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[03/25/19 - 11:25 PM]
Development Update: Monday, March 25
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!


ANIMAL KINGDOM (TNT) - Vinny Chhibber will recur on the upcoming fourth season as Rahul, "an arrogant billionaire used to getting what he wants; be it luxury items or women. When he's told he can't have something, he'll spend any amount of money to have it. He enlists the help of Frankie (Dichen Lachman) and the Cody Boys." (Deadline.com)
ASUNDA (HBO, New!) - Sebastian A. Jones's Stranger Comics series is being targeted for the small screen by HBO. The project is "set in the culturally rich but war-torn world of Asunda, where an orphan girl is born of two nations and raised in a small desert town. Hunted by all, she will search for her ancestors and the courage to bind them against an ancient enemy." Mimi DiTrani will also executive produce. (Deadline.com)
BIG BANG THEORY, THE/YOUNG SHELDON (CBS) - Maria Ferrari has signed a three-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television, home to the hit series. She serves as an executive producer on the former and a supervising producer on the latter. (Deadline.com)
CHARMED (The CW) - Liz Kruger and Craig Shapiro have been tapped as showrunners for the series' second season. They'll succeed Carter Covington, who is departing for unspecified reasons. (Deadline.com)
COURTHOUSE (CBS) - Lindsay Mendez and Ruthie Ann Miles will round out the cast of the legal drama pilot. Mendez will play Sara, "an ebullient, optimistic court reporter who has surprising hidden talents"; while Miles will portray Sherri: "As Lola's Judicial Assistant, Sherri is The Gatekeeper; she controls the schedule, the witness lists, the flow of paperwork - everything." (Deadline.com)
EMPIRE (FOX) - Following today's news all charges against actor Jussie Smollett - including disorderly conduct/filing a false police report - have been dropped, 20th Century Fox Television and FOX issued a statement saying: "Jussie Smollett has always maintained his innocence and we are gratified that all charges against him have been dismissed." (TVLine.com)
HANNAH (ABC) - Art Malik has been cast in the Hannah Simone-led comedy pilot, in which "Hannah (Simone) and her Indian-American immigrant father Sid (Malik) have always been close, but after she admits to herself that she's in a dead-end job and he reveals his marriage is over, they're starting over together and each finding a new path. This new chapter will either make them crazy close or just crazy." Additionally, Todd Holland will direct and executive produce the pilot; while Liza Treyger and Hank Chen have also been tapped for unspecified roles. (Variety.com)
HELPSTERS (A.K.A. UNTITLED SESAME WORKSHOP PROJECT) (Apple TV+) - Big Bird and fellow Sesame Street muppet Cody announced a new preschool series at today's Apple event which "will teach kids how to code, because coding fosters collaboration, critical thinking skills, and is an essential language that every child can learn." No auspices were given for the project, which is the result of an Apple-Sesame Workshop deal announced back in June to create new content for the upcoming service. (Deadline.com)
I SHIP IT (The CW) - The series, previously scheduled for Friday nights from April 19 to May 24, has been pushed to the summer. Back-to-back repeats of "Whose Line Is It Anyway" will now fill the 9:00/8:00c hour during said period.
ORIGIN/OVERTHINKING WITH KAT & JUNE (YouTube) - The streaming service has canceled both scripted entries, which bowed in November and December, respectively. (TheVerge.com)
POLITICIAN, THE (Netflix) - Bette Midler and Judith Light will both drop by the upcoming series from Ryan Murphy in unspecified roles. Additionally, Janet Mock will helm an episode. (Deadline.com, 3/23)
POSE (FX) - Patti LuPone is bound for the upcoming second season in a yet-to-be-revealed role. (Deadline.com, 3/23)
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS: THE PERFECTIONISTS (Freeform) - Franchise steward I. Marlene King has signed a multi-year overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television, ending her decade-long run at Warner Bros. Television. She'll develop new series projects for the studio via her Long Lake Media banner. (Deadline.com)
STATION 19 (ABC) - Birgundi Baker has been cast as Yemi, Dean's (Okieriete Onaodowan) sister, in a recurring role on the series. (Deadline.com)
STRANGE ANGEL (CBSAA) - Marquise C. Brown is slated to recur on the show's second season as Betty, "a 1940's jazz singer who seeks love and freedom in the open arms of Jack Parsons' (Jack Reynor) cult." (Deadline.com)
UNICORN, THE (CBS) - Rob Corddry and Michaela Watkins are both bound for the Walton Goggins-led comedy pilot, about a widower who is eager to move on from the worst year of his life, only to find he's utterly unprepared to raise his two daughters on his own. Corddry will play Forrest, "one of Wade's good friends and married to the very opinionated, blunt and controlling Delia (Watkins)." Watkins's Delia then "takes the helm when Wade starts looking to date again, though sometimes that means activating her husband Forrest to do the dirty work." Additionally, John Hamburg has been tapped to direct and executive produce. (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED OPRAH WINFREY PROJECT (Apple TV+) - Oprah Winfrey revealed her first project for the streaming service at today's Apple event, a "multipart series on mental health and how the scourge of depression and anxiety, post-traumatic stress, addiction, trauma and loss is just devastating lives daily across the globe." No other details were given. It'll be joined by "Toxic Labor," a documentary film "dealing with the sexual harassment and assault in the workplace." Also on tap is a revamped version of her successful Book Club which will feature live interviews with authors. (Deadline.com)
VILLAGE GAZETTE (NBC) - Tommy Dewey is set to star opposite Amber Ruffin in the comedy pilot presentation, about Amber (Ruffin), "the editor of the Benson Village Gazette. She loves fluff pieces that demonstrate the idyllic nature of life in her hometown. When the newspaper owners hire Randall Westinghouse (Dewey), an arrogant big-city reporter who's looking to uncover a juicy story in Benson, he threatens to unravel the happy denial Amber has been living in." (Deadline.com)
WU-TANG: AN AMERICAN SAGA (Hulu) - The Wu-Tang Clan docudrama has added Anthony Chisholm as Old Chess Player, "an older man with a sense of humor"; Armen Garo as Vinnie, "an Italian mobster"; and Caleb Castille as Darryl "Chino" Hill, "an inmate in the same prison as Divine," to its ensemble cast. (Deadline.com)





  [march 2019]  
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· ALL RISE (OWN)
· ANIMAL KINGDOM (TNT)
· ASUNDA (HBO)
· BIG BANG THEORY, THE (CBS)
· CHARMED (CW)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· EMPIRE (FOX)
· HANNAH (ABC)
· HELPSTERS (APPLE TV PLUS)
· I SHIP IT (CW)
· ME YOU CAN'T SEE, THE (APPLE TV PLUS)
· ORIGIN (YOUTUBE)
· OVERTHINKING WITH KAT & JUNE (YOUTUBE)
· POLITICIAN, THE (NETFLIX)
· POSE (FX)
· PRETTY LITTLE LIARS: THE PERFECTIONISTS (FREEFORM)
· STATION 19 (ABC)
· STRANGE ANGEL (CBSAA)
· UNICORN, THE (CBS)
· VILLAGE GAZETTE (NBC)
· WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? (CW)
· WU-TANG: AN AMERICAN SAGA (HULU)
· YOUNG SHELDON (CBS)





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