or


[09/12/12 - 11:04 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, September 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!


THE BRIDGE (FX) - Gerardo Naranjo ("Miss Bala") has been tapped to direct the drama pilot, about two detectives from the United States and Mexico who must work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the border after a dead body is found on the bridge connecting El Paso and Juarez. Meredith Stiehm and Elwood Reid penned the FX Productions-based hour, based on a Swedish series "Bron." Carolyn Bernstein, Jane Featherstone and Lars Blomgren are also among the executive producers. (Deadline.com)


COPELAND PREP (The CW, New!) - Novelist Bret Easton Ellis ("American Psycho") has booked a potential drama at the netlet about "the premier secondary school in the nation, which is so fiercely competitive it's turning its students into monsters - literally - and spreading the disturbing ramifications throughout the town." The Warner Bros. Television-based Fake Empire is behind the hour with the company's Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage and Len Goldstein executive producing alongside Ellis and Nicky Weinstock. "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke will also serve as executive consultant. (Deadline.com)


THE LAST SHIP (TNT) - Jonathan Mostow ("U-571") has signed on to direct and executive produce the drama pilot, in which a global catastrophe nearly obliterates the earth's population, forcing the crew of a naval destroyer to confront the reality of their new existence in a world where they are among the only survivors. He'll work from a script by Steve Kane and Hank Steinberg, which in turn is based on William Brinkley's novel of the same name. Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller of Platinum Dunes also serve as executive producers. (Deadline.com)


LIFESTYLE LEMONAID (FOX) - Jordon Nardino's single-camera comedy - based on Nikki Joel's tell-all blog about her marriage to top WME talent agent Brandt Joel - has found a new home at FOX with a pilot presentation order. Mark Wahlberg of Closest to the Hole Productions and Steve Levinson of Leverage Management are executive producing the half-hour alongside Nardino. Rob Riggle had previously been tapped to star in the former HBO project but is no longer attached. (Deadline.com)


THE MAKEOVER (ABC) - Camryn Manheim and Frances Fisher have joined the cast of the "Pygmalion"-esque telefilm, about Hannah (Julia Stiles), a professor who, after an unsuccessful bid for Congress, recruits Elliott (David Walton), a sincere yet unpolished man to run in her place during the next election. Manheim will play Colleen Pickering, Hannah's business partner, with Fisher as Elliot's colorful mother, Allie. John Gray is directing the Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions-project from a script by C. Jay Cox ("Sweet Home Alabama"). (THR.com)


THIS MAGIC MOMENT (Halllmark, New!) - Diane Neal, Vincent Spano, Travis Schuldt, Charles Shaughnessy, Molly Burnett, Aliana Huffman and Mitchell Fink have all been cast in a new telefilm at the cable channel, about "a video store owner and budding screenwriter named Clark Gable who falls for a famous actress in town to film a movie while he also deals with residual feelings for an old flame." Neal will play Helen, said actress, in the project, from Larry Levinson Productions. No details were given about the other roles. (THR.com)


MARRIAGE MATERIAL (ABC, New!) - Peter Huyck and Alex Gregory have sold a new single-camera comedy to the Alphabet about "two successful thirtysomethings who are set up by their families." Said half-hour, inspired by Huyck's own life, is set up at ABC Studios, home to their recently signed overall deal. Steven Spielberg's Amblin banner is also producing. (Variety.com)


ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (Netflix) - Jason Biggs ("Mad Love") has joined the cast of the Netflix original, about Piper (Taylor Schilling), "an engaged Brooklyn resident whose decade-ago relationship with a drug runner in college results in her arrest and multiyear detention in a federal penitentiary." He'll play said fiance, Larry Bloom, in the project, based on Piper Kerman's tome of the same name. Lionsgate Television is behind the hour with Jenji Kohan serving as executive producer. (THR.com)


