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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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[08/14/26 - 12:01 PM]
HBO Max Renews Original Comedy Series "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe" for a Second Season
New episodes are being released weekly on HBO Max, with the season finale scheduled for release on Thursday, September 24.
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[08/14/26 - 10:01 AM]
Netflix Expands Young Adult Slate with New Series "Sid & Zoey," "Sunshine Girls" and More
Plus: "Finding Her Edge" to begin production on Season 2; and Randall Park joins the cast of "Minimum Wage."
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[08/14/26 - 09:01 AM]
Stream "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu" on Disney+ September 2
The galaxy's favorite duo is bringing the adventure home.
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[08/14/26 - 08:47 AM]
FOX One to Live Stream IROC Presented by Chevrolet as Part of FOX Sports' Coverage of Historic Freedom 250 Weekend in Washington, D.C.
The races bring together legendary names from NASCAR and INDYCAR, including Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Rusty Wallace, Bobby Labonte, Bill Elliott, Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti, all piloting authentic historic IROC Pontiac Firebirds.
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[08/14/26 - 03:22 AM]
Video: New Season Update - "Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya" - Prime Video
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[08/13/26 - 05:01 PM]
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[08/13/26 - 03:39 PM]
ESPN Delivers Its Second Most-Watched WNBA Regular Season Game in 30 Years of Coverage!
The New York Liberty-Indiana Fever matchup averaged 2 million viewers on Tuesday, August 11.
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[08/13/26 - 12:06 PM]
Prime Video Announces 2026-27 NBA on Prime Schedule
Season two of NBA on Prime tips off with a doubleheader on Friday, October 23 beginning with reigning World Champion New York Knicks vs the Boston Celtics at 7 p.m. ET.
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[08/13/26 - 12:02 PM]
ESPN & ABC's Star-Studded 2026-27 NBA Regular Season Broadcast Schedule
Marking ESPN's 25th consecutive season of NBA game coverage, the schedule will feature many of the league's top stars, rivalries and marquee matchups throughout the season.
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[08/13/26 - 12:01 PM]
NBC Sports Announces Its Complete 2026-27 NBA Regular-Season Schedule, Featuring 100 Games Across NBC, Peacock, and NBCSN
After a debut season that featured record-setting viewership, technological and production innovations, and instant-classic matchups, the NBA is back on NBC and Peacock for the 2026-27 season with 100 regular-season games across its three marquee nights of the week.
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[08/13/26 - 11:11 AM]
Video: First Look - "The Terrors of Jordan Mendoza" - Coming Soon - Adult Swim
The nightmare comedy of your dreams.
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[08/13/26 - 10:19 AM]
ESPN Reveals 2026-27 College Football Commentators for Studio Coverage
From the first game's kickoff through the final whistle on Saturdays, a deep roster of anchors and analysts will guide fans through every week of college football action.
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[08/13/26 - 10:00 AM]
Video: First Look at New Supernatural Series "Coven Academy" Conjures Up Drama, Premiering Oct. 1 on Freeform and Next Day on Disney+ and Hulu
In the haunted heart of New Orleans, "Coven Academy" follows three teenage witches and their dangerously charming warlock peers at an elite magic boarding school where power is currency, secrets are lethal and attraction is a liability.
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[08/13/26 - 09:31 AM]
Paramount+ Begins Production on Thriller "Discretion" Starring Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning and Josh Lucas
Joining the previously announced cast as series regulars are Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Stephan James and Colton Ryan.
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[08/13/26 - 09:31 AM]
Pack Your SPF! "Arizona Hot" Is Turning Up the Temp in New Netflix Reality Show
The new reality series follows a group of ambitious twenty-somethings fresh out of college and eager to carve out a space for themselves in the Grand Canyon State.
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