or


[02/19/15 - 11:41 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, February 19
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!


BUDS (NBC, New!) - Joe Mande ("Parks & Recreation") has sold a new comedy to the Peacock about "the day-to-day operations of a marijuana dispensary in Denver, Colorado." Actor Adam Scott and his wife Naomi also serve as executive producers on the Universal Television-based half-hour via their Gettin' Rad Productions banner. (Deadline.com)


ENDGAME (NBC/Sony; W: John Rogers; D: TBA) - Philip Winchester ("Strike Back") is the first to land a role on the drama pilot, about a former sniper turned security expert in the high stakes world of Las Vegas who is drawn into a mysterious conspiracy that forces him to complete a series of heroic challenges in order to save innocent lives. He'll play said fellow, Alex. (Deadline.com)


FAMILY OF THE YEAR (ABC/ABCS; W: Casey Johnson & David Windsor; D: Todd Holland) - Jay R. Ferguson ("Mad Men") has scored the lead role on the single-camera comedy pilot, about a picture perfect family that is turned upside down when the youngest son comes out of the closet. He'll play the father, Pat O'Neal, "a good-natured, affable cop with the Chicago police department." Said casting stems from a talent holding deal with the actor signed back in August with ABC Studios. (Deadline.com)


FLESH & BLOOD (ABC/ABCS; W: Jenna Bans; D: TBA) - Liam James (The Way, Way Back) has booked the lead role in the drama pilot, about the return of a politician's young son, Adam Warren, who was presumed dead after disappearing over a decade earlier, sending shockwaves throughout their tight knit community. He's set as the son in question, who "maintains much of the behavior and mannerisms of an 8-year-old boy, which is unsettling and heartbreaking at the same time." (Deadline.com)


LFE (CBS/CBSP; W: Paul Downs Colaizzo; D: David Slade) - Ana Kayne (Another Earth) is the first to board the drama pilot, a high-octane medical procedural centering on second-year residents at New York City's top hospital as they attempt to balance their god complexes with their humanity. She'll play Mae, "a quirky, lovable every-girl who is determined to be a good person and live a good life, but sometimes finds it difficult, despite her best efforts." (Deadline.com)


LIFE IN PIECES (CBS/20th; W: Justin Adler; D: Jason Winer) - Thomas Sadoski ("The Slap") and Angelique Cabral ("Enlisted") have both boared the single-camera comedy pilot, about one family as told through the separate stories of its different family members. He'll play middle sibling Matt Short "who can't catch a break, the most recent being a failed career that has forced him back home with his parents." Cabral then is set as Colleen, "the woman Matt has just fallen in love with who is stuck in a messy breakup with her ex-fiancé." Betsy Brandt, Colin Hanks, Dianne Wiest and Zoe Lister-Jones also star. (Deadline.com)


NEW WORLD (A.K.A. UNTITLED KOHAN & MILLERS PROJECT) (HBO/Lionsgate; W: Bruce Miller, Jenji Kohan & Tracy Miller; D: Gus Van Sant) - The pay channel has greenlit production on the drama pilot, which explores the circumstances surrounding one of the most compelling chapters in American history: the Salem Witch Trials. In addition, Gus Van Sant has been tapped to direct the hour. Kohan, Bruce Miller and Van Sant are executive producing alongside Tara Herrmann with Mark Burley as a co-executive producer and Tracy Miller as a supervising producer. (Deadline.com)


TELENOVELA (NBC/Universal; W: Chrissy Pietrosh & Jessica Goldstein; D: Steve Pink) - Jose Moreno Brooks has been cast in the Eva Longoria-led comedy, about the willful but popular diva Ana Maria, star of Latin America's most beloved telenovela who strives to stay on top in a world where the drama on-camera is nothing compared to the drama off-camera. He'll play Gael Garnica, "a masculine soap star who happens to be gay, married and not in the closet." Amaury Nolasco, Jencarlos Canela and Diana Maria Riva also star. (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED MONICA POTTER PROJECT (NBC/WBT; W: Sherry Bilsing-Graham & Ellen Kreamer; D: TBA) - Eddie Cibrian, Josh Hopkins, Donald Faison and Rory Scovel have each landed a role on the multi-camera comedy pilot, about Bridget (Monica Potter), a woman who juggles her busy family life as well as her three ex-husbands, which proves to be difficult when she starts dating again. Cibrian will play Jason, "Bridget's first ex-husband, a slick professional gambler"; with Faison, whose involvement is in first position to "The Exes," as "Bridget's second ex-husband, the very earnest Kevin, who is positive and upbeat at all times, and a staunch protector of the environment who is also accidentally extremely wealthy"; Scovel as Robert, "Bridget's third ex-husband, a pompous writer and college professor, Robert went to Harvard and can't wait to let everyone know it"; and Hopkins as Tom, "a veterinarian in the midst of mutual attraction with Bridget, an animal lover." (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED NBA PROJECT (ABC/ABCS; W: Casey Johnson & David Windsor; D: TBA) - Jami Gertz ("The Neighbors") has been cast in the single-camera comedy pilot, set in the world of the NBA about a rookie, Mo (yet to be cast), who doesn't speak English and a translator, Jason (Skylar Astin), who doesn't speak basketball. She'll play Bonnie, "Jason's good-natured and supportive mother." (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - USA has passed on its Dallas Roberts/Clifton Collins Jr.-led drama pilot "Evil Men" (Deadline.com); Len Wiseman is set to direct the FOX drama pilot "Lucifer" as well as executive produce alongside the newly added Jerry Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman with KristieAnne Reed as a co-executive producer (Deadline.com); and Aleksa Palladino and Mark O'Brien have both landed roles on the new season of "Halt and Catch Fire" (Variety.com).






