or


[03/05/13 - 11:56 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, March 5
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!

ADVOCATES, THE (CBS/Warner Bros.; W: Bruno Heller; D: David Nutter) - Ben McKenzie ("Southland") and Brit Morgan ("True Blood") have been cast in the drama pilot, about ex-con Henry Bird and lawyer Shannon Carter who team up as victim advocates, going to the edge of the law to right wrongs and fight for the underdog. McKenzie will play the aforementioned Henry ("a brooding enigmatic presence"), Shannon's childhood sweetheart who was wrongly convicted of murdering her mom and housekeeper. Said role is in second position to the TNT drama. Morgan then is set as his sister Rose, a tattooed and pierced supermarket cashier working her way slowly through college. CCH Pounder and Esai Morales also star. (Deadline.com)

BAD MANAGEMENT (ABC/ABC Studios; W: Holly Walsh & Sharon Horgan; D: Ben Taylor) - Greta Lee has been cast in the comedy pilot, about Eve (Sharon Horgan), a slightly self-centered boss at a high-end luxury goods department store who finds her ways challenged when the owner's son Tobias (David Spade) comes to town and makes youth and sex the new company focus. She'll play Mel ("tanned, beautiful"), a youthful, ambitious staffer who clicks with Tobias much to Eve's chagrin. Rachael Harris also stars. (Deadline.com)

DOUBT (ABC/Sony; W: David Shore; D: Thomas Schlamme) - Kacey Rohl ("The Killing") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about Vincent J. Calzonetti (yet to be cast), a cunning but charming ex-cop who's now a low-rent lawyer that uses his street smarts to work the system for his clients while battling his own demons. She'll play Monica ("pretty, eager, smart"), Vincent's paralegal/investigator who's one of the few who still believes in him. Also starring are Greg Grunberg and Rockmond Dunbar. (Deadline.com)

GABRIELS, THE (FOX/20th; W: Andrew Gurland & Justin Hurwitz; D: Jason Winer) - Chicago theater actor Sara Sevigny will round out of the cast of the comedy pilot, about a gleefully anti-social couple (Angela Kinsey, Rob Riggle) learning to act normal and make friends for the sake of their kids (River Alexander, Brooke Sorenson). She'll play Bonnie Klabunde ("sweet, mid-western, heavy set"), the wife of the kids' principal Tom (Tim Meadows). (GrayTalentGroup.com)

GOTHICA (ABC/ABC Studios; W: Matt Lopez; D: Anand Tucker) - Seth Gabel ("Fringe") has booked a role on the drama pilot, about Grace Van Helsing (Janet Montgomery), a woman who discovers the likes of everyone from Victor Frankenstein (Tom Ellis) to Dorian Gray (Chris Egan) exist in modern-day San Francisco while searching for her own identity. He'll play District Attorney Roderick Usher ("well-tanned, sharply dressed"), whose sister Madeline (Emma Booth) is married to Victor. Also starring in the hour are Raza Jaffrey and Tracie Thoms. (Deadline.com)

IRONSIDE (NBC/Universal; W: Michael Caleo; D: Peter Horton) - Neal Bledsoe has been cast in while Peter Horton will direct the drama pilot, about Robert Ironside (Blair Underwood), a San Francisco police detective who's forced to find new ways of fighting crime after being paralyzed by a gunshot. Bledsoe will play Teddy ("unusually stylish for a police officer"), a member of Ironside's hand-picked team that solves the department's most difficult cases. Brent Sexton also stars in the hour, which is based on Collier Young's 1967-75 series of the same name. (Deadline.com)

JACKED UP (CBS/Sony; W: Greg Malins; D: Fred Savage) - Ziah Colon (Footloose) is the latest addition to the multi-camera comedy, about Jack Wheeler (Patrick Warburton), a beloved, recently retired baseball player who finds that adjusting to retirement isn't as easy as he thought it'd be. She's on board as Myra ("polite, innocent"), Jack's recently hired housekeeper in the half-hour. (Deadline.com)

LIST, THE (FOX/20th; W: Paul Zbyszewski; D: Ruben Fleischer) - Jessica Szohr ("Gossip Girl") has booked the female lead in the drama pilot, about Dan Soto (Michael Peña), an Inspector with the U.S. Marshal Service who's tasked with finding the person who stole a file with the secret identities of every member of the Witness Security Program. She'll play Natalie Voss, "a fearless FBI agent who detests dealing with the Witness Security Program but is intrigued by the quirky, twitchy Soto." Richard T. Jones plays her partner Elston Rayburn while Charity Wakefield also stars. (Deadline.com)

