or


[10/08/15 - 11:22 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, October 8
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!


BELLES & WHISTLES (FOX, New!) - Alex McAulay ("Eastbound & Down") has set up a new single-camera comedy at the network about "an unfulfilled father who, when fired from his comfortable tech job in Silicon Valley, decides to move his dysfunctional family to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue his lifelong dream of music stardom." 20th Century Fox Television is behind the project with Dwight Yoakam and Electric Dynamite's Jack Black and Spencer Berman also serving as executive producers. (Deadline.com)


GRAVES (Epix/Lionsgate; W/D: Joshua Michael Stern) - Ernie Hudson has been tapped for a role on the upcoming comedy, about a former President of the United States. Twenty years after his presidency, former President Richard Graves (Nick Nolte) has the epiphany that his policies have damaged the country for decades and so, with his young assistant (Skylar Astin), he goes on a Don Quixote-like journey to right his administration's wrongs just as his wife, the former First Lady, decides to follow her own political ambitions. He'll play Jacob Mann, "a staple in the Graves Family for decades, who acts as the Family Fixer." (Deadline.com)


I'M DYING UP HERE (Showtime/Endemol; W: Dave Flebotte; D: Jonathan Levine) - Ari Graynor is the latest addition to the Jim Carrey-produced drama pilot, which centers on L.A.'s celebrated and infamous stand-up comedy scene of the 1970s. She'll play Cassie, "an ambitious comedian from Texas who wants to be taken as seriously as her male comic contemporaries." R.J. Cyler, Erik Griffin, Andrew Santino and Stephen Guarino also star. (Deadline.com)


NEGOTIATIONS (ABC, New!) - Paul Lieberstein ("The Newsroom") has set up a potential hour at the Alphabet about "life, politics and romance in one of the world's largest law firms." ABC Studios is behind the project with 3 Arts Entertainment's Howard Klein also executive producing. (Deadline.com)


POOR RICHARD'S ALMANACK (USA/Legendary/UCP; W: Jim Danger Gray & Miguel Sapochnik; D: Neil Marshall) - Lynn Collins, Athena Karkanis, Carly Pope and Barbara Eve Harris have all been cast in the drama pilot, which revolves around a cadre of heroes who emerge as the new "Founding Fathers," after America is pushed to the brink of collapse. Collins will play Julia Winslow, "a postal worker inadvertently dragged into a radical conspiracy on account of her fiancé's former links to the CIA"; with Karkanis as Penny Richards, "an already seen-it-all surgeon who finds herself in the ethical dilemma of having to keep a wounded bomber alive so the FBI can interrogate him, rather than tend to his victims"; Pope as Brooke Beaudine, "an ambitious local network journalist whose reporting on a deadly attack in Philadelphia puts her on the trail of a group of extremists who may be responsible"; and Harris as Elizabeth Walker, "Director of National Intelligence during an attack on Philadelphia." (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED PRENTICE PENNY PROJECT (NBC, New!) - Prentice Penny ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine") has snagged a put pilot commitment from the Peacock for a single-camera comedy about "a loud, boisterous, and quarrelsome family from the Bronx and what happens when they take in their wide-eyed, hopelessly optimistic 10-year-old nephew." Bruno Mars, his manager Brandon Creed and Imagine Television's Brian Grazer and Francie Calfo are also on board to executive produce the half-hour, which is presumably set up at 20th Century Fox Television. (Deadline.com)


UNTITLED WENDY DAVIS PROJECT (NBC, New!) - Jennifer Cecil ("Heartbreaker") is developing a new drama at the Peacock inspired by the life of former Texas state senator Wendy Davis. The Universal Television-based project will revolve around "a female Democratic senator who, after losing the Texas governor's race, gets her world turned upside down. In the vein of 'The Good Wife,' while she pieces her pride back together, she goes to work in the law firm of her best friend - a black male Republican - and discovers that with no political future to protect, she can unshackle her inner badass." Naegle Ink's Sue Naegle and Karen Sherwood are likewise on board to executive produce alongside Cecil and Davis. (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - FOX has three backup scripts for its freshman drama "Rosewood" (Deadline.com); Peter Mensah will recur on "Sleepy Hollow" as "an ancient, desiccated god who returns to the mortal world revived as a handsome, powerful menace with eyes that entrance and torment" (Deadline.com); Elle McLemore has been cast as Patty Simcox in FOX's "Grease: Live" (Deadline.com); Melanie Liburd is bound for "Game of Thrones" as a Red Priestess (Deadline.com); and Robert Forster has signed onto Showtime's "Twin Peaks" revival in a role speculated to be taking over for Michael Ontkean as Sheriff Harry S. Truman (TVLine.com).






