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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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[10/19/20 - 03:27 PM]
HBO's "Euphoria" Returns with Two Special Episodes; The First Debuts December 6
The title and date of the second episode are forthcoming.
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[10/19/20 - 02:24 PM]
CBS Shifts "Manhunt: Deadly Games" to Saturday Nights
Following tonight's installment, look for back-to-back episodes each Saturday at 8:00/7:00c starting October 24.
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[10/19/20 - 01:04 PM]
Over 7 Million Total Viewers Tuned in to BET's Winning Line Up of Tyler Perry's Trifecta of Original Series "House of Payne," "Assisted Living" and the Return of "Sistas" Premieres and Encores L+3
BET further spins the numbers for Wednesday, October 14.
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[10/19/20 - 12:02 PM]
Showtime(R) Signs Regina Hall to First-Look Deal
Already in development is a one-hour comedy special featuring Hall as star and executive producer.
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[10/19/20 - 12:01 PM]
Video: "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Starring Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Colman Domingo, Michael Potts, Glynn Turman, Dusan Brown and Taylour Paige, the film premieres December 18.
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[10/19/20 - 12:00 PM]
HBO Limited Series "The White Lotus" from Mike White Begins Production This Month
The six-episode series stars Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario, Fred Hechinger, Jake Lacy, Brittany O'Grady, Natasha Rothwell, Sydney Sweeney and Steve Zahn.
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[10/19/20 - 11:02 AM]
BET's "Project CRE8" Winning Film, "Alieu the Dreamer," Starring Denzel Whitaker to World Premiere on Thursday, October 22 at 10 PM ET/PT on BET
Written, directed and composed by Quincy Ledbetter, the film takes place in a world where mankind hasn't dreamed for three decades, until a driven government agent discovers a young man in the projects, who has suddenly started dreaming.
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[10/19/20 - 11:00 AM]
The CW Gets Into the Spirit with Its Schedule of Upcoming Holiday Specials
Highlights include "Silent Night - A Song for the World," "The Hollywood Christmas Parade Greatest Moments" and "Heroes on the Front Line."
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[10/19/20 - 09:54 AM]
Video: "Big Rad Wolf" - Official Trailer - Quibi
The rise and fall of the infamous American Apparel is now streaming on Quibi.
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[10/19/20 - 09:30 AM]
Presidential Candidates to Appear on "60 Minutes Election Edition" Sunday, Oct. 25
The presidential nominees from both parties have appeared on "60 Minutes" for the past three presidential election cycles.
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[10/19/20 - 09:06 AM]
Industry Leader Channing Dungey Named Chairman, Warner Bros. Television Group
Dungey will succeed Peter Roth who will be stepping down from his Studio responsibilities running the TV Group and its operating divisions in early 2021.
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[10/19/20 - 09:00 AM]
Juanes, Pitbull, Luis Fonsi and Kelsea Ballerini to Perform on "Essential Heroes: A Momento Latino Event" Oct. 26 on CBS
Pulitzer Prize winner and 2018 Kennedy Center honoree Lin-Manuel Miranda has been added as a presenter, and co-host Gloria Estefan will also perform on the special.
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[10/19/20 - 08:59 AM]
HBO's "Burning Ojai: Our Fire Story" Debuts October 28
The documentary short follows one family and the residents of Ventura County, CA through a journey of devastation, repair and survival after one of the largest wildfires in state history destroys their beloved community.
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[10/19/20 - 08:34 AM]
HGTV Accelerates Show Orders to Put 16 New Series and Pilots in the Pipeline for 2021
This first batch of new show orders represents more than 109 episodes or 77 hours of content that will appeal to the network's 34 million monthly viewers as well as occasional audiences.
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[10/19/20 - 08:15 AM]
Sunday's Broadcast Ratings: NBC, "SNF" Hold Off FOX, Game 7 of NLCS
"Sunday Night Football" helps the network lead the night in total viewers and adults 18-49.
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