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[04/08/16 - 11:44 PM]
Development Update: Friday, April 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!


BACKUP PLAN (MTV, New!) - Leonard Ouzts is set to star in a potential unscripted series for the cable channel in which the former IHOP waiter-turned-standup comedian "searches for a backup job, just in case the one he has doesn't work out." Stu Schreiberg, Judi Brown-Marmel and Reg Tigerman of Levity Entertainment Group are the executive producers on the pilot. (Deadline.com)


CHANCE (Hulu/Fox 21; W: Alexandra Cunningham & Kem Nunn; D: Lenny Abrahamson) - Paul Adelstein ("Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce") has signed onto the Hugh Laurie-led drama, about Eldon Chance, a San Francisco-based forensic neuropsychiatrist. After an ill-advised decision regarding an alluring patient who may or may not be struggling with a multiple personality disorder (Gretchen Mol), Chance finds himself in the crosshairs of her abusive spouse, who also happens to be a ruthless police detective. He'll play Raymond Blackstone, the aforementioned abusive spouse. (Deadline.com)


DIRK GENTLY (BBCA/AMCS; W: Max Landis; D: Dean Parisot) - Hannah Marks ("Awkward.") has been tapped as the female lead opposite Elijah Wood and Samuel Barnett in the upcoming drama, about the bizarre adventures of eccentric "holistic" detective Dirk Gently (Barnett) and his reluctant assistant Todd (Wood), as they wend their way through one big, seemingly insane mystery a season. She will play Todd's sister Amanda Brotzman, "a former rebellious punk and fun gal, now sick, sidelined by a genetic disorder." (Deadline.com)


STILL STAR-CROSSED (ABC/ABCS; W: Heather Mitchell; D: Michael Offer) - Anthony Head ("Dominion") is the latest to board the drama pilot, a sequel to "Romeo & Juliet" that follows the conflict between the Capulets and the Montagues in the wake of Romeo and Juliet's deaths. He'll play Lord Capulet: "kind and powerful, Lord Capulet is a thoughtful man with a sunny, jovial disposition; however, he will turn on you if you cross him." (Deadline.com)


TOAST (ABC/ABCS; W: Greg Grunberg & Scott Foley; D: Gail Mancuso) - Frankie Faison ("Banshee") has scored a role on the multi-camera comedy pilot, about engaged couple Max (Jono Kenyon) and Page (Jerrika Hinton) who, over their wedding rehearsal dinner, have their eclectic family and friends give toasts recalling anecdotes about the couple - but flashbacks reveal that the toasts don't always get it right. He's set as Big Earl, "the self-made and energetic father of Page, who is funding her over-the-top wedding with the fortune he's made with the family auto business." (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Nicole Beharie has confirmed she won't return to "Sleepy Hollow" following the events of tonight's season finale (TVLine.com); Aimee Carrero will reprise her role of Sofia Rodriguez in Freeform's proposed Ashley Tisdale-led "Young & Hungry" spin-off (Deadline.com); Scott Z. Burns and Max Borenstein have both signed onto the second season of HBO's "Vinyl" where they'll succeed outgoing showrunner Terence Winter (Deadline.com); Tony Roberts has been cast as Max Kellerman in ABC's "Dirty Dancing" telefilm (THR.com); Maria Botto will recur on TNT's "Good Behavior" as "the on-screen sister of her real-life brother's character, Javier (Juan Diego Botto)" (Variety.com); and Kevin McHale and Dylan Walsh are bound for ABC's "When We Rise" as AIDS activist Bobbi Campbell and Dr. Marcus Conant, "who was one of the first physicians to diagnose and treat AIDS in 1981" (Deadline.com).






  [april 2016]  
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M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· AWKWARD (MTV)
· BACKUP PLAN (MTV)
· BANSHEE (CINEMAX)
· CHANCE (HULU)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DIRK GENTLY'S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY (BBC AMERICA)
· DIRTY DANCING (ABC)
· DOMINION (SYFY)
· GIRLFRIENDS' GUIDE TO DIVORCE (BRAVO)
· GOOD BEHAVIOR (TNT)
· SLEEPY HOLLOW (FOX)
· STILL STAR-CROSSED (ABC)
· TOAST (ABC)
· VINYL (HBO)
· WHEN WE RISE (ABC)
· YOUNG & HUNGRY (FREEFORM)
· YOUNG & SOFIA (FREEFORM)





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