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[03/17/15 - 11:28 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, March 17
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!


BAGHDAD COUNTRY CLUB (Cinemax, New!) - Dave Andron ("Justified") is developing a new drama at the pay channel which "centers on a special forces soldier-turned-mercenary who opens the only watering hole in Baghdad's Green Zone at the height of the post-invasion Iraqi insurgency." Said effort, previously optioned by HBO, is based on the Atavist.com article of same name by prolific journalist Joshuah Bearman. Team Downey's Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey and Amanda Burrell executive produce alongside Andron and Bearman for Warner Horizon Television. (Deadline.com)


ENDGAME (NBC/Sony; W: John Rogers; D: Bharat Nalluri) - Cara Buono ("Person of Interest") has snagged a role on the drama pilot, about Alex King (Philip Winchester), 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. She'll play Ginny Lee, Alex's ex-wife, "a hardworking surgeon who struggles with her sobriety." Charity Wakefield, Wesley Snipes and Damon Gupton also star. (Deadline.com)


FANTASY LIFE (FOX/20th; W: Tim McAuliffe; D: TBA) - Jamie-Lynn Sigler ("Guys with Kids") is the latest addition to the comedy pilot, about Mitch (Kevin Connolly), a hard-working guy who lands his ultimate dream job hosting a fantasy football show where he's forced to navigate office politics while becoming the star he never thought he could be. She'll play Abby Tanner, "a strong, confident, attractive, smart, sports analyst on Mitch's Fantasy Football league show." Chaz Lamar Shepherd, James Caan, Kimberley Crossman, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Vanessa Williams also star. (Deadline.com)


FOR JUSTICE (CBS/CBSP; W: Rene Balcer; D: Ava DuVernay) - Tim Blake Nelson ("Chaos") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about Natalia "Nat" Chappel (Anika Noni Rose), an FBI agent who works in the Criminal Section of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division investigating crimes based on civil rights violations across the country. He'll play Ochs Rainey, "a chief with the Civil Rights Unit. He is a former angry Southern boy from a Klan family who has learned to move past his legacy of racism." Rachel Boston, Phylicia Rashad and Shawn Hatosy also star. (Deadline.com)


FRANKENSTEIN (FOX/20th; W: Rand Ravich; D: Michael Cuesta) - Ciara Bravo ("Red Band Society") is the latest to be cast in the drama pilot, about Ray Pritchard (Philip Baker Hall), a morally corrupt retired cop, who is given a second chance at life when he is brought back from the dead as a younger, stronger man (Rob Kazinsky). She'll play Gracie Pritchard, "Ray's (Hall) granddaughter." Adhir Kalyan, Dilshad Vadsaria and Tim DeKay also star. (Deadline.com)


KINGMAKERS, THE (ABC/ABCS; W: Sallie Patrick; D: TBA) - Kristin Bauer van Straten ("Once Upon a Time") has booked a role on the drama pilot, about Eli Hennessy (Gus Halper), a young man who adopts the identity of Jacob Darlow to infiltrate the murder of his sister, Julia, at an elite Ivy League school and its century-old secret society. She'll play Maeve Vandermeer, "an art professor at Braddock, who is married to the dean of the school and has a complicated ongoing affair with Senator Walden (Adrian Pasdar)." Colm Feore and Parminder Nagra also star. (Deadline.com)


LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (A&E, New!) - John Ajvide Lindqvist's book-turned-feature - about "a bullied teen boy who befriends a young female vampire, who lives in secrecy with her mysterious guardian; when a series of strange murders pops up in their small Vermont town, it attracts the attention of a federal marshal with a mysterious past of his own" - is being developed as a TV series by the cable channel. Jeff Davis and Brandon Boyce are spearheading the adaptation with Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements and Simon Oakes also among the executive producers for A+E Studios and Tomorrow Studios. (THR.com)


LIMITLESS (CBS/CBSP; W: Craig Sweeny; D: Marc Webb) - Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Hill Harper have both signed onto the drama pilot, based on the 2011 feature, which follows Brian Sinclair (Jake McDorman, succeeding Bradley Cooper) as he discovers the power of the mysterious drug NZT and is coerced into using his newfound drug enhanced abilities for good. She'll play Nasreen "Naz" Awad, "a former prosecutor who joined the FBI in her mid-30s and serves as the Special Agent in Charge of the division that investigates and tracks NZT"; while he's set as Boyle, "a former military officer who is now an FBI asset with experience testing the effects of NZT on FBI Special Agents." Jennifer Carpenter also stars. (Deadline.com)


LUCIFER (FOX/WBT; W: Tom Kapinos; D: Len Wiseman) - Lesley-Ann Brandt ("The Librarians") has booked a role on the drama pilot, about Lucifer (Tom Ellis) who, bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, resigns his throne and abandons his kingdom for the gorgeous, shimmering insanity of Los Angeles, where he gets his kicks helping the LAPD punish criminals. She'll play his best friend Maze, "a fierce demon in the form of a beautiful young woman." Brandt succeeds the previously cast Lina Esco. D.B. Woodside, Lauren German, Nicholas Gonzalez and Rachael Harris also star. (Deadline.com)


OF KINGS AND PROPHETS (ABC/ABCS; W: Adam Cooper & Bill Collage; D: Jeffrey Nachmanoff) - Mohammad Bakri ("Tyrant") has scored a role on the drama pilot, billed as an epic biblical saga of faith, ambition and betrayal as told through the eyes of a battle-weary king, a powerful and resentful prophet and a resourceful young shepherd on a collision course with destiny. He'll play Samuel, "last of the Biblical judges. He alone hears and speaks for God." James Floyd, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Oliver Rix, Ray Winstone and Simone Kessell also star. (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Dominic Purcell is set to reprise his role of Mick Rory (a.k.a. Heat Wave) on The CW's proposed spin-off of "Arrow" and "The Flash" (Deadline.com); Chris Coy's Calvin, brother to Kurt Bunker (Tom Pelphrey), has been upped to series regular on "Banshee" (Deadline.com); ABC has quietly given its comedy pilot "Chev & Bev" the new moniker of simply "Chevy" (TVLine.com); Wes Bentley is the latest to be cast in "American Horror Story: Hotel" (@MrRPMurphy); and Sarah Jane Morris is bound for "Murder in the First" as Junior's (A.J. Buckley) wife, Mary (TVLine.com).






  [march 2015]  
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· AMERICAN HORROR STORY (FX)
· ARROW (CW)
· BAGHDAD COUNTRY CLUB (CINEMAX)
· BANSHEE (CINEMAX)
· CHAOS (CBS)
· CHEVY (ABC)
· DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW (CW)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FANTASY LIFE (FOX)
· FLASH, THE (CW)
· FOR JUSTICE (CBS)
· GUYS WITH KIDS (NBC)
· JUSTIFIED (FX)
· KINGMAKERS (ABC)
· LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (TNT)
· LIBRARIANS, THE (TNT)
· LIMITLESS (CBS)
· LUCIFER (NETFLIX)
· MURDER IN THE FIRST (TNT)
· OF KINGS AND PROPHETS (ABC)
· ONCE UPON A TIME (ABC)
· PERSON OF INTEREST (CBS)
· PLAYER, THE (NBC)
· RED BAND SOCIETY (FOX)
· SECOND CHANCE (FOX)
· TYRANT (FX)





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