the story of famed Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes, who led the Spanish conquest in Mexico, and his clash with Moctezuma II, the last ruler of the Aztec Empire which fell at the hands of Cortes and his men." Fox 21 is behind the hour, which Rivera and Howard will executive produce alongside David Nevins and Francie Calfo for their Imagine Television banner. Hans Beimler ("The Middleman") will also serve as a consultant. (Deadline.com)


LOWE ROLLERS (FOX, New!) - Writer/director Ash Brannon ("Surf's Up") has booked a potential animated comedy at the network about "a family that tries to maintain a semblance of civility while struggling to run a sinking Titanic-themed casino in the heart of Sin City." Mark Torgove and Paul Kaplan ("Outsourced") are also on board to co-write the 20th Century Fox Television-based project, which they'll likewise executive produce alongside Brannon and DarkFire's Ryan Reynolds, Allan Loeb, Jonathon Komack Martin and Steven Pearl. (Deadline.com)


HARD UP (FOX, New!) - The ever-busy John Wells has set up a new single-camera comedy at the network about "four twentysomething, cash-strapped close friends willing to do anything for each other - especially if it means breaking the rules as they fight against the odds to keep their home in a gentrifying neighborhood." Etan Frankel ("Shameless") is on board to co-write the half-hour, which is based on Hanan Savyon and Guy Amir's Israeli series "Asfur." Wells and Frankel then will executive produce alongside Savyon, Amir, Andrew Stearn, Mark Mylod and Mirit Toovi for Warner Bros. Television. (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED NOAH HAWLEY PROJECT (ABC, New!) - "My Generation" creator Noah Hawley is back in business with the Alphabet for "a high-concept drama revolving around a mysterious game." 20th Century Fox Television-based K.O. Paper Products is behind the hour, which has a script commitment with a penalty attached. The company's Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Heather Kadin then will executive produce alongside writer Hawley. (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED MATT MANFREDI/PHIL HAY PROJECT (FOX, New!) - Feature writers Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay ("Clash of the Titans") are developing a new comedy at the network about "a disgraced hotel-industry hotshot who is exiled to a lower-rung airport hotel, where he is forced to manage an oddball staff in his quest to will the hotel (and his life) to 4-star greatness." 20th Century Fox Television is behind the presumably single-camera half-hour, which the duo will executive produce alongside DarkFire's Ryan Reynolds, Allan Loeb, Jonathon Komack Martin and Steven Pearl. (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Jay Karnes has booked a four-episode arc on "Last Resort" as Secretary of Defense William Curry, "a shadowy figure who may be behind the attack on the USS Colorado" (Deadline.com); Tim Griffin has likewise landed a recurring role on "Covert Affairs" as "a former field operative-turned-lawyer who has a history" with Kari Matchett's Joan (Deadline.com); Derek Webster has been cast in "Revolution" as "a strong rebel leader who faces off against Billy Burke's character Miles" (EW.com); Mark Valley is in talks to join the cast of "Body of Proof" as "a onetime love interest of Megan's (Dana Delany) who transfers to Philadelphia to win her back" (TVLine.com); Jake Lacy has joined the cast of "The Office" as a new staffer at Dunder Mifflin (TVline.com); "The Good Wife" co-star Josh Charles is set to helm the show's sixth episode this season (TVLine.com); Heather Locklear will drop by "Hot in Cleveland" as "a former Miss Ohio who hires Valerie Bertinelli's Melanie to work at her PR firm" in at least three episodes (TVLine.com); "Prairie Dogs" helmer Luke Greenfield has inked a six-figure directing deal with ABC (Variety.com); Tamara Braun has been cast as Dr. Dani's (Callie Thorne) younger sister on "Necessary Roughness" (TVGuide.com); and Canadian actor Michael Rowe is bound for the third episode of "Arrow" as DC Comics villain Deadshot (TVGuide.com).






  [july 2012]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· ARROW (CW)
· BACKSTROM (FOX)
· BODY OF PROOF (ABC)
· BONES (FOX)
· CONQUEST (SHOWTIME)
· COVERT AFFAIRS (USA)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· END GAME (ABC)
· GOOD WIFE, THE (CBS)
· HARD UP (FOX)
· HOT IN CLEVELAND (TV LAND)
· LAST RESORT (ABC)
· LOWE ROLLERS (FOX)
· MIDDLEMAN, THE (ABC FAMILY)
· MY GENERATION (ABC)
· NECESSARY ROUGHNESS (USA)
· OFFICE, THE (NBC)
· OUTSOURCED (NBC)
· PRAIRIE DOGS (ABC)
· REVOLUTION (NBC)
· UNTITLED MANFREDI & HAY PROJECT (FOX)





[01/12/26 - 10:01 AM]
WWE by the Numbers: Celebrating One Year on Netflix
In 2025, Netflix members watched 525M hours of WWE content.

