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[09/22/20 - 11:45 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, September 22
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!


9-1-1: LONE STAR (FOX) - Co-star Liv Tyler has opted not to return for the show's second season, with the London-based actress citing "circumstances related to family and travel during the pandemic." (Deadline.com)
BAR RESCUE/BATTLE OF THE FITTEST COUPLES/COYOTE/INK MASTER/LIP SYNC BATTLE/WIFE SWAP/YELLOWSTONE (Paramount Network) - The cable channel is moving out of "long form series television and instead focus its efforts on made-for-TV movies featuring big name stars" under the new moniker Paramount Movie Network. To that end, unscripted series such as "Ink Master," "Wife Swap" and "Battle of the Fittest Couples" have been canceled while "Bar Rescue" and "Lip Sync Battle" will "live on, but will be moved elsewhere within the ViacomCBS cable portfolio." Scripted series like "Yellowstone" will continue however as "the plan is to present the show as a cinematic experience, possibly programming two episodes in a single night with limited commercial interruptions." Still to be determined: the fate of "Coyote," "Mayor of Kingstown" and Spectrum co-production "Paradise Lost." (Variety.com)
CHICAGO PD (NBC) - Nicole Ari Parker has been tapped for a major recurring role on the series as Deputy Superintendent Samatha Miller: "From Atlanta originally, Miller is a progressive, ardent proponent of police reform. She wants to help Voight (Jason Beghe) and Intelligence adapt to the new reality, but will not tolerate breaches of the new police guidelines and protocols." (Deadline.com)
DOPESICK (Hulu) - John Hoogenakker has booked a role on the limited series as Randy Ramseyer, "an Assistant US Attorney with the US Attorney District Office of Western Virginia who worked on the case against Purdue Pharma under US Attorney John Brownlee." (Deadline.com)
GOD'S COUNTRY (NBC, New!) - Gary Scott Thompson is set to team with Blake Shelton for a new drama in which "when the patriarch of a hardworking Midwestern farm family dies mysteriously in a car accident, his grown children discover he was keeping a devastating secret they could never have imagined." The project is inspired by Shelton's hit song of the same name. Both will executive produce alongside Narvel Blackstock and Laurie Pozmantier for Universal Television. (Deadline.com)
INHERITANCE GAMES, THE (Amazon) - Grainne Godfree is spearheading the small screen take on Jennifer Lynn Barnes's recently released YA novel, in which "when an eccentric billionaire dies and leaves his fortune to a teenage girl he's never met, the world-and his relatives-are obsessed with figuring out why." Josh Berman will also executive produce the project via his Sony Pictures Television-based Osprey Productions. Barnes will co-produce the adaptation. (Deadline.com)
KINGS OF NAPA, THE (OWN, New!) - Janine Sherman Barrois has set up a new drama at the cable channel "centered on a gorgeous and idyllic Napa Valley vineyard owned by the Kings, an aspirational African American family whose wealth and class finds them on the pages of design magazines and society pages. The wine business has brought the family success and acclaim, but following the patriarch's sudden exit from the company, his three children must grapple for the reigns to the kingdom - to their own power, wealth and legacy." Warner Bros. Television and Harpo Films are behind the project, which launched a virtual writers' room this week. Michelle Listenbee Brown will also executive produce. (Deadline.com)
MANIFEST (NBC) - Holly Taylor has joined the cast of the show's third season as Angelina, "a Flight 828 passenger who so far, has flown under Ben's (Josh Dallas) radar. Her reemergence will play an integral part in the lives of the Stone family this season." (Deadline.com)
SEX PLANTS (Quibi, New!) - Jenny Slate is set to host a new travel docuseries on the streaming service which will see her "speak with researchers and botanical experts to learn about the most natural aphrodisiacs Earth has to offer, from roots to tree bark." Jigsaw Productions is behind the project with Slate, Richard Perello and Stacey Offman executive producing. (Deadline.com)
SUPERGIRL (The CW) - Star Melissa Benoist took to social media today to confirm the series will sign off after its upcoming sixth season. Executive producer Jessica Queller added the series will end after 126 episodes, meaning the final season will run for 20 episodes. (@melissabenoist, @jessicaqueller)
TRIAGE (ABC) - Parisa Fitz-Henley has scored the lead role on the drama pilot, which follows pioneering surgeon Finley Briar (Fitz-Henley) over three distinct decades at the same hospital. Said role is further detailed as follows: "Ambitious and warm with a great sense of humor, Dr. Finley Briar is a brilliant trauma surgeon who can think 15 moves ahead in the surgical chess match against time. Sometimes her amazing medical judgment gets her into trouble, bypassing hospital protocol in favor of the quickest path to saving a life. In 2011, Finley is a promising first-year intern with a knack for saving lives in the nick of time, and she's trying to figure out how love fits into her life. In 2021, Finley is a happily married and pregnant trauma surgeon at the top of her game but struggling with her work/life balance. In 2031, Finley is the survivor of a shocking accident and is trying to get her life back on track." (Deadline.com)
TURNER & HOOCH (Disney+) - Anthony Ruivivar, Brandon Jay McLaren, Jeremy Maguire and Becca Tobin are all bound for the Josh Peck-led feature-turned-TV series. Ruivivar will play US Marshall Chief James Clark, "Scott Turner's boss"; with McLaren will portray Xavier Watkins, "a marine-turned US Marshal"; Maguire as Matthew, "Scott Turner's nephew"; and Tobin as Brooke, "a federal prosecutor and Scott Turner's ex-girlfriend." (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED CASSIAN ANDOR SERIES (Disney+) - Toby Haynes has signed on to helm the first three episodes, replacing Tony Gilroy, who has "dropped off as director for COVID-19-related travel reasons." Gilroy however will remain as the project's executive producer and showrunner. (Deadline.com)





  [september 2020]  
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F
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· 9-1-1: LONE STAR (FOX)
· ANDOR (DISNEY PLUS)
· BAR RESCUE (PARAMOUNT)
· BATTLE OF THE FITTEST COUPLES (PARAMOUNT)
· CHICAGO PD (NBC)
· COYOTE (CBSAA)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DOPESICK (HULU)
· GOD'S COUNTRY (NBC)
· INHERITANCE GAMES, THE (AMAZON)
· INK MASTER (PARAMOUNT PLUS)
· INK MASTER: GRUDGE MATCH (PARAMOUNT)
· KINGS OF NAPA, THE (OWN)
· LIP SYNC BATTLE (PARAMOUNT)
· MANIFEST (NETFLIX)
· MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN (PARAMOUNT PLUS)
· PARADISE LOST (SPECTRUM)
· SEX PLANTS (QUIBI)
· SUPERGIRL (CW)
· TRIAGE (ABC)
· TURNER & HOOCH (DISNEY PLUS)
· YELLOWSTONE (PARAMOUNT)





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