 |
 |
[05/01/14 - 11:28 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, May 1
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!
BESSIE (HBO, New!) - Queen Latifah is set to play iconic blues singer Bessie Smith in a proposed biopic at the pay channel, which "chronicles how Smith overcame her tempestuous personal life to become one of the most acclaimed performing and recording artists of the 1920s and '30s, earning the nickname Empress of the Blues." Dee Rees (Pariah) wrote and will direct the project, which is based on the biography "Bessie" written by Chris Albertson. Latifah will also executive produce alongside Shakim Compere, Lili Fini Zanuck, Richard Zanuck, Shelby Stone and Randi Michel with Hallie Foote as co-executive producer and Ron Schmidt as producer for Flavor Unit Entertainment and the Zanuck Company. (Deadline.com)
DIG (USA/UCP; W: Gideon Raff & Tim Kring; D: S.J. Clarkson) - Regina Taylor and Omar Metwally have both booked roles on the event series, about an FBI agent stationed in Jerusalem (Jason Isaacs) who, while investigating a murder of a young female archeologist, uncovers a conspiracy 2000 years in the making. She'll play Ruth Ridell, "the U.S. ambassador to Israel who has little time for problems that Peter creates for her with the local authorities"; while he's set as Yussef Khalid, "an American who disappeared after being accused of murder." Alison Loren Sudol, Anne Heche and David Costabile also star. (THR.com)
HOW AND WHY (FX/FXP; W/D: Charlie Kaufman) - Marcella Plunkett (Dark Touch) has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, the story of a man, Goodman Hesselman (John Hawkes), who can explain how and why a nuclear reactor works, but is clueless about life. She'll play two roles, "Cynthia, a photographer at Goodman's new TV station in Murfreesboro, and Magda, Mendelson's (Michael Cera) secretary, whose day is spent in a cramped, tiny room, not much bigger than her desk." Sally Hawkins and Catherine Keener also star. (Deadline.com)
UNSTRUNG (ABC Family; W: Emily Whitesell; D: TBA) - Chanel Celaya and Sofia Mattsson are the first to be cast in the drama pilot, which explores the sexy, cutthroat, and emotional stakes of the professional world tour of tennis as brother and sister Luke and Ellie Holt compete to move up the ranks. Celaya will play the aforementioned Ellie, "an athletic, spunky beauty with great talent but not-so-great discipline"; with Mattsson as Ninotchka Andropov, "a diva ranked 3rd in the world but first in looks." (THR.com)
UNTITLED ANDY ST. CLAIR/PAUL O'TOOLE PROJECT (MTV, New!) - Andy St. Clair and Paul O'Toole have scored a cast-contingent pilot order from the network for a new comedy about "22-year-old Andy, who after he catches his girlfriend cheating, accidentally rear-ends a celebrity. Taking pity on Andy, the celebrity takes it upon himself to teach him how to man up." Odenkirk Provissiero's Marc Provissiero will executive produce the project with St. Clair and O'Toole serving as co-executive producers. (THR.com)
AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Brian Percival has bowed out of helming the AMC drama pilot "Knifeman" for personal reasons (Deadline.com); "Nashville" executive producer R.J. Cutler has signed a first-look development deal with CBS Television Studios for scripted projects, ending his run at Lionsgate Television (Deadline.com); Kristin Chenoweth has been cast as Maleficent in Disney Channel's "Descendants," "who butts horns with her daughter Mal (Dove Cameron)" (Deadline.com); Nestor Serrano and Brit Morgan will both recur on the new season of "Graceland" (TVLine.com); and Tyler Hilton is bound for the upcoming CBS drama "Extant" as "the chief coder on the Humanichs Project at the center of the story" (THR.com).
|
|
|
 [may 2014]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| | | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[12/15/25 - 02:26 PM]
Video: First Look at the New Crime Drama "CIA," Starring Tom Ellis and Nick Gehlfuss, Now Available
When by-the-book FBI Special Agent Bill Goodman (Nick Gehlfuss) is loaned out to a clandestine CIA/FBI task force, he finds himself teamed up with secretive and roguish CIA case officer Colin Glass (Tom Ellis).