ORDAINED, THE (CBS/CTS; W: Lisa Takeuchi Cullen; D: R.J. Cutler) - Sam Neill and Emmanuelle Chriqui are the latest additions to the drama pilot, about Tom Reilly (Charlie Cox), the son of a Kennedy-esque family who leaves the priesthood and becomes a lawyer to prevent his politician sister from being assassinated. He'll play Tom's father, Michael Thomas Reilly, a former three-term governor and lifelong king of New York; while she's set as Sam ("stunning, utterly charming"), Tom's neighbor at his new apartment building whom he befriends. Audra McDonald, Jorge Garcia and Nestor Serrano also star. (Deadline.com)

OXYGEN (The CW/CTS; W: Meredith Averill; D: Gary Fleder) - Matt Lanter ("90210") has booked the male lead on the pilot, a sci-fi drama about a high school pilot program in which humans and a select group of aliens are desegregated. He'll play Roman ("handsome, gentle, but a little brooding"), one of said aliens - called Orions - who falls for a human, Emery (Aimee Teegarden). The drama also stars Grey Damon, Malese Jow and Titus Makin Jr. (Deadline.com)

RECKLESS (CBS/CTS; W: Dana Stevens; D: Catherine Hardwicke) - Kim Wayans and Georgina Haig have both snagged roles on the drama pilot, about Jamie Horn (yet to be cast), a Yankee defense attorney, and Roy Rayder (Cam Gigandet), a Southern prosecutor who struggle to hide their attraction while clashing over a police sex scandal that threatens to implode Charleston, South Carolina. The former will play Jamie's paralegal Vi ("a super-skinny redneck with fried hair and the gravelly voice of a lifelong smoker") with the latter as Lee Anne Hunter, a sexually adventurous police officer. Michael Gladis also stars. (Deadline.com)

REIGN (The CW/CTS; W: Laurie McCarthy & Stephanie Sengupta; D: Brad Silberling) - Australian actress Caitlin Stasey is the latest to board the pilot, a period drama about the teenage years of Mary, Queen of Scots (Adelaide Kane) in 1557 France. She'll play Kenna ("vibrant, daring"), one of Mary's three lady-in-waiting, alongside the previously cast Celina Sinden as Greer and Jenessa Grant as Aillie. Megan Follows and Toby Regbo also star. (Deadline.com)

SIXTH GUN, THE (NBC/Universal; W: Ryan Condal; D: Jeffrey Reiner) - Pedro Pascal, James LeGros and Chin Han have each landed roles on the drama pilot, based on the comic book about Becky Montcrief (Laura Ramsey), an innocent girl swept up in the struggle over six mythical guns in the Old West. Pascal along with the previously cast Aldis Hodge play the city-raised, educated Pinkerton detectives Ortega and Mercer, who are trying to track down outlaw Drake Sinclair (yet to be cast) and his partner Billjohn O'Henry (LeGros), who in turn are on a quest to find the Sixth Gun. Han then is set as Chow, the loyal manservant to The Widow Missy Hume. Graham McTavish and W. Earl Brown also star. (Deadline.com)

SPY (ABC/ABC Studios; W: Simeon Goulden; D: Alex Hardcastle) - Camille Guaty has snagged a role on the comedy pilot, based on Simeon Goulden's U.K. series about Tim Elliot (Rob Corddry), a hapless single father who tries to impress his precocious 10-year-old son Marcus (Mason Cook) by joining the CIA. She's on board as Caitlin Banks ("attractive, ambitious"), a fellow applicant. Also starring in the single-camera project are Ken Jeong, Moshe Kasher and Paget Brewster. (Deadline.com)

...THEN CAME ELVIS (NBC/Universal; W: D.J. Nash; D: TBA) - Eli Baker and Ava Deluca-Verley have both booked roles on the comedy pilot, about Henry, a 14-year-old boy who watches his family - blind father Mel (J.K. Simmons), immature mom Joyce (Parker Posey), rebellious older sister Katie and their dog Elvis - come closer together post-divorce. He'll play the aforementioned Henry, whose adult self narrates the series; while she's set as Katie ("nose ring, all attitude"), said sister. (Deadline.com)