SECRET LIVES OF HUSBANDS AND WIVES (NBC, New!) - Perrey Reeves ("Entourage") is the first to be cast in the thriller/dramatic soap, about "a murder and the secrets and lies within a tightly woven group of three suburban couples and their families exposed in its aftermath." She'll play Danielle Deaver, a "flirty and funny woman with a tightly wound personality and a dark secret that not even she knows about." Mark Pellington is directing the pilot from a script by Sascha Penn - based on Josie Brown's novel of the same name - for the Warner Bros. Television-based Jerry Bruckheimer Television. (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED BECKY HARTMAN EDWARDS PROJECT (NBC, New!) - Becky Hartman Edwards ("Switched at Birth") has booked a potential drama at the Peacock billed as "a character-driven soap set in a small isolated Colorado town where the residents slowly discover that their lives are being manipulated by forces beyond their control." Sony Pictures Television-based Olive Bridge Entertainment is behind the hour with Will Gluck executive producing alongside Edwards and Richard Schwartz serving as a co-executive producer. (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED DONALD GLOVER PROJECT (NBC, New!) - Matt Hubbard ("30 Rock") is close to a put pilot order from the Peacock for a potential Donald Glover-led comedy loosely based on the "Comunity" actor's life. Universal Television is behind the single-camera project with Peter Traugott and Rachel Kaplan executive producing alongside Hubbard (and presumably Glover). Glover's involvement is in second position to "Community," which returns Friday, October 19 on the network. (TVGuide.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Jason Sudeikis has closed a deal to return to "Saturday Night Live" through the remainder of the election season, where he plays Republication presidential candidate Mitt Romney (NYTimes.com); "Entourage" creator Doug Ellin is on track to complete the script for his big screen take on the HBO series (Deadline.com); Emma Bell has joined the cast of "Dallas" as "a sheltered classic beauty who was raised by her grandmother and has traveled through Europe since she was a toddler" (Deadline.com); Gilles Marini's Angelo has been upped to series regular on "Switched at Birth" (Deadline.com); Jon Michael Hill has likewise snagged series regular status on CBS's "Elementary" (Deadline.com); Ryan Hansen will guest on "2 Broke Girls" as a "Willy Wonka-esque confectioner whom Max and Caroline cross paths with while touting their own sweet treats" (TVLine.com);

Brian McNamara is bound for "Bones" as "a Steve Irwin-type pet expo proprietor" (TVLine.com); Jonathan Banks and Glenne Headly will guest on "Parks & Recreation" as Ben Wyatt's (Adam Scott) parents (HitFix.com, TVGuide.com); Judd Hirsch and Bill Maher are the latest faces bound for "The Good Wife" (@CBSTweet); June Diane Raphael will recur on "Animal Practice" as a new hire "described as beautiful, tough and sure to keep Justin Kirk's prickly George on his toes" (THR.com); Dylan Baker has joined the cast of ABC's "Zero Hour" as FBI Section Chief Terrence Fisk, "the supervisor of Carmen Ejogo's character, who has a personal connection to the conspiracy case" (TVGuide.com); and Lin-Manuel Miranda will recur on NBC's "Do No Harm" as the hospital's clinical pharmacologist, presumably replacing Mousa Kraish (Deadline.com).






  [september 2012]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
      


· 2 BROKE GIRLS (CBS)
· ANIMAL PRACTICE (NBC)
· BONES (FOX)
· BRIDGE, THE (FX)
· COMMUNITY (YAHOO)
· COPELAND PREP (CW)
· DALLAS (TNT)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DO NO HARM (NBC)
· ELEMENTARY (CBS)
· ENTOURAGE (HBO)
· GOOD WIFE, THE (CBS)
· LAST SHIP, THE (TNT)
· LIFESTYLE LEMONAID (FOX)
· MAD LOVE (CBS)
· MAKEOVER, THE (ABC)
· MARRIAGE MATERIAL (ABC)
· ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (NETFLIX)
· PARKS & RECREATION (NBC)
· SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (NBC)
· SWITCHED AT BIRTH (FREEFORM)
· THIS MAGIC MOMENT (HALLMARK)
· UNTITLED BECKY HARTMAN EDWARDS PROJECT (NBC)
· UNTITLED DONALD GLOVER PROJECT (NBC)
· ZERO HOUR (ABC)





[01/16/26 - 01:08 PM]
"20/20" Is the Most-Watched Program Across Broadcast and Cable on Friday Night - Scoring Largest Viewership in Over 7 Months
For the second week in a row, "20/20" posted Total Viewers increases versus the previous week and the corresponding year-ago telecast.

