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[05/29/15 - 11:38 PM]
Development Update: Friday, May 29
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!


ANIMALS (HBO, New!) - Phil Matarese and Mike Luciano's animated comedy has reportedly scored a two-season commitment from the pay channel for a 2016 launch. The project, the first season of which was produced on spec, "revolves around the downtrodden creatures native to Earth's least habitable environment: New York City. Whether it's lovelorn rats, gender-questioning pigeons or aging bedbugs in the midst of a midlife crisis, the awkward small talk, moral ambiguity and existential woes of non-human urbanites prove startlingly similar to our own." Duplass Brothers Television's Jay and Mark Duplass also serve as executive producers. Matarese and Luciano are the writer/directors as well as voice many of the characters. (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - FOX will roll out the second season of "Empire" on Wednesday, September 23 (Deadline.com); Penny Johnson Jerald has opted not to return for season eight of "Castle" (@btwprod); Universal Television has optioned the rights to Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie and Matt Wilson's comic book "The Wicked + The Divine" (Deadline.com); Rob Morrow is bound for FX's "American Crime Story" as famed DNA expert Barry Scheck (Deadline.com); Colin Donnell has joined the cast of NBC's upcoming "Chicago Med" as a yet-to-be-determined doctor (Deadline.com); Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Hudson, Jeffrey Wright and Alison Wright have all been cast in HBO's "Confirmation" as Joe Biden, Angela Wright, Charles Ogletree and Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, respectively (Deadline.com);

John Pyper-Ferguson will recur on "Suits" as "the new head of the firm's Compensation Committee" (Deadline.com); Kimberly Hebert Gregory has signed onto HBO's "Vice Principals" as Dr. Belinda Brown, succeeding Da'Vine Joy Randolph (THR.com); Frances Conroy and M.C. Gainey will guest on the season premiere of "Married" as Lina's (Judy Greer) mother and stepfather (EW.com); Chris Chalk's Lucius Fox is the latest to be upped to series regular on "Gotham" (TVLine.com); and Spencer Daniels's Luke will not return as a series regular on "Mom" while Beth Hall's Weeping Wendy has been promoted, filling said void (TVLine.com).






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· AMERICAN CRIME STORY (FX)
· ANIMALS. (HBO)
· CHICAGO MED (NBC)
· CONFIRMATION (HBO)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· EMPIRE (FOX)





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