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[03/14/13 - 11:22 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, March 14
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!


ABOUT A BOY (NBC/Universal; W: Jason Katims; D: Jon Favreau) - Al Madrigal ("The Daily Show with Jon Stewart") has snagged a role on the comedy pilot, based on Nick Hornby's book-turned-film of the same name about the relationship between Will (David Walton), a bachelor man-child, and Marcus (Benjamin Stockham), the young boy who moves in next-door with his kooky single mother, Fiona (Minnie Driver). He's set as Andy, Will's slacker and thoroughly whipped stay at home dad best friend. Anjelah N. Johnson plays his wife Laurie while Leslie Bibb guest stars. (Deadline.com)


ADVOCATES, THE (CBS/Warner Bros.; W: Bruno Heller; D: David Nutter) - Mandy Moore ("Grey's Anatomy") has scored the female lead on the drama pilot, about ex-con Henry Bird (Ben McKenzie) 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. Moore, fresh off departing the ABC comedy pilot "Pulling," will play the aforementioned Shannon Carter ("preppy, smart, beautiful"), who threw away her career at the District Attorney's office in order to prove childhood sweetheart Henry's innocence and now works for the Victim Advocate Office. Brit Morgan, CCH Pounder and Esai Morales also star. (Deadline.com)


BLACKLIST, THE (NBC/Sony; W: Jon Bokenkamp; D: Joe Carnahan) - Harry Lennix and Ilfenesh Hadera have both landed roles on the drama pilot, about Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), the world's most wanted criminal, who turns himself into the FBI and offers to give up everyone he has ever worked with in exchange for working with Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone), a newly minted agent whom he seemingly has no connection. The former will play Assistant Director Of Counterterrorism Harold Cooper ("worn by life; a natural cynic") while the latter is set as Elizabeth's best friend, fellow agent Jennifer Palmer. Also starring is Ryan Eggold. (Deadline.com)


BOOMERANG (FOX/Warner Bros.; W: Davey Holmes; D: TBA) - Rosa Salazar and Stephanie Jacobsen have both scored roles on the drama pilot, about the Hamiltons - dad Bill (Anthony LaPaglia), mom Margie (Felicity Huffman) and their sons Sam (Michael Stahl-David) and Carl (Patrick Heusinger), a family who serves as assassins for the federal government. Salazar will play Sam's ex-girlfriend Olive Chatsworth ("super cute, mischievous eyes"), who's since been married, divorced and now works as a mall photographer. Jacobsen then is set as Carl's wife Angela and mother of their two boys who is unaware of her husband's real job. (Deadline.com, THR.com)


COMPANY TOWN (The CW/CTS; W: Sera Gamble; D: Taylor Hackford) - Evie Thompson ("Last Man Standing") has been cast in the drama pilot, about the aftermath of a sexual assault scandal at a Naval base in Norfolk, Virginia. She'll play Natalie Mateo ("sharp, enthusiastic, emotional to a fault"), the younger sister of townie Page (Stella Maeve). Also featured in the ensemble are Arjun Gupta, Dondre Whitfield, Gage Golightly, Graham Hamilton, Maya Kazan and Merle Dandridge. (Deadline.com)


DELIRIUM (FOX/20th; W: Karyn Usher; D: TBA) - Brenda Koo and Erin Cahill are the latest to board the drama pilot, based on Lauren Oliver's book trilogy about star-crossed lovers Alex (Daren Kagasoff) and Lena (Emma Roberts) in a world where love - a.k.a. deliria - is deemed illegal and can be eradicated with a special procedure. Koo will play Raven ("a young Asian woman with a sharp wit under her American Apparel"), Alex's best friend; while Cahill is set as Rachel, Lena's conservative older sister. Billy Campbell, Corey Reynolds, Gregg Sulkin, Jeanine Mason and Michael Michele also star. (Deadline.com)