  [february 2015]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· BUDS (NBC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DEVIL YOU KNOW, THE (HBO)
· ENLISTED (FOX)
· EVIL MEN (USA)
· EXES, THE (TV LAND)
· FAMILY, THE (ABC)
· GOLDEN STATE (ABC)
· HALT & CATCH FIRE (AMC)
· LFE (CBS)
· LIFE IN PIECES (CBS)
· LUCIFER (NETFLIX)
· MAD MEN (AMC)
· NEIGHBORS, THE (ABC)
· PARKS & RECREATION (NBC)
· PLAYER, THE (NBC)
· REAL O'NEALS, THE (ABC)
· SLAP, THE (NBC)
· STRIKE BACK (CINEMAX)
· TELENOVELA (NBC)
· UNTITLED MONICA POTTER PROJECT (NBC)





[03/04/26 - 03:01 PM]
FX's "Disinherited" - New Drama from Emmy Award Winner Peter Gould and T-Street Ordered to Series on FX and Hulu
Victoria Pedretti and Kiera Allen star as a pair of scrappy sisters thrust by an unexpected inheritance into a world of generational wealth and long-buried crimes.

[03/04/26 - 11:31 AM]
"Disney Animation's Songs in Sign Language" to Debut on Disney+ April 27
Directed by veteran Disney animator/director Hyrum Osmond, the featured songs are "The Next Right Thing" (from Frozen 2), "We Don't Talk About Bruno" (from Encanto) and "Beyond" (from Moana 2).

[03/04/26 - 11:03 AM]
Video: HBO Max Releases First Teaser from the DC Studios Series "Lanterns," Starring Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, and Kelly Macdonald
The series is slated to debut later this August on HBO and available to stream on HBO Max.

[03/04/26 - 10:01 AM]
Netflix's "Untamed" Season 2 Production Kicks Off in Hawaii
The series will film on location on O'ahu and the island of Hawaii.

[03/04/26 - 10:01 AM]
MTV Announces the Final 18 Episodes of "Jersey Shore Family Vacation," One of TV's Most Influential Reality Franchises, Premiering on Thursday, May 7 at 8PM ET/PT
This farewell season marks the culmination of a franchise that entertained millions with major life milestones, laugh-out-loud chaos, and the unfiltered chemistry that defined an era of reality television.

[03/04/26 - 09:45 AM]
Lifetime Raises the Bar by Expanding Into Premium Vertical Storytelling with "Tides of Temptation," A Micro Drama Feature Executive Produced by Taye Diggs
Serving as a digital offshoot of the just announced upcoming original movie "Terry McMillan Presents: Paradise with You," the project expands the film's universe through a cinematic, mobile-first format designed with feature-level production value.

[03/04/26 - 09:44 AM]
Lifetime Greenlights Three New Original Movies for 2026 Love of a Lifetime Slates Featuring All-Star Casts
Valerie Bertinelli, Henry Czerny, Eric McCormack, Taye Diggs, Heather Hemmens, and Cynthia Bailey are among the featured talent.

[03/04/26 - 09:43 AM]
Lifetime Reteams with Robin Roberts for "Angel in the Rubble" Starring Sherri Shepherd in Remembrance of the 25th Anniversary of 9/11
Slated to premiere in September in remembrance of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the movie is based on Genelle Guzman-McMillan's memoir "Angel in the Rubble: The Miraculous Rescue of 9/11's Last Survivor."

[03/04/26 - 09:42 AM]
Lifetime Expands Roster of Powerhouse Creatives with New Movie Projects Helmed By Queen Latifah and Taraji P. Henson
"Queen Latifah and Taraji P. Henson are extraordinary talents and dynamic producers who share Lifetime's passion for telling powerful stories about women," said Elaine Frontain Bryant, Executive Vice President and Head of Programming, A&E, Lifetime and LMN.

[03/04/26 - 09:41 AM]
A+E Global Media Greenlights Two New Digital-First Series Under the History Brand
"Mistakes That Made America" and "Cracking Up" are both due later this year.

[03/04/26 - 09:40 AM]
The History Channel Marks the 25th Anniversary of September 11 with New Two-Hour Special "102 Minutes Inside the Towers"
The documentary offers a deeply immersive and unique perspective through firsthand accounts from those who were inside the Twin Towers.

[03/04/26 - 09:39 AM]
The History Channel Taps Internationally Acclaimed Action Icon Dolph Lundgren to Executive Produce and Host New Series "History's Greatest Machines with Dolph Lundgren"
Produced by Superluna Studios in association with 3BMG, the eight-episode series takes viewers on a thrilling journey through the gears, guts, and genius behind the machines that reshaped our world.

[03/04/26 - 09:38 AM]
The History Channel Greenlights New Nonfiction Series "Crime and Justice with Tom Selleck" (w.t.)
The 10-episode, one-hour series examines the true stories behind some of the most consequential crimes and investigations in American history.

[03/04/26 - 09:37 AM]
The History Channel Orders "Extraordinary Origins with Ted Danson" (w.t.) A New Series Hosted and Executive Produced by the Multi-Award-Winning Actor
The 10-episode series examines the stories behind some of history's most significant innovations, inventions, and discoveries that helped shape the modern world.

[03/04/26 - 09:36 AM]
The History Channel Greenlights New Nonfiction Series "History's Strange Fortunes with Kevin Bacon" (w.t.)
Stories about money - money made, money lost, and money spent - are woven into the fabric of our nation's history.