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[03/20/15 - 11:37 PM]
Development Update: Friday, March 20
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!
CUCKOO (NBC/Lionsgate; W: Kieron Quirke & Robin French; D: TBA) - Michael Chiklis and Cheryl Hines are the latest to be cast in the comedy pilot, based on the British series about Rachel (Rachel DiPillo), a daughter who comes back from a summer abroad married to a charming but infuriating eccentric named Cuckoo (Flula Borg), much to her father's annoyance. He'll play said father, Ken, with Hines as her mom, Lori. Griffin Gluck also stars. (Deadline.com)
DICE (Showtime, New!) - Comedian Andrew "Dice" Clay is set to star in a new single-camera comedy at the pay channel which "follows the comedian as he works in Las Vegas to resurrect his career while supporting his family. And his girlfriend. And his ex-fiancé. And his ex-wife. And his mother-in-law. And his son's band." The project, which has a six-episode order, comes from writer Scot Armstrong. Sean Furst, Bryan Furst, Richard Shepard, Bruce Rubenstein, Clay and Armstrong are the executive producers for Fox 21. Production is slated to begin this year for a 2016 premiere. (Deadline.com)
HAPPY LIFE (A.K.A. JOE TIME) (CBS/WBT; W: Bill Wrubel; D: James Burrows) - Minnie Driver ("About a Boy") and Bill Smitrovich have both been cast in the multi-camera comedy pilot, about Joe (Steven Weber), a family man who struggles with the fact that everyone around him is pursuing their dreams and enjoying life more than he is. She'll play his wife Maggie, "a former doctor who left that grind to embark on a new career teaching people mindful meditation out of her home studio." Said role is in second position to the NBC comedy. Smitrovich then is set as Mitch, "Judy's (Rita Moreno) husband. He's retired and quite happy about it, after handing over the family business to his sons, Joe and Scott (Eric Petersen). Mitch has recently surprised his family with the announcement that he's always been interested in music and is about to become a cabaret performer." Duane Martin, Alli Kinzel and Noland Ammon also star. (Deadline.com)
LA CRIME (ABC/ABCS; W: Steven Baigelman; D: Tom Shankland) - David Sullivan (Argo) has snagged a role in the anthology series pilot, about two LA cops as they track a Bonnie & Clyde-esque serial killer team amidst the rock-and-roll, coke-infused revelry of the 1980s Sunset Strip. He's set as Lou Bukowski, "a crass, loudmouth detective in charge of heading up the ongoing investigation of a possible Sunset Strip serial killer." Adam Rothenberg, Anne Winters, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Ed Westwick, Erika Christensen, Gabriel Luna, Holley Fain, Karolina Wydra and Taissa Farmiga also star. (Variety.com)
LOVE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD (NBC/20th; W: Diana Son; D: George Tillman) - LeToya Luckett ("Single Ladies") has been cast in the drama pilot, in which race, sexuality and gender roles collide when three diverse couples put modern marriage to the test. She'll play Tandi, "a happily married woman and mother, who is experiencing difficulties fulfilling her dream of having a second child." In addition, George Tillman has signed on to direct and executive produce. Brian Tee, Colin Donnell, Cynthia McWilliams, Monet Mazur, Nadine Velazquez and Rockmund Dunbar also star. (THR.com)
SHARING (NBC/Universal; W: Jeremy Bronson; D: Beth McCarthy-Miller) - Actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse and director Beth McCarthy-Miller have both been added to the pilot, a workplace comedy about the different groups of people working side by side in a shared office space. He'll play Grant, "an eager-to-please and confident office receptionist who tries hard and wants everyone to like him, but isn't that competent." Christine Taylor, Jack Carpenter, Greta Lee, Jerry Minor and Stephen Schneider also star. (Variety.com)
SONGLAND (NBC, New!) - "The Voice" executive producer Audrey Morrissey and coach Adam Levine are set to team with Grammy Award-winning songwriter Dave Stewart for a new reality series which "will pull back the curtain on the song marketplace and the power brokers within it. The project is expected to feature everyday people with compelling stories who get the opportunity to pitch original compositions to the music industry's biggest producers and artists, all hunting for the next global smash." Morrissey, Dave Stewart Entertainment's Stewart, Live Animals' Ivan Dudynsky and 222 Productions' Levine and Jordan Feldstein are the executive producers of the pilot. (THR.com)
UNTITLED TOMMY JOHNAGIN PROJECT (CBS/WBT; W: Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker & Tommy Johnagin; D: TBA) - Kevin Nealon and Jane Kaczmarek are the latest additions to the multi-camera project, which revolves around a stand-up comic (Tommy Johnagin) raising a family in a small Midwestern town. He'll play "Tommy's dad Jack, a charming but manipulative loose cannon who flirts with every woman and says everything with a smile - but has a self-destructive streak and ruined his marriage to Linda (Kaczmarek), Tommy's responsible mother who owns a local diner. Linda still treats her adult children like babies and loves a chance to brag about Tommy's talk-show appearances and career path. She has held her ex-husband in absolute contempt for the past 17 years and forces him to eat at the crappiest seat in her restaurant." JoAnna Garcia Swisher and Talia Tabin also star. (Deadline.com)
AND IN OTHER NEWS... - HBO has reportedly given a six-episode limited series order to Matthew Michael Carnahan and Steve McQueen's drama pilot "Codes of Conduct" (Deadline.com); Henry Zebrowski, Ryan Guzman and Gatlin Green are the latest additions to NBC's "Heroes Reborn" revival (Deadline.com); Tim Guinee's Collis Potter Huntington has been upped to series regular on "Hell on Wheels" (Deadline.com); Andrew Howard has booked a six-episode arc on TNT's "Agent X" as "a physically lethal and diabolically brilliant man who is an international chaos merchant" (Deadline.com); Lindsey Gort will recur on TV Land's "Impastor" as "a high-end escort" (Deadline.com); and Zachary Levi has inked a first-look deal with Universal Television (Deadline.com).
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