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[01/19/17 - 11:39 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, January 19
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!


BLACK-ISH (ABC) - Yara Shahidi's Zoey Johnson is being eyed for a potential spin-off series which would focus on her character in college. It's understood the project would be set up via a backdoor pilot episode of the series due this spring. Kenya Barris and Larry Wilmore would pen the script and executive produce for ABC Studios. (Deadline.com)
BLUEGRASS/BLOOD RED (ABC) - The Alphabet's mainstay Michael Offer has been tapped to direct the drama pilot from Marc Cherry toplined by country star Reba McEntire. He'll also executive produce alongside Cherry, Sabrina Wind, McEntire, Mindy Schultheis and Michael Hanel. (Deadline.com)
BROWN GIRLS (Freeform) - Andrew Lees, Omar Maskati and Natalie Dreyfuss have all been cast in the multi-camera comedy pilot, about Rimmi (Hina Abdullah), a fashion-forward young woman, who's trying hard to ignore her heritage and launch her own makeup vlog. Told by her mother that she needs to connect with family friend Devi (Punam Patel), Rimmi is put off by someone who seems to be her complete opposite. Lees plays Brian, "Rimmi's ex-boyfriend, who is now her best friend"; with Maskati as Shaan, "an attractive but awkward financial consultant, originally from India, who had a brief flirtation with Rimmi and is embarrassed when their paths cross again"; and Dreyfuss as Stella, "Rimmi's fun loving and self-absorbed boss at Glossy.com, who is unimpressed when Rimmi tries to become a YouTube star, and suggests she do something more authentic." Mark Cendrowski is directing from a script by Nastaran Dibai and Shilpi Roy. (Deadline.com)
CLAWS (TNT) - Dean Norris ("Under the Dome") has joined the cast of the upcoming drama as part of a recasting. He'll play Uncle Daddy, "a dangerous Dixie Mafia crime boss who is deeply Catholic and actively bisexual." Peter Firth originated the role in the pilot. (Deadline.com)
CROSSING, THE (ABC) - Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie's proposed drama - about refugees from a war torn country who start showing up seeking asylum in an American town with the twist being the war they are fleeing is hundreds of years in the future - has scored a pilot order from the network. The project has since been further detailed as revolving around "the local sheriff with a past, a federal agent, and a mother in search of her missing refugee daughter drive this allegory with a surprising conspiracy at the center." ABC Studios is producing with Jason Reed also on board to executive produce. (Deadline.com)
DATE MY DAD (UP) - Barry Watson, Raquel Welch, Zenia Marie Marshall, Lilah Fitzgerald and Audrey Smallman are all set to star in the upcoming drama. Watson will play Ricky Cooper, a single dad raising three teenage daughters after his wife passed away three years earlier; with Welch as his live-in mother-in-law, Rosa. Daughters Mirabel (Marshall, 15), Elisa (Fitzgerald, 13) and Gigi (Smallman, 10) decide that on his 40th birthday, he needs to get out there and start dating again. (Deadline.com)
DECEPTION (ABC) - Chris Fedak's drama - about a superstar magician who, when his career is ruined by scandal, goes to work as a consultant for the FBI - has formally been given a pilot order by the Alphabet. David Nutter is expected to direct the Warner Bros. Television-based hour, which is also executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Martin Gero and Sarah Schechter. David Kwong serves as a co-producer. (Deadline.com)
FOR GOD AND COUNTRY (NBC, New!) - Dean Georgaris (Paycheck) has snagged a pilot order for a new drama at the Peacock billed as "a heart pounding look into the complex world of our bravest military heroes who make personal sacrifices while executing the most challenging and dangerous missions behind enemy lines." Avi Nir, Peter Traugott and Rachel Kaplan of Keshet Studios will also executive produce for Universal Television. (Deadline.com)
MANIFESTO (Discovery) - Jeremy Bobb and Lynn Collins have both snagged roles on the true crime drama. He'll play Stan, "a corpulent bulldog who torments Fitz (Sam Worthington) a bit"; while she's set as Natalie, "an undergrad linguistics professor." (Deadline.com)
MR. MERCEDES (Audience) - Jharrel Jerome (Moonlight) has signed onto the upcoming drama as Jerome Robinson, "a high school student who does yard work for Hodges (Brendan Gleeson). A good-natured wise guy, Jerome helps Hodges with his computer stuff, and puts up a home surveillance system for him." (THR.com)
TANGLED (Disney Channel) - Julie Bowen ("Modern Family") has signed onto the small screen take of the animated feature. She'll lend her voice to Queen Arianna, Rapunzel's mother, taking over from Ashley Judd. The series will kick off with the original movie "Tangled Before Ever After" due this March. (Deadline.com)
UNREAL (Lifetime) - Caitlin FitzGerald ("Masters of Sex") has been tapped as Everlasting's first "suitress." "Determined to have her pick of eager male suitors, Serena (FitzGerald) will face off with Everlasting's queen bees, producers Rachel Goldberg (Shiri Appleby) and Quinn King (Constance Zimmer) who are shaking things up, all for the sake of ratings." (Deadline.com)





  [january 2017]  
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M
T
W
T
F
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· BLACK-ISH (ABC)
· BLUEGRASS/BLOOD RED (ABC)
· BRAVE, THE (NBC)
· BROWN GIRLS (FREEFORM)
· CLAWS (TNT)
· CROSSING, THE (ABC)
· DATE MY DAD (UP)
· DATE MY DAD (UP)
· DECEPTION (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· GROWN-ISH (FREEFORM)
· MANHUNT: DEADLY GAMES (SPECTRUM)
· MASTERS OF SEX (SHOWTIME)
· MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
· MR. MERCEDES (AUDIENCE)
· RAPUNZEL'S TANGLED ADVENTURE (DISNEY)
· UNDER THE DOME (CBS)
· UNREAL (HULU)





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