|
[12/15/25 - 01:01 PM]
Video: "This is I" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Bullied for wanting to be an idol, Kenji finds belonging in a cabaret and help from a trailblazing doctor, emerging onstage as her true self, Ai Haruna.
|
[12/15/25 - 12:30 PM]
Video: Inside Look at "Memory of a Killer" with Patrick Dempsey - FOX TV
The series will launch with a special two-night premiere event beginning Sunday, January 25 immediately following the NFC Championship Game.
|
[12/15/25 - 11:01 AM]
Zachary Hart Joins the Cast of "Assassin's Creed," The New Live-Action Series Adaptation of Ubisoft's Best-Selling Video Game Franchise
Toby Wallace and Lola Petticrew also star in the Netflix series.
|
[12/15/25 - 09:31 AM]
Most Valuable Promotions and Netflix Announce On-Air Talent for MVP's Jake vs. Joshua: Judgment Day, Live Only on Netflix on Friday, December 19 from Kaseya Center in Miami
On Friday, December 19, the Jake vs. Joshua preliminary card begins at 4:45pm ET / 1:45pm PT on Netflix's Tudum and MVP's YouTube Channel, with the main card starting at 8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT, live only on Netflix.
|
[12/15/25 - 09:19 AM]
Driven by Strong November Viewership, ESPN Earns Third Straight Month of Year-Over-Year Audience Growth for Weekday Studio Programming
Highlights include "The Pat McAfee Show" having its most-viewed November of all time across linear and YouTube with 445,000 average viewers per show and "NFL Live" reaching its second most-watched November since 2016 with 445,000 average viewers.
|
[12/15/25 - 09:02 AM]
TNT Sports to Present Wall-to-Wall Coverage of Saturday's College Football Playoff First Round
Saturday's game crews will include Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer, Katie George and Quint Kessenich calling Tulane/Ole Miss, with Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick, Kris Budden and Stormy Buonantony assigned to JMU/Oregon.
|
[12/15/25 - 09:00 AM]
CBS Announces All-New Special, "Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion Pt. 2," to Air Monday, Dec. 22 on CBS
This one-hour show gives viewers who loved the first special another opportunity to reminisce and revisit the laughter and joy from the original CBS series.
|
[12/15/25 - 08:01 AM]
Renovation Superstars Drew and Jonathan Scott Return in New Episodes of "Don't Hate Your House with the Property Brothers" Premiering Monday, Dec. 29, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Home renovation and real estate superstars Drew?and Jonathan Scott will help more people love their home again in eight new episodes.
|
[12/15/25 - 08:01 AM]
The Wasteland Comes Bearing Gifts... "Fallout" Season Two Surprises with Early Release Date
The premiere episode will debut one day earlier on Tuesday, December 16, at 6:00 p.m. PT.
|
[12/15/25 - 07:01 AM]
USA Sports Announces Wednesday Night Primetime Schedule for 2026 LOVB Season on USA Network
USA Network's Match of the Week coverage begins with the first serve of the 2026 season on Wednesday, January 7, at 6 p.m. ET, featuring a rematch of the 2025 Championship when LOVB Nebraska faces defending champion LOVB Austin.
|
[12/15/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: Peacock Releases Official Trailer, Key Art and New Episodic Imagery for "Ponies"
All eight episodes of espionage thriller series starring Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson will debut Thursday, January 15 on Peacock.
|
[12/15/25 - 07:00 AM]
Golden Globe-Nominated "One Battle After Another" - Including Best Picture - Begins Streaming Exclusively on HBO Max December 19
The film stars Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe winners Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, and Golden Globe nominees Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti.
|
[12/15/25 - 05:41 AM]
Video: "Stranger Things 5" - Volume 2 Trailer - Netflix
With Hawkins' children ensnared by Vecna, the party faces unimaginable peril as they fight to bring them home.
|
[12/13/25 - 10:02 AM]
Flex Game! LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Lakers Host Cade Cunningham and Eastern-Conference Leading Pistons on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 10:30 P.M. ET on NBC and Peacock
NBC Sports' NBA coverage on December 23, December 29, and December 30 will now feature nationwide doubleheaders, with the entire country getting both games on NBC and Peacock.
|
|
|
|
