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[05/01/14 - 11:28 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, May 1
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!
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).
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[01/06/26 - 12:31 PM]
"TMZ Investigates: The Reiner Murders: What REALLY Happened" Premieres Friday, January 9 at 8/7c on FOX
Harvey Levin, Ryan Regan, Charles Latibeaudiere and Jess Fusco serve as executive producers with co-executive producer Shevonne Sullivan.
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[01/06/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of December 29 - "Stranger Things 5" Concludes Right Side Up at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
At No. 2 on the English TV list with 12.7 million views is the new Harlan Coben mystery series "Run Away," centered on a father desperate for clues about his missing daughter while a string of related murders heightens the urgency to find her.
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[01/06/26 - 11:33 AM]
Mark Silverman Wraps Tenure at FOX Sports
Silverman joined FOX Sports in 2018 and previously was the President of Big Ten Network (BTN) since its formation in 2006.
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[01/06/26 - 11:06 AM]
Grammy Award Winner Mary J. Blige Extends Lifetime Relationship with New Three-Picture Deal, Launching with "Mary J. Blige Presents Be Happy"
NAACP Image Award-winners Tisha Campbell and Mekhi Phifer and SAG Award nominee Russell Hornsby are set to star.
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[01/06/26 - 11:00 AM]
FOX Entertainment Studios Strikes Development Deal with Golden Globe-Winning and Emmy-Nominated Multi-Hyphenate Tracee Ellis Ross and Her Joy Mill Entertainment
Under the partnership, Ross will serve as executive producer and creative originator on a cross-genre scripted slate spanning comedy, drama and animation, as well as unscripted and reality television programming formats.
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[01/06/26 - 10:42 AM]
CNBC's "Warren Buffett: A Life and Legacy" to Premiere on Tuesday, January 13 at 7PM ET
The two-hour special features exclusive, never-before-seen interviews with Warren Buffett about his views on business, philanthropy, and life, and how his philosophies have evolved over the decades.
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[01/06/26 - 10:31 AM]
Video: "Hidden Assets" - Season 3 Official Trailer - Acorn TV
When investigative reporter Olatz Alzola and her family are brutally murdered in Bilbao, DS Claire Wallace is drawn into a case that links their killings to a CAB raid in Ireland that ended in tragedy.
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[01/06/26 - 10:01 AM]
Netflix's "Star Search" Adds Jelly Roll, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chrissy Teigen as Judges
"Star Search" premieres live on January 20 hosted by Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor Anthony Anderson.
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[01/06/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: "Molly-Mae: Behind It All" Series 2 Part 2 - Official Trailer - Prime Video
The wait is almost over. Step back into her world of unfiltered moments and new beginnings.
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[01/06/26 - 09:34 AM]
Video: "Fear Factor: House of Fear" - Special Premiere This Sunday on FOX!
The series will then regularly air Wednesdays at 9:00/8:00c on FOX.
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[01/06/26 - 09:03 AM]
Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" Three-Part Reunion Begins Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 8 P.M. ET/PT
Host Andy Cohen sits down with Lisa Barlow, Mary Cosby, Heather Gay, Angie Katsanevas, Meredith Marks, Bronwyn Newport, Whitney Rose and Britani Bateman to rehash and attempt to find resolve for the women after a turbulent season.
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[01/06/26 - 08:36 AM]
ESPN's Extensive MegaCast Presentation Features 20+ Offerings of College Football Playoff Semifinal Showdowns Slated for Thursday and Friday, Jan. 8-9
The penultimate round of the College Football Playoff will be presented with the main telecast on ESPN and additional viewing options on ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Unlimited.
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[01/06/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Agatha Christie's Seven Dials" - Official Trailer - Netflix
When a lavish country house party ends in murder, a witty young aristocrat sets out to solve the mystery in this adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel.
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[01/06/26 - 06:11 AM]
New Cast Confirmed by Amazon MGM Studios for "Tomb Raider" Series
Martin Bobb-Semple, Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs, Jack Bannon, John Heffernan, Bill Paterson, Paterson Joseph, Sasha Luss, Juliette Motamed, Celia Imrie, and August Wittgenstein officially join the previously announced Sophie Turner as Lara Croft.
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[01/06/26 - 06:00 AM]
Netflix Becomes Official Home of WWE Library in United States
This follows the January 2025 launch of WWE on Netflix, where "Monday Night Raw" has become a weekly staple in the global English Top 10.
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