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[03/10/16 - 11:18 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, March 10
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!


BULL (CBS/CTS; W: Paul Attanasio & Phil McGraw; D: TBA) - Freddy Rodriguez ("The Night Shift") has signed onto the drama pilot, based on Dr. Phil McGraw's early days as head of one of the most prolific trial consulting services of all time. He'll play Benny, "the only lawyer on the team, who provides legal strategy and acts as the lawyer in their mock trials. He's also Bull's former brother-in-law and the closest thing Bull has to a friend." (Deadline.com)


COLONY (The CW/CTS; W: Doris Egan; D: TBA) - America Olivo and Mark Leslie Ford are the latest additions to drama pilot, a thriller which follows a team of explorers who arrive on Mars to join the first human colony on the planet, only to discover that their predecessors have vanished. She'll play Captain Gautier, "the woman in charge on the mission"; while he's on board as Daniel Friedman, "a director and documentarist hired to capture the recruiting process and mission to Mars." (Deadline.com)


CRUNCH TIME (NBC/Universal; W: Betsy Thomas & Phil Gurin; D: TBA) - Craig Ferguson, Kyle Howard and Kellee Stewart are the first to be cast in the hybrid game show/multi-camera comedy pilot, which intercuts between a real game show and the scripted workplace that centers on an up-and-coming producer trying to wrangle the volatile host. Ferguson will play said host, Toby, with Howard as "the game show's head writer, Jake, a hipster playwright who does this gig for the money and his friendship with Emily"; and Stewart as Marcelle, "Emily's best friend, coworker, and confidante." (Deadline.com)


FLUFFY SHOP, THE (ABC/ABCS; W: Gabriel Iglesias, Jay Lavender & Tim Doyle; D: TBA) - Paul Walter Hauser ("Kingdom") has been tapped for a role on the Gabriel Iglesias-led multi-camera comedy pilot, which is inspired by the comedian's life experience including the challenges of managing a home life during the few days he spends off the road each week. He's set as Memo, "high-spirited, earnest and sincere, he is Gabe's oldest and most loyal friend." (Deadline.com)


FURST BORN (CBS/ABCS/CTS; W: Dan O'Shannon, Robyn Butler & Wayne Hope; D: Todd Holland) - Poppy Montgomery and Patrick Brammall have both signed onto the single-camera comedy pilot, a domestic take on the Australian comedy about a wife and mother who learns she was adopted and that her birth parents (John Carroll Lynch, Katey Sagal) are a flamboyant but loving family of drag-racers. She'll play Bess", a successful doctor, happily married to Danny (Brammall), a successful architect. Bess, also the mother of fraternal twins, Erin (Talitha Bateman) and Owen, is shocked to learn she's adopted, a secret her mom (Swoosie Kurtz) has kept buried for 38 years." Brammall originated the role in the Australian original "Upper Middle Bogan." (Deadline.com)


GHOST (The CW/WBT; W: Kevin Williamson; D: David Nutter) - Matt Passmore ("Satisfaction") has been tapped as the male lead in the drama pilot, about Sarah Roberts (Megan West), a young woman who seeks help from Clark Patterson, a parapsychologist, when she begins to experience paranormal phenomena. He'll play the latter, replacing Bailey Chase. Said decision was made after the pilot's table read earlier this week. (Deadline.com)


I'M NOT YOUR FRIEND (CBS/CTS; W: Jackie Filgo & Jeff Filgo; D: James Burrows) - Jessica Chaffin and Diana Maria Riva have both been cast in the multi-camera comedy pilot, about Adam (Matt LeBlanc), a contractor who learns that raising his kids is more challenging than expected when his wife Andi (Jenna Fischer) goes back to work. Chaffin will play Marie, "a frazzled mom who is disgruntled to learn that Adam (LeBlanc) doesn't remember her - after meeting her a half dozen times." Riva then is set as Mrs. Wannamaker, "the lead teacher at the school who appears cozy and matronly but is a storm trooper who runs a very tight ship." (Deadline.com)


JURY, THE (ABC/ABCS/Sony; W: Mark Bianculli & V.J. Boyd; D: Neil Burger) - Nikki DeLoach ("Awkward") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, which follows a single murder trial a season as seen through the eyes of the individual jurors, exploring the biases and experiences that influence the jurors' judgment, and how their preconceptions change along the way. She'll play Haley, "a beautiful, stylish Southern Belle who uses her flirtatious charm to cover the tragedy of her real life, which is spiraling out of control." (Deadline.com)


MARLON (NBC/Universal; W: Chris Moynihan & Marlon Wayans; D: TBA) - Diallo Riddle ("Late Night with Jimmy Fallon") has been cast in the multi-camera comedy pilot, about an inappropriate but loving father (Marlon Wayans) committed to successfully co-parenting with his polar opposite ex-wife, Angie (Essence Atkins). He's on board as Kevin, "who introduces himself as Marlon's best friend and occasional 'business manager' but actually is just a guy who sleeps on Marlon's couch, eats his food and repeatedly tells him that he is the 'Wind Beneath His Wings.'" (Deadline.com)