TOMORROW PEOPLE, THE (The CW/Warner Bros.; T: Phil Klemmer; D: Danny Cannon) - Aaron Yoo (21) will round out the cast of the drama pilot, about young people from around the world who possesses special powers as a result of the next stage in human evolution. He'll play one of them, handsome bad boy Russell, who along with John (Luke Mitchell) and Cara (Peyton List) seek to find their powered brethren and escape the cluches of Jedikiah Price (Mark Pellegrino), the head of a government program hunting them down. Madeleine Mantock and Robbie Amell also star. (Deadline.com)

UNAUTHORIZED GREG GARCIA PILOT, THE (CBS/CTS; W: Greg Garcia; D: James Burrows) - Beau Bridges ("The Goodwin Games") has been cast in the multi-camera comedy pilot, about Jack (Will Arnett) , a recently divorced TV reporter whose life is complicated when his parents (Margo Martindale, Bridges) have marital problems of their own. Bridges will play said father, Tom, in the project, which also stars J.B. Smoove and Mary Elizabeth Ellis. (Deadline.com)

UNTITLED JH WYMAN PROJECT (FOX) (FOX/Warner Bros.; W: J.H. Wyman; D: Brad Anderson) - Michael Irby and Mackenzie Crook have both been cast in the pilot, a drama set in 2048 Los Angeles where robots are widely used in law enforcement and follows human detective John Kennex (yet to be cast) and his android partner Dorian (Michael Ealy). The latter will play Rudy Lom, the show's Q-esque genetic/robotic engineer who is lonely and has no friends, at least of the human variety. Irby then is set as Richard Paul, a fellow detective "who blames Kennex for the death of fellow officers in the tragic mission that casts a pall over the department." Lili Taylor also stars as their Captain, Maldonado. (Deadline.com)

UNTITLED JOHN LEGUIZAMO PROJECT (ABC/ABC Studios; T: Jeff Astrof; D: TBA) - Elizabeth Peña has been cast in the comedy pilot, which stars Leguizamo and is based on his life as a husband, father and fish out of water on New York's Upper West Side. She'll play his mother Olga in the multi-camera project alongside Andrea Savage and Luke Ganalon. (Deadline.com)

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY (NBC/Sony; W: Mike Sikowitz; D: TBA) - Ricardo Chavira ("Desperate Housewives") has been cast in the comedy pilot, about two teens - nervous over-talker Junior Hernandez (yet to be cast) and prickly feminist Molly Yoder (Ella Rae Peck) - whose disparate families are bonded together after they fall in love and get pregnant. He'll play Junior's father Chuey ("inked up ex-gangster") who's divorced from his mom Lisette (also yet to be cast). Aramis Knight, Mary McCormack and Mike O'Malley also star in the single-camera project. (Deadline.com)

WEST SIDE (ABC/Warner Bros.; W: Byron Balasco; D: McG) - Dean Winters ("30 Rock") is the latest addition to the "Romeo and Juliet"-esque drama pilot, about star-crossed lovers, Sophie (Odette Annable) and Chris (yet to be cast), from rival families in Venice, California. He's set as Robbie ("hardcore surfer, big appetites"), Chris's uncle, who blames Sophie's father Gordy (Bruce Greenwood) for his late brother's death. Also featured in the ensemble are Jennifer Beals, Lincoln Lewis and Michael Graziadei. (THR.com)

AND IN OTHER NEWS... - ABC has asked for yet another episode of its Friday staple "Shark Tank," bringing its season four total to 26 (TVLine.com); Rob Huebel will guest on "Hart of Dixie" as the father of Rose's (McKaley Miller) boyfriend Max (Nicholas Podany) (THR.com); Benjamin Charles Watson is bound for at least four episodes of "The Killing" as "a transgender teen who left home because of a domineering and bigoted adoptive father" (THR.com); and Nikki DeLoach will drop by "CSI" as the prime suspect in a murder at her company's wilderness retreat (THR.com).




