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[10/11/12 - 11:09 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, October 11
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!
CONFESSIONS OF A BACKUP DANCER (The CW) - Andrew Leeds and David Lampson (NBC's "Rex Is Not Your Lawyer") will take a new crack at the long-in-the-works drama, which "follows a young filmmaker who is hired to make a documentary about a world famous pop star and her controversial tour." Ilene Chaiken penned the original take in 2009 with Sascha Penn trying again in 2010, both of which are based on Tucker Shaw's novel of the same. Warner Bros. Television-based Alloy Entertainment is behind the hour with Gina Girolamo and Leslie Morgenstein executive producing alongside the duo. It's not clear if director Marcos Siega is still attached to the project. (TVLine.com)
CROWNINSHIELD (NBC, New!) - Oscar-winner William Monahan ("The Departed") and actor Kevin Kline are on track to sell a new drama to the Peacock about "a genius investigator-consultant and confirmed bachelor who winds up rooming with compulsive thief." Universal Television and Scott Free Productions are behind the project, which would presumably star Kline and be executive produced by Monahan, Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker. (Variety.com)
ELECTROPOLIS (The CW, New!) - Ken Olin and J.J. Abrams ("Alias") are set to re-team for a potential drama which "revolves around after-hours Los Angeles and the young people who live their lives while most of the city sleeps." Olin's son Cliff and Justin Feil will pen the script to the project, which the elder Olin conceived alongside the duo and is attached to direct. Olin, Abrams and Bad Robot's Bryan Burk then will executive produce for Warner Bros. Television with writers Olin and Feil serving as co-executive producers, as is Kathy Lingg. (Variety.com)
F--- I'M IN MY TWENTIES (NBC, New!) - Emma Koenig's Tumblr blog-turned-book - which consists of hand-drawn musings about the plight of today's millennials - is being developed as a comedy at the Peacock. Jeff Lowell ("Common Law") will co-write the half-hour alongside Koenig, which will track "a woman's experience as a twentysomething living in the big city." Universal Television-BermanBraun is behind the project, with the company's Gail Berman, Lloyd Braun and Gene Stein also executive producing. (Deadline.com)
THE GREAT ESCAPE (TNT) - The cable channel has passed on a second season of the reality series, in which teams of competitors try to find their way out of seemingly impossible situations for a chance to take home a cash prize. The show's nine-episode freshman run averaged 1.143 million viewers and a 0.5 rating among adults 18-49, making it the least-watched program on the network this year. Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri were among the executive producers while NFL Network's Rich Eisen served as host. (TVGuide.com)
THE LAST SHIP (TNT) - The ever-busy character actor Titus Welliver has boarded 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 play Mike Slattery, "second in command to Captain Tom Chandler (Eric Dane) onboard the USS Nathan James, a fair man who cares deeply for his family." Producer Michael Bay, director Jonathan Mostow and writers Hank Steinberg and Steven Kane are all behind the hour, which is based on the novel by William Brinkley. Michaela McManus, Charles Parnell, Travis Van Winkle, Christina Elmore and Sam Spruell also star. (Deadline.com)
MICHAEL BOLTON'S DAUGHTER IS DESTROYING MY LIFE (ABC, New!) - Grammy-winner Michael Bolton is set to star in a potential comedy at the Alphabet about "a naive young writer who moves to the big city and ends up taking a job heading social media for singer-songwriter Michael Bolton only to have her hands full with Bolton and the wild-child daughter he has recently taken in." Tami Sagher ("30 Rock") is penning the Universal Cable Productions-based half-hour, which is based on an idea by actress Allison Miller ("Go On") and her real-life celebrity encounters when she first came to Hollywood. Tagline Television's Willie Mercer, Ron West, J.B. Roberts and Kelly Kulchak also serving as executive producers with Bolton and Miller receiving co-executive producer and producer credits, respectively. (Deadline.com)
PROS & CONS (ABC, New!) - Alexi Hawley ("Castle") has snagged a script order from the Alphabet about "a young FBI agent who discovers the father she never knew is a master thief and his unique insight into crime proves invaluable to her work." Mark Gordon and Nicholas Pepper also serve as executive producers on the project, which is set up at their ABC Studios-based The Mark Gordon Co. (Deadline.com)
#RESISTANCE (CBS, New!) - Daniel Cerone ("The Mentalist") has booked a new drama at the Eye about an unconventional young female detective for the San Francisco Police Department who's fired from the force for going too far only "to be secretly recruited by the Chief of Police to become an undercover officer posing as a vigilante, allowing her to break the law in order to serve justice." Cerone will write and executive produce alongside McG and Peter Johnson for their Warner Bros. Television-based Wonderland Sound and Vision banner. (Deadline.com)