MY TIME/YOUR TIME (CBS/CTS/Sony; W: Hilary Winston; D: Pamela Fryman) - Izzie Steele and Langston Kerman are both bound for the Carter Bays and Craig Thomas-produced comedy pilot, which chronicles the relationship of a young couple, Marla (Jane Levy) and Wade (Nicholas Braun), as they begin dating long distance. The former will play Lauren, "Marla's best friend who's married to her college sweetheart and has trouble understanding the single life and Marla's plight"; with the latter as Parker, "he and Wade were childhood buddies while growing up in the Midwest, and now they're each other's closest friend in L.A." (Deadline.com)


PITCH (FOX/20th; W: Dan Fogelman & Rick Singer; D: Paris Barclay) - Ali Larter ("Legends") has signed onto the drama pilot, about Ginny Baker (Kylie Bunbury), a young female pitcher who defies the odds when she becomes the first woman to play in the major leagues as part of the San Diego Padres. She'll succeed Elisabeth Shue as Amelia Slater following creative changes after the pilot's table read. (Deadline.com)


PROTOTYPE (Syfy; W: Tony Basgallop; D: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo) - Cote de Pablo ("NCIS") is in talks to star in the drama pilot, about three unlikely cohorts who inadvertently stumble upon an invention that challenges the very nature of quantum physics - a discovery which in turn puts their lives in grave danger. She would play Laura Kale, "a driven, extremely intelligent mother of two. Excited about a potentially world-changing machine being developed by herself and two partners, she is certain that she is on the brink of something history-making. Propelled by a shot at glory, she is not about to give up despite numerous setbacks." (Deadline.com)


RECON (FOX/WBT; W: Caroline Dries; D: Adam Davidson) - Nick Wechsler ("Revenge") has booked a lead role on the drama pilot, about Alexa (Tracy Spiridakos), a rookie FBI agent embeds herself in a suspected terrorist family. He'll play Freddie, "a skillful and hardworking FBI agent who struggles with moral conflict while at the center of a key mission." (Deadline.com)


SHOTS FIRED (FOX/20th; W: Gina Prince-Bythewood & Reggie Rock Bythewood; D: Gina Prince-Bythewood) - Tristan Wilds and Aisha Hinds have both been tapped for roles on the event series, which examines the dangerous aftermath of racially charged shootings in a small town in Tennessee. Wilds will play Officer Belk, "a young African American sheriff's deputy in a small town in North Carolina, who after a police shooting is thrust into the national spotlight that pushes his life and young family into chaos." Hinds then is set as Pastor Janae James, "a young female activist from the neighborhood who also is thrust upon the national stage when she exposes the hypocrisy in the town." (Deadline.com)


SPARK (ABC/ABCS; W: Michael Cooney; D: TBA) - Austin Hébert has been cast in the drama pilot, a lavish primetime soap of passion, greed and hope set in the alternate reality of Steampunk, circa 2016, telling the story of two rival families battling for power and the woman who takes them down. He'll play Cable Jones, "a lovable rogue cursed with a heart of gold; caught within the battle of power between two rival families. His tentacles tend to reach down rather than up, securing his connections into the lower echelons of society." (Deadline.com)


TICK, THE (Amazon, New!) - Ben Edlund has landed a reboot of his comic-book-turned-TV-series at the streaming service, about "the eponymous muscle-bound, antennae-sporting superhero, along with his sidekick Arthur, surrounded by a new host of characters." Griffin Newman and Valorie Curry have already been cast in the pilot as Arthur Everest and Dot Everest, respectively, with Wally Pfister (Transcendence) in negotiations to direct. Barry Josephson and Patrick Warburton (who played the title character in the 2001 series) will also executive produce for Sony Pictures Television. (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Rick Eid has been tapped as the new showrunner of "Law & Order: SVU" as part of a new two-year overall deal with Universal Television, where he'll succeed Warren Leight (Deadline.com); Shane Harper has been cast as Robbie, "a charming waiter at the resort who woos - and then cheats on - Baby's older sister, Lisa (Sarah Hyland), in ABC's "Dirty Dancing" revival (THR.com); actress Amy Ryan and writer/director Nicole Holofcener are developing a half-hour series at Media Rights Capital (THR.com); Justin Chambers is set to return for season 13 of "Grey's Anatomy" (@7JustinChambers); and Derek Hough's Noah West is due back on "Nashville" later this season (EOnline.com).






  [march 2016]  
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W
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F
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· AWKWARD (MTV)
· BULL (CBS)
· COLONY (CW)
· CRUNCH TIME (NBC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DIRTY DANCING (ABC)
· FLUFFY SHOP, THE (ABC)
· FURST BORN (CBS)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· JURY, THE (ABC)
· KINGDOM (AUDIENCE)
· LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT (NBC)
· LEGENDS (TNT)
· MAN WITH A PLAN (CBS)
· MARLON (NBC)
· MY TIME/YOUR TIME (CBS)
· NASHVILLE (CMT)
· NCIS (CBS)
· NIGHT SHIFT, THE (NBC)
· PITCH (FOX)
· PROTOTYPE (SYFY)
· RECON (FOX)
· REVENGE (ABC)
· SATISFACTION (USA)
· SHOTS FIRED (FOX)
· SPARK (ABC)
· TICK, THE (FOX)
· TICK, THE (AMAZON)





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