  [march 2013]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· 30 ROCK (NBC)
· 90210 (CW)
· ADVOCATES, THE (CBS)
· ALMOST HUMAN (FOX)
· BAD MANAGEMENT (ABC)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DOUBT (ABC)
· FAMILY GUIDE, THE (NBC)
· FRINGE (FOX)
· GABRIELS, THE (FOX)
· GOODWIN GAMES, THE (FOX)
· GOSSIP GIRL (CW)
· GOTHICA (ABC)
· HART OF DIXIE (CW)
· IRONSIDE (NBC)
· JACKED UP (CBS)
· KILLING, THE (AMC)
· KING JOHN (ABC)
· LIST, THE (FOX)
· MILLERS, THE (CBS)
· ORDAINED, THE (CBS)
· RECKLESS (CBS)
· REIGN (CW)
· SHARK TANK (ABC)
· SIXTH GUN, THE (NBC)
· SOUTHLAND (TNT)
· SPY (ABC)
· STAR-CROSSED (CW)
· TOMORROW PEOPLE, THE (CW)
· WELCOME TO THE FAMILY (NBC)
· WESTSIDE (ABC)




[05/24/13 - 02:13 PM]
Thursday's Cable Ratings: "Swamp People" Tops Demos, Viewers for History
Plus: numbers for AMC's "Showville," Showtime's "Last Days Here" and GSN's "Minute to Win It."
[05/24/13 - 01:35 PM]
Mike Darnell Votes Himself Out... of Fox Broadcasting Company
The longtime President of Alternative Entertainment has announced that he will be departing the network at the end of June.
[05/24/13 - 12:11 PM]
Blake Shelton Organizes "Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert" at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City on May 29
The concert will be televised live at 9:00/8:00c on NBC as well as on cable networks Style, G4, Bravo, E! and CMT.
[05/24/13 - 11:36 AM]
Syfy's "Paranormal Witness" Returns for Its Third Season on June 5 at 10 PM ET/PT
The new season begins with "The Long Island Terror," featuring intense demonic activity at a house in Long Island, NY.
[05/24/13 - 11:35 AM]
Chris and Heidi Powell and Twin Participants David and Rebecca Live Tweet During "Extreme Weight Loss" Season Premiere, May 28
They'll all be up on @realchrispowell, @realheidipowell, @DavidEWL3 and @BeccaEWL3, respectively.
[05/24/13 - 11:20 AM]
GSN Announces the Season Two Champions of "The American Bible Challenge"
The cable channel details the winners of the show's sophomore run.
[05/24/13 - 08:46 AM]
"Rookie Blue" Opens at #1 at 10pm with Its 2nd Biggest Audience Since 2010
ABC spins the numbers for Thursday, May 23.
[05/24/13 - 08:32 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: FOX Opens Summer on Top in Demos
"Hell's Kitchen" and "Does Someone Have to Go?" hand the network victory in adults 18-49.
[05/23/13 - 11:26 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, May 23
Updates include: Clive Owen, Steven Soderbergh to bring "The Knick" to Cinemax; Neil LaBute's "Full Circle" sets cast; and Stephanie Sengupta departs The CW's "Reign."
[05/23/13 - 06:23 PM]
The CW Books "Cult" Revival for June 28; "The Hunt" Renamed "Capture"
They'll join previously announced summer originals "Breaking Pointe," "Perfect Score" and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"
[05/23/13 - 04:27 PM]
Wednesday's Cable Ratings: Pacers/Heat Opener Dominates for TNT
Plus: numbers for VH1's "Off Pitch," Oxygen's "Best Ink" and TLC's "The Town That Caught Tourettes?"
[05/23/13 - 03:01 PM]
NBC Completes Best May Sweep in Nine Years As Network Finishes 0.1 of Rating Point Out of First
NBC further spins the numbers for the May sweeps period.
[05/23/13 - 03:00 PM]
Syfy's "Killer Contact" (Formerly "Notorious Hauntings") to Premiere July 16 at 10 PM ET/PT
Viewers will follow a team of paranormal investigators as they research the otherworldly activity at historical sites.
[05/23/13 - 02:34 PM]
Kelly Osbourne Hosts Fan-Generated Special "Phineas and Ferb Musical Cliptastic Countdown," Premiering Friday, June 28 on Disney Channel
Leading up to the special, fans can get in on the action by voting for their favorite "Phineas and Ferb" music videos on DisneyChannel.com.
[05/23/13 - 02:15 PM]
A Can't-Miss "Katie" First: An Exclusive Hour with Howard Stern, Tuesday, May 28
Katie goes one on one with Stern in a no-holds-barred conversation about everything from his childhood, family and therapy sessions to his on-air persona and personal obsessions.