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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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[01/28/26 - 10:01 AM]
HBO Original Limited Series "DTF St. Louis," Starring Jason Bateman, David Harbour, and Linda Cardellini, Debuts March 1
A limited series about a love triangle between three adults experiencing middle-age malaise that leads to one of them ending up dead.
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[01/28/26 - 09:32 AM]
Video: Tubi's YA Original Film "Kissing Is the Easy Part" Reveals Official Trailer
The film tells the story of a straight-A overachiever (Asher Angel) who makes a deal to tutor a popular wild child (Paris Berelc) in exchange for a college recommendation letter to his dream school, but when sparks fly, school is the least of their problems.
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[01/28/26 - 09:02 AM]
Video: Trailer & Key Art Debut - Hulu's "Paradise" Season 2
The second season of the Emmy Award-nominated series premieres Monday, February 23 with three episodes, followed by new episodes weekly on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally.
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[01/28/26 - 08:33 AM]
HGTV Takes Viewers on an Epic Road Trip Across America in New Series "Wild Vacation Rentals" Premiering Monday, March 2, at 10 p.m. ET/PT
America's most extraordinary vacation homes - from a bird's nest to a grain silo and a potato house to an old western town - will be on tap for actresses and comedians Sherry Cola and D'Arcy Carden when HGTV sends them on an epic girls' trip of a lifetime.
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[01/28/26 - 07:02 AM]
ESPN to Premiere "Origin: The Story of the Basketball Africa League" on February 11
"Origin" documents the creation and launch of the NBA's first collaboration to operate a league outside North America, a pan-African professional basketball league in partnership with FIBA featuring 12 top club teams from across Africa's 54 countries competing in a caravan format.
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[01/28/26 - 06:36 AM]
FOX Scores 46 Million Viewers for NFC Championship Between NFC West Rivals
The Seahawks are soaring to the Super Bowl.
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[01/28/26 - 06:20 AM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Is LA Bound for Fan-Favorite "After the Oscars Show"
The show will feature comedy super star Leanne Morgan, who will dish on the best moments from Hollywood's biggest night!
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[01/28/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "Berlin and the Lady with an Ermine" - Official Teaser - Netflix
Targeting a priceless work of art, Berlin assembles his gang of thieves in Seville in this explosive new installment from the creators of "Money Heist."
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[01/28/26 - 06:01 AM]
AFC Championship Game Is This Year's Most-Watched NFL Postseason Game as "NFL on CBS" Caps Off Record-Setting Season
Patriots-Broncos averaged 48,618,000 viewers and peaked with 57,759,000.
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[01/28/26 - 06:01 AM]
Apple TV Shares First Look and Premiere Date for Second Season of "Criminal Record"
The eight-episode second season of "Criminal Record" will make its global debut on Apple TV with the first episode on Wednesday, April 22, followed by new episodes weekly through Wednesday, June 10.
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[01/28/26 - 05:17 AM]
Apple's Emmy Award-Winning "Ted Lasso" Heads Back to the Pitch This Summer
The fourth season is currently in production, and fan favorites including Emmy Award winner Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, Emmy Award winner Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt and Jeremy Swift are all set to return as their celebrated characters.
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[01/28/26 - 05:01 AM]
Tyson Fury vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov - Saturday, April 11 from the United Kingdom and Live Only on Netflix
Tyson Fury is coming home.
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[01/28/26 - 01:01 AM]
Netflix Announces a Fictional Miniseries Inspired by the Marta del Castillo Case
roduced by Bambú Producciones, in collaboration with La Claqueta PC and with the support of Marta del Castillo's family, the the as-yet-untitled miniseries is a fictional adaptation of the case that shocked Spanish society in 2009.
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[01/28/26 - 12:01 AM]
Video: "Jo Nesbo's Detective Hole" - Official Teaser - Netflix
Get ready to meet one of crime fiction's most iconic detectives like never before.
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[01/27/26 - 04:01 PM]
Video: "Even If This Love Disappears Tonight" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A high school girl wakes up each day with no memory of yesterday. When she agrees to date a shy classmate, can their love grow with every new beginning?
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