THE ROYALS (ABC, New!) - Screenwriter Matt Lopez ("The Sorcerer's Apprentice") has sold a new drama to the Alphabet about "a young woman who falls for a prince in foreign country and finds herself wrapped up in palace intrigue and a murder mystery." Sony Pictures Television-based Thunder Road is behind the hour, which has a penalty attached. Lopez then will executive produce alongside the company's Basil Iwanyk ("The Town"). (Variety.com)
THE SECRET LIVES OF WIVES (Lifetime) - Callum Blue, Valerie Cruz and newcomer Derek Smith have all been cast in the drama pilot, which explores the unvarnished truth behind the marriages of four different women - Michelle (Kim Raver), Reed (Salli Richardson), Keaton (Amber Clayton) and Jessie (Lauren Bittner), breaking down the creative ways each close friend nurtures, maintains and endures what many see as an impossible convention of modern life. Blue is set as Jessie's husband Dan, "a Lutheran Minister who looks more like a sexy rock star than a pastor"; with Smith as "Keaton's husband of one year, an accountant"; and Cruz as Alyse, "a pretty yet frail girl who's a cancer survivor who claims to have had an affair with Michelle's husband, Wil." Jill Gordon penned the Warner Horizon Television-based hour, which is inspired by the book by Iris Krasnow. (Deadline.com, THR.com)
SEX DIARIES (ABC, New!) - Tom Spezialy ("Chaos") has sold a potential new series to the Alphabet billed as "a sexy and heartfelt dramedy set in New York City that explores the sex lives, loves, and experiences of 10 characters who are interconnected in surprising ways." ABC Studios-based The Mark Gordon Co. is behind the hour, which is inspired by New York Magazine's popular weekly feature. Gordon and Nicholas Pepper also serve as executive producers. (Deadline.com)
THE SIXTH GUN (NBC, New!) - "Lost" alum Carlton Cuse is developing a small screen take on Brian Hurtt and Cullen Bunn's Oni Press comic of the same name, about six pistols of otherworldly power in the Old West, the most dangerous of which falls into the hands of an innocent girl named Becky Montcrief who - alongside shadowy gunfighter Drake Sinclair - must battle vile men thought long dead that have set their sights on retrieving the gun. Said effort was originally eyed as a six-hour mini-series at Syfy. Screenwriter Ryan Condal ("Galahad") will pen the script and executive produce alongside Cuse and Closed on Mondays Entertainment's Eric Gitter and Andy Bourne for Universal Television. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED JOHN LEGEND PROJECT (FOX, New!) - Grammy-winner John Legend is developing a new single-camera comedy at the network about "a guy in his early 20s who becomes the guardian to his own siblings while having to manage his burgeoning career and social life." Said half-hour, from the 20th Century Fox Television-based Chernin Entertainment, is loosely on Legend's upbringing. Tommy Dewey and Greg Bratman ("Sons of Tucson") are penning the script and will serve as co-executive producers. Get Lifted Film Co.'s Legend, Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorious then will executive produce alongside Katherine Pope and Peter Chernin. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED RON WEINER PROJECT/WHITES (NBC, New!) - Ron Weiner ("30 Rock") has sold of pair of comedies to the Peacock. First up: an untitled half-hour about "a contentious work marriage in which two people who are total opposites must manage a team together." 20th Century Fox Television-based Chernin Entertainment is behind said effort with Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope also serving as executive producers. Then there's "Whites," based on the short-lived U.K. comedy "set in the kitchen of a country house hotel, following the trials and tribulations of head chef Roland White and his long suffering sous chef Bib." Universal Television is behind the half-hour with 3 Arts Entertainment's Howard Klein also on board as an executive producer. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED RYAN TAVLIN PROJECT (FOX, New!) - Screenwriter Ryan Tavlin ("Counting Backwards") is developing a modern-day take on Bonnie and Clyde at the network about "two sexy, young lovers from struggling families in East Texas, who use their respective skill sets to pair up and fight back, one crime at a time." Sony Pictures Television-based One-Two Punch Productions is behind the hour with the company's Maria Grasso and Deborah Spera executive producing alongside Tavlin. (Deadline.com)
AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Mark Consuelos is set to guest on "Guys With Kids" as Ernie's new "manny," whom Chris (Jesse Bradford) becomes increasingly jealous (TVLine.com); jazz legend Sonny Rollins will lend his voice to an upcoming Lisa-centric episode of "The Simpsons" (TVLine.com); Michiel Huisman will recur on "Nashville" as a potential new producer for Connie Britton's Rayna James (Deadline.com); and Keegan Connor Tracy has likewise landed an arc on A&E's "Bates Motel" as Miss Watson, Norman's (Freddie Highmore) teacher and adviser (Deadline.com).
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