HALT & CATCH FIRE (AMC; W: Chris Cantwell & Chris Rodgers; D: Juan José Campanella) - Toby Huss has snagged a role on the pilot, a period drama set in the early 1980s about the personal computing boom as told through the eyes of a visionary (Lee Pace), an engineer (Scoot McNairy) and a prodigy (Mackenzie Davis) whose innovations directly confront the corporate behemoths of the time. He'll play Bosworth, "the SVP of Sales at Cardiff Giant who hires Joe MacMillan (Pace), impressed with his sales reputation and personal moxie, but then grows furious when he hijacks Cardiff Giant and incurs the wrath of IBM." Kerry Bishe also stars. (Deadline.com)


I SUCK AT GIRLS (FOX/Warner Bros.; W: Justin Halpern & Patrick Schumacker; D: TBA) - Christopher Meloni ("True Blood") has signed onto the comedy pilot, about Frankie Dunlevy (Connor Buckley), a lanky, self-deprecating 15-year-old coming of age in San Diego circa 1991. He'll play his father Jack ("imposing, edgy"), an MD in oncology who says things that you can't believe is coming out of his mouth and would die for his family. Claudia Lee also stars. (Deadline.com)


LIST, THE (FOX/20th; W: Paul Zbyszewski; D: Ruben Fleischer) - Hilarie Burton ("White Collar") has joined the cast of 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 take over for Tamsin Egerton as Maddy ("attractive, dressed professionally, a confident spring in her step"), Dan's ex-wife and mother of their two kids. Egerton will instead play Delilah, a conniving charmer and a deadly international operator. She in turn replaces Charity Wakefield, who is no longer involved with the project. Gary Cole, Jessica Szohr and Richard T. Jones also star. (Deadline.com)


MIXOLOGY (ABC/ABC Studios; W: Jon Lucas & Scott Moore; D: Larry Charles) - Ginger Gonzaga (Ted) has been cast in the comedy pilot, about five guys and five girls trying to find love at Mix, a trendy Manhattan bar, over the course of one night. She'll play tough-as-nails sports attorney Maya, replacing the previously departed Mercedes Masöhn. The ensemble also includes Adam Campbell, Alexis Carra, Andrew Santino, Blake Lee, Craig Frank, Kate Simses, Sarah Bolger and Vanessa Lengies. (Deadline.com)


MURDER IN THE FIRST (TNT; W: Eric Lodal & Steven Bochco; D: TBA) - Kathleen Robertson ("Boss") and Taye Diggs ("Private Practice") are the first to be cast in the pilot, a crime drama which intimately dissects a single murder case over an entire season, from the commitment of the crime through the investigation, arrest and trial. They'll play the two San Francisco homicide detectives, Terry Seagrave (Diggs) and Hildy Mulligan (Robertson), on the case. (Deadline.com)


RECKLESS (CBS/CTS; W: Dana Stevens; D: Catherine Hardwicke) - Adam Rodriguez ("CSI: Miami") and Gregory Harrison ("Ringer") have both been cast in the drama pilot, about Jamie Horn (Anna Wood), 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. Rodriguez will play Preston Durrell ("handsome, wiry, with an urban sophistication"), a detective and Jamie's regular hookup; while Harrison is set as Dec Fortnum, Roy's longtime mentor and the father of his soon-to-be ex-wife. Georgina Haig, Kim Wayans, Michael Gladis and Shawn Hatosy also star. (Deadline.com)


REIGN (The CW/CTS; W: Laurie McCarthy & Stephanie Sengupta; D: Brad Silberling) - Rossif Sutherland has booked a role on the pilot, a period drama about the teenage years of Mary, Queen of Scots (Adelaide Kane) in 1557 France. He'll guest star as Nostradamus, the Queen's (Megan Follows) wizard prophet whom she seeks aid in controlling her future daughter-in-law. Anna Popplewell, Caitlin Stasey, Celina Sinden, Jenessa Grant, Toby Regbo and Torrance Coombs co-star. (Deadline.com)


