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[05/19/20 - 11:29 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, May 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!


BATWOMAN (The CW) - Ruby Rose is bowing out of the series as Kate Kane after one season. "I have made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman next season," the actress said in a statement. "This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and in Los Angeles." Added the producers: "Warner Bros. Television, The CW and Berlanti Productions thank Ruby for her contributions to the success of our first season and wish her all the best. The studio and network are firmly committed to Batwoman's second season and long-term future, and we - along with the show's talented creative team - look forward to sharing its new direction, including the casting of a new lead actress and member of the LGBTQ community, in the coming months." (Deadline.com)
CITY OF BRASS, THE (Netflix, New!) - The historical Middle-Eastern set fantasy series from author S.A. Chakraborty is being targeted for the small screen by Joe Cornish, Nira Park, Edgar Wright and Rachael Prior's newly launched Complete Fiction banner. It is detailed as follows: "Step into The City of Brass, the spellbinding debut from S. A. Chakraborty, an imaginative alchemy of The Golem and the Jinni, The Grace of Kings, and Uprooted, in which the future of a magical Middle Eastern kingdom rests in the hands of a clever and defiant young con artist with miraculous healing gifts." (Variety.com)
DISH NATION (Syndication) - Sherri Shepherd is set to join the series as co-host in August. "'Dish Nation' has been a household staple as my guilty pleasure for years," the actress and comedian said. "To say I am beyond excited to be joining the 'Dish Nation' family is an understatement. I look forward to bringing even more funny and dish to the table." (Deadline.com)
GIANT (Amazon, New!) - Edna Ferber's novel is being developed for television by the streaming service. Anonymous Content is behind the project, "set in Texas from the 1920's to the 1950's, tells the story of Jordan "Bick" Benedict, his extended family, their massive ranch and cattle business, and the transition of Texas from ranching to oil." Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is slated to executive produce alongside David Kanter with Julie Gilbert, trustee of the Edna Ferber Literary Trust, serving as a consultant. (Variety.com)
KEVIN CAN F*** HIMSELF (AMC) - Raymond Lee and Brian Howe are the latest additions to the series, which probes the secret life of a type of woman we all grew up believing we knew: the sitcom wife (Annie Murphy). Lee will play Sam Beverly, "strong, cool and handsome with a 'Brooklyn Hipster-lite' vibe, he is a recent returnee to Worcester where he has opened an upscale diner (think Jones on Third)." Howe then will portray Pete McRoberts, "65, grizzled, he is Kevin's dad, formerly in the seminary, now he's usually seen sitting in a comfy chair that long ago formed to his particular shape." (Deadline.com)
LIVING ABROAD (Amazon, New!) - Spain's "golden generation" of World Cup-winning footballers - Xavi Hernández, David Villa, Javi Martínez and Juan Mata - are set to be the focus of a four-part documentary series at the streaming service due on June 5, the 10th anniversary of Spain winning the World Cup in South Africa. Said quartet is "plying their trade outside of Spain in football leagues around the world." Atresmedia Studios is behind the project with Jorge Pérez Vega and Ignacio Corrales executive producing, while Sonia López is the director. (Deadline.com)
LOCKWOOD & CO. (Netflix, New!) - Joe Cornish is spearheading a supernatural action-adventure detective series at the streaming service based on the novels by Jonathan Stroud. It is detailed as follows: "There is an epidemic of ghosts in Britain. Their touch brings death, and only children have the power to fight them. Lucy Carlyle, a young psychic investigator, joins London's smallest agency, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood and his ever-hungry assistant George Cubbins. Together the trio must investigate some of the spookiest and deadliest spectral hauntings in the city, armed only with the tools of the ghost-hunting trade (magnesium flares, iron filings, chains and salt bombs), their courage and a thermos of tea. Ghosts and ghouls beware!" Nira Park, Edgar Wright and Rachael Prior of the newly launched Complete Fiction banner will also presumably executive produce. (Variety.com)
MURDERS OF MOLLY SOUTHBOURNE, THE (Netflix, New!) - The sci-fi horror trilogy from novelist Tade Thompson is being developed for television by Joe Cornish, Nira Park, Edgar Wright and Rachael Prior's newly launched Complete Fiction banner. It is detailed as follows: "The rule is simple: don't bleed. For as long as Molly Southbourne can remember, she's been watching herself die. Whenever she bleeds, another molly is born, identical to her in every way and intent on her destruction. Molly knows every way to kill herself, but she also knows that as long as she survives she'll be hunted. No matter how well she follows the rules, eventually the mollys will find her. Can Molly find a way to stop the tide of blood, or will she meet her end at the hand of a girl who looks just like her?" (Variety.com)
OUTMATCHED (FOX) - The network has opted not to proceed with a second season of the multi-camera comedy. (Deadline.com)
PARTNERS IN RHYME (UMC, New!) - Rapper MC Lyte is attached to star in a new half-hour sitcom at the streaming service which "follows the life of a female high school rapper, social media star and foster kid who thinks she is the next Cardi B." MC Lyte will play "a label executive charged with helping the difficult but talented new artist navigate the industry." Bentley Kyle Evans is behind the project, which is holding a nationwide "Shoot Your Shot" casting call for the aforementioned lead. (Deadline.com)
REAWAKENING (Amazon, New!) - Neil Paik is developing a series at the cable channel based on his Six by Eight Press short story about "a brother and sister who are torn apart by violence. They find themselves on opposite sides of a large-scale conflict between refugees from Earth and the native inhabitants of an utopian planet." Hillman Grad's Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani will executive produce the series for Amazon Studios with Paik serving as a co-executive producer. (Deadline.com)
STAY CLOSE (Netflix, New!) - The streaming service has locked in another Harlan Coben adaptation, this time based on his 2012 novel which "tells the story of three people hiding dark secrets and living lives they never wanted." Red Production Company is behind the project, with no other auspices given. Coben signed a five-year overall deal with Netflix in August 2018, which "included a pact to develop 14 of his titles into English language and foreign-language series, as well as films." (Deadline.com)
VERY CAVALLARI (E!) - Kristin Cavallari took to social media with the news her series will not return for a fourth season. (@kristincavallari)





  [may 2020]  
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T
W
T
F
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· BATWOMAN (CW)
· CITY OF BRASS, THE (NETFLIX)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DISH NATION (SYNDICATION)
· FOOTBALLERS LIVING ABROAD (UK ONLY) (AMAZON)
· GIANT (AMAZON)
· KEVIN CAN F**K HIMSELF (AMC)
· LOCKWOOD & CO. (NETFLIX)
· MURDERS OF MOLLY SOUTHBOURNE, THE (NETFLIX)
· OUTMATCHED (FOX)
· PARTNERS IN RHYME (ALLBLK)
· REAWAKENING (AMAZON)
· STAY CLOSE (NETFLIX)
· VERY CAVALLARI (E)





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