[01/16/26 - 12:04 PM]
All-New Season of "Naked and Afraid" Premieres Sunday, February 15 at 8PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel
This season, survivalists face hell on Earth and the ultimate test of body, mind, and spirit as they are dropped into five of the world's most brutal and diverse locations, armed only with their determination and without water, food or clothing.

[01/16/26 - 09:01 AM]
Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell Star in "The Madison" Premiering on Paramount+ March 14
The series is Taylor Sheridan's most intimate work to date, unfolding across two distinct worlds - the beautiful landscape of Montana and the vibrant energy of Manhattan - as it examines the ties that bind families together.

[01/16/26 - 09:00 AM]
Video: We TV Releases a Sneak Peek of the Highly Anticipated New Season of "Mama June"
This season, as Jessica and Shyann plan their wedding, June and Shyann's mother, Trina, battle it out butting heads on just about everything.

[01/16/26 - 08:22 AM]
"The Tonight Show" Goes for Gold with Special Post-Olympic Opening Ceremony Episode on Friday, Feb. 6
The episode will feature a guest lineup worthy of the podium, including Chris Hemsworth, MrBeast and a musical performance from Lil Uzi Vert.

[01/16/26 - 08:09 AM]
Video: Oxygen Unveils Premiere Date and Official Trailer for "Love, Ted Bundy"
As America's most notorious serial killer Ted Bundy awaited execution, he exchanged a series of death row letters with the woman who loved him like a brother - his cousin, Edna Martin.

[01/16/26 - 07:02 AM]
Video: "A Father's Miracle" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A devoted father is wrongfully imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, leaving his daughter to fend for herself as he fights to prove his innocence.

[01/16/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Star Search" - Official Trailer - Netflix
The reimagined talent competition series returns as a live, five-week event hosted by Anthony Anderson, featuring an all-star judging panel with Jelly Roll, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Chrissy Teigen.

[01/16/26 - 06:31 AM]
Video: NBC Releases First Official Promo and Key Art for New Comedy Series "The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins"
Tracy Morgan, Daniel Radcliffe, Erika Alexander, Bobby Moynihan, Precious Way, and Jalyn Hall star in the series.

[01/15/26 - 05:01 PM]
"Culinary Class Wars" Returns for Season 3, Raising the Stakes with a Team-Based Showdown
Building on two consecutive seasons of global success, Season 3 raises the stakes with four-person teams representing a single restaurant, transforming the competition into a collective fight for pride, reputation, and survival.

[01/15/26 - 03:22 PM]
Next on Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN - February 2026
Highlights include "The Muppet Show," "The Artful Dodger," and "Paradise."

[01/15/26 - 02:01 PM]
Video: Tubi Debuts Chaotic Trailer for New Original Film "Terri Joe: Missionary in Miami"
In this wild farce, Southern Belle Terri Joe ventures to Miami to outrun wacky criminals and find a new church where she can atone for her sins.

[01/15/26 - 02:01 PM]
NBC Commissions Drama Pilot from Dean Georgaris and John Fox
Professor Georgia Ryan is a trailblazing psychologist who challenges the field of criminology by shifting the investigative focus to the victim rather than just the perpetrator in order to uncover the crucial clues that more traditional methods leave behind.

[01/15/26 - 01:38 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Christmas Week Shoots to a Season High Among Total Viewers - Scoring Show's Best Performance in 10 Months
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 152 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[01/15/26 - 12:39 PM]
Apple TV Lands New Thriller Starring and Executive Produced by Dakota Fanning, and Created by Emmy Award-Winner Alex Cary
Fanning will star as an undercover Treasury agent in a multi-billion dollar international conglomerate who becomes conflicted between her mission and a belief that her principal target is at his core a good man and worthy of her love.