SELECTION, THE (The CW/Warner Bros.; W: Elizabeth Craft & Sarah Fain; D: Alex Graves) - British actor Ben Aldridge is the latest to board the pilot, a drama set 300 years in the future about a poor woman, America Singer (Yael Grobglas), who is chosen by lottery to compete to become the next queen of Illea, a war-torn nation. He'll play Rafe Shreave, the younger, more reserved brother of Prince Maxon (Michael Malarkey) who's skeptical of holding The Selection when the crown has a potential rebellion on their hands. Celia Massingham, Louise Lombard, Lucien Laviscount, Peta Sergeant, Sarah Winter and Sean Patrick Thomas also star. (Deadline.com)


SURGEON GENERAL, THE (CBS/CTS; W: Samuel Baum; D: Rod Lurie) - Sean Astin ("Alphas") has been cast in the drama pilot, about John Sherman (Jason Isaacs), a fictional Surgeon General of the United States and the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. He'll play Alan Fischer, a short, neurotic psychiatrist with a gentle soul. The project also stars Beth Riesgraf, Katherine McNamara and Kathryn Morris. (Deadline.com)


TO MY ASSISTANT (FOX/Warner Bros.; W: Ellen Kreamer & Sherry Bilsing-Graham; D: TBA) - Jillian Bell ("Workaholics") will guest star on the comedy pilot, about the assistants at a big New York law firm who band together as a family to help each other cope with the obnoxious, overbearing bosses who test their sanity on a daily basis. She'll play one of the assistants, Denny ("sloppy, slightly over-weight"), an apathetic single mom who is annoyed by Claire's (Melissa Tang) constant volunteerism. Brittany Snow, Catherine O'Hara, Joe Egender, Stephen Root and Tone Bell also star. (Deadline.com)


UNDATEABLE (NBC/Warner Bros.; W: Adam Sztykiel; D: Scott Ellis) - Comedian Ron Funches has been cast in the multi-camera comedy pilot, about new roommates - man-child Danny Beeman (Chris D'Elia) and chronic over-thinker Justin Zip (Brent Morin) - who bond over their foibles with the opposite sex. He'll play Shelly ("an odd, shy black man"), one of Justin's "undateable" pals whom Danny agrees to take under his wing. Rick Glassman also stars. (Deadline.com)


WEST SIDE (ABC/Warner Bros.; W: Byron Balasco; D: McG) - Lexi Ainsworth ("General Hospital") is the latest to board the drama pilot, about "Romeo & Juliet"-esque lovers Chris (Luke Bracey) and Sophie (Odette Annable) from rival families in the surfing community of Venice, California. She'll play Nico ("adorable type-A"), Chris's younger sister. Lincoln Lewis, Dean Winters and Jennifer Beals play her other brother, uncle and mother, respectively. Bruce Greenwood and Michael Graziadei also star. (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Former "The Walking Dead" showrunner Glen Mazzara has signed a overall deal with Fox Television Studios where he'll develop series projects via his new production company, 44 Strong Productions (Deadline.com).






  [march 2013]  
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· ABOUT A BOY (NBC)
· ADVOCATES, THE (CBS)
· ALPHAS (SYFY)
· BLACKLIST, THE (NBC)
· BOOMERANG (FOX)
· BOSS (STARZ)
· COMPANY TOWN (CW)
· CSI: MIAMI (CBS)
· DELIRIUM (FOX)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· HALT & CATCH FIRE (AMC)
· LAST MAN STANDING (FOX)
· LIST, THE (FOX)
· MIXOLOGY (ABC)
· MURDER IN THE FIRST (TNT)
· PRIVATE PRACTICE (ABC)
· PULLING (ABC)
· RECKLESS (CBS)
· REIGN (CW)
· RINGER (CW)
· SELECTION, THE - 2013 VERSION (CW)
· SURGEON GENERAL, THE (CBS)
· SURVIVING JACK (FOX)
· TO MY ASSISTANT (FOX)
· TRUE BLOOD (HBO)
· UNDATEABLE (NBC)
· WALKING DEAD, THE (AMC)
· WESTSIDE (ABC)
· WHITE COLLAR (USA)
· WORKAHOLICS (COMEDY CENTRAL)





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