  [october 2015]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· BELLES & WHISTLES (FOX)
· BROOKLYN NINE-NINE (NBC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· EASTBOUND & DOWN (HBO)
· GAME OF THRONES (HBO)
· GRAVES (EPIX)
· GREASE: LIVE (FOX)
· HEARTBEAT (NBC)
· I'M DYING UP HERE (SHOWTIME)
· NEGOTIATIONS (ABC)
· NEWSROOM, THE (HBO)
· POOR RICHARD'S ALMANACK (USA)
· ROSEWOOD (FOX)
· SLEEPY HOLLOW (FOX)
· TWIN PEAKS (SHOWTIME)
· UNTITLED PRENTICE PENNY PROJECT (NBC)
· UNTITLED WENDY DAVIS PROJECT (NBC)





[10/03/25 - 02:17 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting '25 MLB Wild Card Series
Across eight games, the MLB Wild Card Series is averaging 4.4 million viewers, up 65% from last year.

[10/03/25 - 12:37 PM]
BET+ Sets October 23 Premiere for "Carl Weber's The Family Business" Season 6
The 10-episode season will premiere with two episodes, followed by one episode weekly, with the finale on Thursday, December 18.

[10/03/25 - 12:07 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues to Shatter Records - Growing Two Weeks in a Row Since Season Premiere for First Time Since 2005
Plus: "High Potential" hit a season high in Total Viewers (4.24 million), growing by double digits over the show's comparable third episode from last fall.

[10/03/25 - 10:57 AM]
Legends, Champions and Icons of October Highlight FOX Sports' Postseason Broadcaster Lineup
FOX Sports begins its Postseason coverage Saturday, October 4 at 4:00 PM ET on FOX, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports App and FOX One as the New York Yankees face the Toronto Blue Jays.

[10/03/25 - 10:05 AM]
All-New Season of "Gold Rush" Returns with High-Stake Risks and Land Fury on Friday, November 7 at 8PM ET/PT on Discovery
With only a few short months to mine, top bosses and rising underdogs collide in a race to claim new ground, move more dirt, and strike it rich.

[10/03/25 - 09:12 AM]
FOX Nation Secures Exclusive U.S. Rights to Docuseries "Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar"
The acclaimed series will make its anticipated U.S. debut on FOX Nation on Monday, October 6.

[10/03/25 - 08:02 AM]
TNT Sports to Be Exclusive Home of 2025 NLDS & NLCS
Both best-of-five NLDS series begin Saturday, October 4.

[10/03/25 - 08:01 AM]
TNT Sports Sets BIG EAST Men's College Basketball Schedule for Inaugural 2025-26 Season
TNT Sports' regular season BIG EAST men's basketball schedule will feature 40 appearances by St. John's, UConn, Creighton, Xavier, and Marquette, programs that each clinched berths in last season's NCAA Men's Tournament.

[10/03/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "27 Nights" - Official Trailer - Netflix
When a woman is admitted by her daughters to a psychiatric clinic for her carefree ways, an expert must judge if she is ill or simply wants to enjoy life.

[10/03/25 - 04:01 AM]
Video: "Steve" - Official Trailer #2 - Netflix
Over one intense day, the devoted head teacher of a last-chance reform school strives to keep his students in line while facing pressures of his own.

[10/03/25 - 03:02 AM]
Miguel Herran Will Play Poli Diaz in "El Porto the Vallecas," the New Film by Daniel Calparsoro for Netflix
Inspired by true events, the film follows the life of Policarpo "Poli" Díaz (Miguel Herrán), a young man from Vallecas who, despite a childhood marked by poverty and family violence, became a boxing legend in 1980s Spain, even fighting for the world lightweight title.

[10/03/25 - 03:01 AM]
Netflix Honors Jane Goodall with Posthumous Release of "Famous Last Words" Docuseries Following Her Passing
The series showcases reflective interviews with some of the world's most influential cultural figures, who agreed to sit down and discuss their legacy, and give their final words, with the understanding that it would only be shared with the world after they passed.

[10/02/25 - 04:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers the Most-Watched WNBA Semifinals Ever
Game 5 between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces averaged 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2.1 million.

[10/02/25 - 03:01 PM]
Video: "Twisted Wonderland" - Trailer - Disney+
Your favorite villains reimagined in ways you've never dared to dream.

[10/02/25 - 02:51 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting Day One of MLB Wild Card Series
Coverage of Red Sox versus Yankees averaged 6.5 million viewers, peaking at 9.9 million.