[01/12/26 - 10:01 AM]
"In Snooki We Trust" - Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi Heads North in New Series, "Canada Shore"
Polizzi will bring her small stature and big personality to the Shore house, making several powerhouse guest appearances during the first season, premiering January 22 on Paramount+ in all markets globally.

[01/12/26 - 09:46 AM]
Netflix Forges Creative Partnership with Shane Gillis and John McKeever
As part of a new overall deal, they will develop film, series, and unscripted projects with Gillis to star in and produce two new stand-up specials, exclusively for Netflix.

[01/12/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "On the Edge with Juanpa" - Official Trailer - The Roku Channel
Watch Juanpa Zurita train with wingsuiters, cliff divers, big-wave surfers, slackliners, Baja racers, and whitewater kayakers, all before daring the ultimate feat himself.

[01/12/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "One Piece" Season 2 - Official Teaser - Netflix
Netflix's epic high-seas pirate adventure returns for Season 2 - unleashing fiercer adversaries and the most perilous quests yet.

[01/12/26 - 06:08 AM]
Paramount Provides Update to Warner Bros. Discovery Shareholders on Actions It Is Taking to Advance Its Superior $30 Per Share All-Cash Offer
The company intends to nominate directors for election at the WBD 2026 Annual Meeting and solicit against the approval of the Netflix transaction.

[01/12/26 - 06:01 AM]
Nominees Announced for the "57th NAACP Image Awards" Airing Live from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium Saturday, February 28th at 8 PM ET/ 8 PT on BET and Simulcasting on CBS
"Sinners" leads in motion picture categories with 18 nods, followed by "Highest 2 Lowest" with nine nominations.

[01/11/26 - 05:54 PM]
A Historic Fan-Powered Celebration: "Survivor 50 Challenge" Grand Prize Revealed
"Challenge" winners selected from eligible entries in all 50 states will earn an exclusive invitation to attend the live finale in Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 20.

[01/11/26 - 08:02 AM]
Video: "The Bluff" - Official Teaser - Prime Video
As her tranquil life is shattered by the return of her vengeful former captain, a skilled ex-pirate must confront her bloody past to save her family.

[01/09/26 - 07:01 PM]
Connection and Youth Defined: "The Ramparts of Ice" Brings a Heartwarming Story of Friendship to Netflix This April
This series is based on Kocha Agasawa's popular manga series "The Ramparts of Ice," which has received 160 million total views on the LINE Manga digital service (as of August 2025).

[01/09/26 - 12:02 PM]
A New Season of Hilarie Burton-Morgan's Documentary Series "True Crime Story: It Couldn't Happen Here" Returns February 19 on SundanceTV and Streaming Across AMC+ and All Reality
The new six-episode season examines the challenges and complexities of small-town justice, spotlighting cases that range from unsolved missing persons and wrongful convictions, to death while in police custody.

[01/09/26 - 12:01 PM]
Video: "Eternity" - Official Trailer - Apple TV
"Eternity," starring Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen and Callum Turner, premieres February 13 on Apple TV.

[01/09/26 - 11:11 AM]
Siena Agudong, Brec Bassinger and Aliyah's Interlude to Star in Upcoming Tubi Young Adult Horror Comedy Original Movie "Buzzkill"
When a group of sorority sisters find themselves trapped with a vengeful killer, party-girl Nora knows that the drunker she gets, the more her tipsy memories start revealing clues about who's murdering her friends.

[01/09/26 - 11:01 AM]
"Love Island: All Stars" Returns to Peacock as Season Three Premieres on January 14
The first episode premieres exclusively in the U.S. on Wednesday, January 14, with new episodes streaming on Peacock every day at 9:00/8:00c.

[01/09/26 - 09:05 AM]
Ohtani, Judge, Yankees-Red Sox, Dodgers-Yankees, Cubs-Cardinals, and Additional Premium Matchups Headline "Sunday Night Baseball" Schedule as Major League Baseball Returns to NBC and Peacock
Highlights include the special July 5 "Star-Spangled Sunday" featuring all 15 MLB games exclusively presented nationally on Peacock and NBC.