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[02/03/14 - 11:27 PM]
Development Update: Monday, February 3
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!


BAD JUDGE (NBC/Universal; W: Adam McKay, Chad Kultgen & Chris Henchy; D: TBA) - John Ducey ("Jonas") is the latest addition to the single-camera comedy pilot, about Rebecca Wright (Kate Walsh), a hard-living, sexually unapologetic woman who plays with the law, despite the fact she also happens to be a judge in the criminal court system. He's set as Tom Barlow, "every bit the dapper DA and every bit the political ladder climber." Said effort comes from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's Universal Television-based Gary Sanchez Productions. (Deadline.com)


CRAZY HOUSE (Comedy Central; W: Lee Rubenstein & Nick Turner; D: TBA) - Whitmer Thomas is set to star opposite Nick Turner in the comedy pilot, about "two friends who, after accidentally sending their boss into a coma via an office prank, successfully plead insanity and are sentenced to an asylum." Turner also co-wrote the half-hour alongside fellow co-executive producer Lee Rubenstein. (Deadline.com)


MADAM SECRETARY (CBS/CTS; W: Barbara Hall; D: David Semel) - David Semel ("Intelligence") is set to direct the drama pilot, about the personal and professional life of maverick Secretary of State Elizabeth Faulkner McGill (Tea Leoni) as she drives international diplomacy, wrangles office politics and balances a complex family life. He'll work from a script by Barbara Hall, who's executive producing alongside Morgan Freeman, Lori McCreary and Tracy Mercer. (Deadline.com)


MANHATTAN (WGN America/Lionsgate; W: Sam Shaw; D: Thomas Schlamme) - Ashley Zukerman ("Terra Nova") has joined the cast of the period drama, which is set against the backdrop of the greatest clandestine race against time in the history of science - the mission to build the world's first atomic bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He'll play Charlie Abrams, "a super bright, self-described 'numbers guy' with an IQ of 180 and a good sense of humor." Harry Lloyd also stars. (Deadline.com)


MARRY ME (NBC/Sony; W: David Caspe; D: Seth Gordon) - Ken Marino ("Childrens Hospital") has booked the male lead on the comedy pilot, about a young couple who get engaged, something they quickly realize is harder than it looks. He'll play the "logical, quiet" Jake alongside the previously cast Casey Wilson as the "emotional, loud" Annie. Jamie Tarses also serves as an executive producer on the single-camera project, which is set up at Sony Pictures Television. (Deadline.com)


THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA (NBC/Warner Bros.; W: Jeff Rake; D: McG) - McG (3 Days to Kill) has signed on to direct and executive produce the drama pilot, a domestic take on the Spanish series "Los Misterios de Laura," about a female homicide detective who's great at her job but struggles to deal with her cheating husband and five-year-old identical twin boys. He'll work from a script by Jeff Rake on the project, which comes from the Warner Bros. Television-based Berlanti Productions. (Deadline.com)


NCIS (CBS) - Scott Bakula, Zoe McLellan and CCH Pounder have all been cast in the proposed New Orleans-based spin-off of the series, which will handles cases from Pensacola through Mississippi and Louisiana to the Texas panhandle. Bakula will play NCIS Special Agent Pride, "who is driven by the need to do what's right and does it all with warmth, passion, strength and humor"; with McLellan as Special Agent Brody, "a fish-out-of-water mid-western transplant who come to New Orleans looking for a fresh start and a safe haven to heal old wounds"; and Pounder as Dr. Wade, "the Jefferson Parish Medical Examiner who us as eccentric as she is smart and also is intuitive and incredibly connected to Louisiana." Said project will be set up via a two-episode arc later this season. (Deadline.com)


SALVATION (NBC/Universal; W: Liz Heldens; D: Jeffrey Reiner) - Jeffrey Reiner ("Helix") has signed on to direct the drama pilot, a family saga is set against the backdrop of a Texas mega church where faith, family and corruption are explored in equal measure. Liz Heldens is behind the hour, which is set up at David Janollari's Universal Television-based David Janollari Entertainment. (Deadline.com)


SEA OF FIRE (ABC/Sony; W: Jenna Bans; D: Allison Liddi-Brown) - Jack Davenport ("Smash") and Isabelle Cornish ("Home and Away") are the latest to board the drama pilot, which "chronicles the fallout from three teenage girls starring in a pornographic film, which tears their families apart and leads to a disappearance, a murder and host of other secrets boiling under the surface in a small town." He's set as Marty Kesowich ("small-town mentality, easy going, instantly likeable"), the local Sheriff; with Cornish as his daughter Merel ("driven, Alpha teen"), one of the aforementioned girls. Jennifer Carpenter also stars as FBI Agent Leah Pierce. (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Showtime has put its Philip Seymour Hoffman-led comedy "Happyish" on hold following the actor's death on Sunday (Deadline.com); Colin Salmon has joined "24: Live Another Day" as General Coburn, "an intelligent, powerful and fiercely loyal man who does not suffer fools no matter what rank" (Deadline.com); Dylan Sprayberry is bound for "Teen Wolf" as "a cocky and handsome new freshman at Beacon Hills" (Deadline.com); Willie Garson will guest on "Franklin & Bash" as "a plastic surgeon who loves what he does, primarily because his skills allow him access to women normally out of reach" (TVGuide.com); Bob Newhart will reprise his role of Professor Proton for a third time on "The Big Bang Theory" (TVLine.com); Max Greenfield is set to drop by "The Mindy Project" as "a hot player at a bar who is up to no good" (EOnline.com); and Wole Parks, Brett Cullen and Brianna Brown won't return as series regulars for the second season of "Devious Maids" (TVGuide.com).






  [february 2014]  
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M
T
W
T
F
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· 24 (FOX)
· BAD JUDGE (NBC)
· BIG BANG THEORY, THE (CBS)
· CHILDRENS HOSPITAL (ADULT SWIM)
· CRAZY HOUSE (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DEVIOUS MAIDS (LIFETIME)
· FRANKLIN & BASH (TNT)
· HAPPYISH (SHOWTIME)
· HELIX (SYFY)
· INTELLIGENCE (CBS)
· JONAS LA (DISNEY)
· MADAM SECRETARY (CBS)
· MANHATTAN (WGN)
· MARRY ME (NBC)
· MINDY PROJECT, THE (HULU)
· MYSTERIES OF LAURA, THE (NBC)
· NCIS (CBS)
· NCIS: NEW ORLEANS (CBS)
· SALVATION (NBC)
· SEA OF FIRE (ABC)
· SMASH (NBC)
· TEEN WOLF (MTV)
· TERRA NOVA (FOX)





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