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[04/15/16 - 11:27 PM]
Development Update: Friday, April 15
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!


CHAD: AN AMERICAN BOY (FOX/20th; W: Nasim Pedrad & Rob Rosell; D: Jason Winer) - Paul Chahidi and Christine Tawfik have been tapped for roles on the single-camera comedy pilot, about a 14 year old boy (Nasim Pedrad) in the throes of adolescence who is tasked with being the man of the house, which leaves him with all the responsibilities of being an adult without any of the perks. They'll play his parents, Hamid and Naz, respectively. Said delay in casting the roles will push production until late May, taking it out of contention for a fall order. (Deadline.com)


HAPPY CITY (FX; W: Jon Eidson & Nick Smith; D: TBA) - Comedy group Extremely Decent's half-hour project for the cable channel has been further detailed. Said effort "follows a young taxi named Tyler and his millennial friends (a firetruck and a helicopter) as they navigate their way through life in the big city. The world of the series will be reminiscent of the model-based visual style of children's shows such as Thomas the Tank Engine, using models with animated faces to comedically explore adult themes such as broken relationships, workplace struggles, and existential crises." Extremely Decent's Nick Smith and Jon Eidson co-wrote the half-hour and will executive produce alongside Starburns Industries' Dan Harmon and Authentic Management's Sean Elliott. (Deadline.com)


JEAN-CLAUDE VAN JOHNSON (Amazon; W: Dave Callaham; D: Peter Atencio) - Phylicia Rashad, Kat Foster and Moises Arias have all been cast in the comedy pilot, which stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as a version of himself, a famous actor and martial-arts pro who comes out of retirement to resume his alter-ego: an undercover private contractor by the name of Jean-Claude Van Johnson. Foster will play Vanessa, "an international undercover operative whose cover is working as a hair and makeup artist for film shoots"; with Rashad as Jane Hardy, "Jean-Claude's agent who doubles as the head of the secret-ops group for which he and Vanessa work"; and Arias as Luis, "a young secret agent who works with Vanessa." (THR.com)


STILL STAR-CROSSED (ABC/ABCS; W: Heather Mitchell; D: Michael Offer) - Danish actress Clara Rugaard has been cast in 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. She'll play the famed Juliet in the project. (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Callum Keith Rennie has joined the cast of "The Man in the High Castle" as Gary Connell, "leader of the West Coast Resistance movement" (Deadline.com); Rafael de la Fuente has signed onto ABC's "When We Rise" as Ricardo, "who ends up in a long-term relationship with the character Cleve" (Deadline.com); Ella Thomas will recur on "Mistresses" as "a fitness instructor who befriends Joss (Jes Macallan)" (Deadline.com); Christopher J. Hanke has scored an arc on "Devious Maids" as "Genevieve's (Susan Lucci) new hairstylist and confidant who gives her a mysterious book that he insists will change her life" (Deadline.com);

Jodie Comer has been tapped to play the title role in Starz's "The White Princess" (Deadline.com); Josh Charles's Will Gardner will reportedly return via flashback in the series finale of "The Good Wife" (TVLine.com); Jewel Staite is bound for "Castle" as "the director of a Shakespearean Broadway staging whose movie-star lead turns up dead" (TVLine.com); and Neil Gaiman is looking to bring "Good Omens," his novel with Sir Terry Pratchett, to the small screen (TheGuardian.com).






  [april 2016]  
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W
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F
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· CASTLE (ABC)
· CHAD: AN AMERICAN BOY (FOX)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DEVIOUS MAIDS (LIFETIME)
· EXTREMELY DECENT (FX)
· GOOD WIFE, THE (CBS)
· JEAN-CLAUDE VAN JOHNSON (AMAZON)
· MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, THE (AMAZON)
· MISTRESSES (ABC)
· STILL STAR-CROSSED (ABC)
· WHEN WE RISE (ABC)
· WHITE PRINCESS, THE (STARZ)





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