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[02/19/20 - 11:44 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, February 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!


ANGELYNE (Peacock) - Director Lucy Tcherniak has signed a first-look deal with producer Universal Content Productions. (Deadline.com)
B POSITIVE (CBS) - Annaleigh Ashford is the first to be cast in the multi-camera comedy pilot as Gina, "a working-class woman who is larger than life in every sense - most importantly, her heart. She lives in her mother's basement, drives a senior citizen van for a living, and makes rash decisions, including giving Drew her kidney." (Deadline.com)
BLOOD RELATIVE (FOX) - Tate Donovan is set to star opposite Melissa Leo in the drama pilot as Detective John Kelly: "Everybody likes John. What's not to like? He's done everything right. Married his high school sweetheart and had two kids. Followed in his father's footsteps, as expected, and is now a detective on the force where his old man was lieutenant. When he's compelled to work on a case with his genius sister Lou (Leo), little does he know that their unlikely working partnership will bring to the surface demons from long ago. John will do a deep dive into their shared past, asking questions about their childhood and their father. Questions he won't be able to un-ask. And the idyllic life John has built for himself will threaten to crumble around him." (Deadline.com)
GORDITA CHRONICLES, THE (HBO Max, New!) - Claudia Forestieri is developing a semi-autobiographical drama at the streaming service about "a Latina reporter looking back on her childhood as a chubby, willful and reluctant Dominican immigrant growing up with her eccentric family in 1980s Miami." Zoe Saldana, Mariel Saldana and Cisely Saldana of Cinestar Pictures and Josh Berman and Chris King of Osprey Productions will executive produce for Sony Pictures Television with Forestieri as a co-executive producer. (Deadline.com)
LINCOLN LAWYER, THE (CBS) - Angus Sampson has been cast in the drama pilot, based on the Mickey Haller novels from Michael Connelly. He'll play Cisco, "a former biker gang member who now serves as Mickey's (yet to be cast) investigator, friend, and when necessary, bodyguard, Cisco is an imposing figure with a keen mind and a deep well of contacts on both sides of the law that help him do his job." (Deadline.com)
MINX (HBO Max, New!) - Ellen Rapoport has scored a pilot order from the upcoming streaming service for a half-hour comedy "set in 1970s Los Angeles and centers around an earnest young feminist who joins forces with a low-rent publisher to create the first erotic magazine for women." Paul Feig and Dan Magnante will also executive produce via their Lionsgate Television-based Feigco Entertainment. (Deadline.com)
ORDINARY JOE (NBC) - James Wolk has been tapped for the title role on the drama pilot, which "explores the three parallel lives of the show's main character Joe Kimbrough (Wolk) after he makes a pivotal choice at a crossroads in his life. The series asks the question of how different life might look if you made your decision based on love, loyalty or passion. The choices he makes upon graduation from college change the trajectory of his life and the results of his decisions are seen in parallel time." (Deadline.com)
POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN (Starz) - Patina Miller is bound for the franchise's third installment as Raquel Thomas: "To the streets, "Raq" Thomas is cold, hard and fierce - a successful and deadly woman taking names in a man's world. She is tough, resolute, ruthless, but Raq still is capable of love. Great love. The sole recipient of that affection is her son, Kanan; he is everything to her. As much as she cares for him, though, there are many instances where one wonders if she loves him for who he is or if she loves him merely as an extension of herself. The middle child of three, Raq also carries the heavy burden as the earner for her two brothers. She is the sun, and everyone else in her universe exists in her orbit." (Deadline.com)
PRESIDENT IS MISSING, THE (Showtime) - Janet McTeer has signed onto the David Oyelowo-led drama pilot as Carolyn Brock, "President Stroud's Chief of Staff. Carolyn is the powerful, devoted and abrasive political gatekeeper who enables Stroud to maintain her public image." McTeer's casting is in first position, ahead of Netflix's "Ozark." (Deadline.com)
TOKYO VICE (HBO Max) - Odessa Young and Ella Rumpf have both scored roles on the upcoming drama. Young will play Samantha, "an American expat living in late 90s Tokyo. She makes her living as an upscale club hostess in the alluring and wild district of Kabukicho, deftly navigating both salarymen, high-end customers, and the Japanese Yakuza on a nightly basis. Sexy, wry, fluent in Japanese - she keeps Jake and everyone else continually in play." Rumpf then is Polina, "a new hostess at the club with Samantha. She came to Tokyo to work as a model and slowly got pulled into the underbelly of Kabukicho. She's bright, funny, and gorgeous-but struggles as a hostess." (Deadline.com)
UPLOAD (Amazon) - Kevin Bigley, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson, Elizabeth Bowen, William B. Davis and Owen Daniels are all bound for the long-in-the-works comedy series, a sci-fi sitcom that takes place in the near future, where people who are near death can be "uploaded" into a virtual afterlife of their choice. Bigley will play Luke Crossley, "veteran of a future war with Iran, he appreciates Upload for restoring his complete body, and the many luxuries, but pushes back against all the rules, hacking freebies wherever he can"; with Edwards as Ingrid Kannerman, "blond, very beautiful but intense, she is Nathan's steady girlfriend"; Johnson as Aleesha Morrison Downey, "the customer service "angel" at the desk next to Nora's, ambitious Aleesha has several other part-time jobs"; Bowen as Fran Booth, "a middle school gym teacher who likes puzzles, Fran becomes suspicious that her cousin Nathan's death is not just a car accident and starts to investigate"; Davis as David Choak, "a powerful dead billionaire"; and Owen Daniels as A.I. Guy, "for the convenience of the guests, the virtual hotel staff such as bellboys and gardeners are all the same avatar, a cheerful young red-headed man." (Deadline.com)
WALKER (The CW) - Keegan Allen has scored a role on the "Walker, Texas Ranger" reboot series as Liam Walker: "Described as smart, slightly smug, but with a strong moral compass, Liam is Walker's younger gay and conservative brother who has been recently promoted to assistant DA. Liam and Walker are close, but Liam gives his brother no shortage of tough love. Liam has always stayed close to home, often sacrificing his personal life in favor of his family duties. In Walker's absence, he stepped up to take Walker's kids under his wing. Liam's close relationship with Walker's son and daughter makes Walker slightly jealous." (Variety.com)





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· ANGELYNE (PEACOCK)
· B POSITIVE (CBS)
· BLOOD RELATIVE (FOX)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· GORDITA CHRONICLES (HBO MAX)
· LINCOLN LAWYER, THE (NETFLIX)
· MINX (STARZ)
· ORDINARY JOE (NBC)
· OZARK (NETFLIX)
· POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN (STARZ)
· PRESIDENT IS MISSING, THE (SHOWTIME)
· TOKYO VICE (MAX)
· UPLOAD (AMAZON)
· WALKER (CW)





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