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[12/14/20 - 11:27 PM]
Development Update: Monday, December 14
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!


BIG SHOT (Disney+) - The John Stamos-led series has suspended filming for the rest of 2020 after "a positive COVID-19 test was produced as part of regular screening." Production is expected to resume in the new year on its final two installments of its 10-episode season. The series previously shut down for a day in November "over a test result that was ultimately deemed to be a false positive." (Deadline.com)
CALL YOUR MOTHER (ABC) - Jackie Seiden is slated to recur on the newcomer as Cheryl: "Pretty. High strung. Nice on the outside, with mean underneath. Once their daughter left for college Cheryl decided it was time to explore options and have some “me time” for herself rather than being married to Danny (Patrick Brammall)." (Deadline.com)
CITY ON A HILL (Showtime) - Leon Robinson will recur on the upcoming season as Reverend Isaiah Hughes, "a spiritual adviser and activist with deep roots in his community." (Deadline.com)
COLIN IN BLACK & WHITE (Netflix) - Nine crew members have tested positive for COVID-19 during pre-production of the upcoming series. Said development isn't expected to delay filming, currently slated to begin in January. (Variety.com)
FIRST WIVES CLUB, THE (BET+) - Michelle Mitchenor, Gary Dourdan, Jordan Carlos, Essence Atkins and Mikhail Keize are all bound for the new season. Mitchenor is joining the cast as Jayla Wright, "intelligent, confident, a first rate attorney hungry for a big case, Jayla is a sorority sister of Bree, Ari and Hazel." Dourdan then will recur Dr. Malcolm Reynard, the new hospital administrator; with Carlos as Curtis, Hazel's assistant; Atkins as Maxine Hart, "a self-made millionaire going through a messy divorce"; and Keize as Nigel, "Hazel's younger, Jamaican boyfriend she has met during her tour." (Deadline.com)
HELSTROM (Hulu) - The streaming service has axed the live-action Marvel series after one season. (Deadline.com)
I'M A VIRGO (Amazon, New!) - Boots Riley has scored a series commitment from the streamer for a new comedy billed as "an absurdist, coming-of-age joyride about a 13-foot-tall Black man who lives in Oakland, CA." Emmy winner Jharrel Jerome has been tapped for the lead role in the project, a co-production of Media Res and Amazon Studios. Riley and Jerome will executive produce alongside Michael Ellenberg and Tze Chun. (Deadline.com)
MATCHED (NBC, New!) - Rohit Kumar has sold a new drama to the network which "follows two millennial Indian-American singles who decide to go on the ultimate journey together: an arranged marriage." 6107 Productions' Mike Daniels and Pacesetter Productions' Jessica Rhoades will also executive produce for Universal Television. (Deadline.com)
MR. MAYOR (NBC) - Filming on the upcoming Ted Danson-led series was shut down today "following multiple positive COVID-19 tests in Zone A, which includes the cast and crew members who interact with them." Universal Television is "evaluating the situation before making a decision whether filming can safely resume tomorrow." (Deadline.com)
PEACEMAKER (HBO Max) - Matt Miller has signed on to executive produce "The Suicide Squad" TV series spin-off as part of a new overall deal with Warner Bros. Television. (Deadline.com)
SAVANNAH (Amazon, New!) - Tracy Oliver and Joey Falco are set to team for a small screen take on Sarah Pinborough's book "Dead to Her" at Amazon Studios, billed as "a thriller that follows two outsider women, one Black and one white, who marry into a moneyed and closed Southern society and the twisted choices they make to protect their secrets and survive a judgmental world that wants to tear them down." Tracy Yvonne Productions' Joy Ganes, PKM Productions' Patrick Moran and Topic Studios' Maria Zuckerman and Quan Phung are also among the executive producers. (Deadline.com)
SIDEKICKS (NBC, New!) - Jordana Lewis Jaffe has booked a potential drama at the network which "follows a disgraced Taekwondo Olympian who upends her life when she discovers her fiancé is having an affair, moves back home, and joins her former teammate and rival at her flailing PI firm in Orange County." Pacesetter Productions' Jessica Rhoades is also on board to executive produce for Universal Television. (Deadline.com)
SLOW HORSES (Apple TV+) - Kristin Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden, Jonathan Pryce and Olivia Cooke have been confirmed as additions to the Gary Oldman-led spy drama. Scott Thomas plays Diana Taverner, "a formidable high-ranker at MI5"; with Lowden as River Cartwright, "a talented agent who is desperate to claw his way up and out of Slough House"; Pryce as David Cartwright, "River's grandfather and a retired MI5 agent"; and Cooke as Sid Baker, "a sharp agent and River's officemate." Said report also indicates 12 episodes are being filmed, "which will likely constitute two seasons of the drama." (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED EMPIRE SPIN-OFF PROJECT (FOX) - The network has passed on the proposed "Empire" spin-off series, which would focus on Taraji P. Henson's Cookie Lyon character. Producer 20th Television plans to shop the project elsewhere, including ABC and Hulu. (Deadline.com)
WITCHER, THE (Netflix) - Henry Cavill is reportedly recovering from "what is described as a minor leg muscle injury sustained during production on the hit series." It's understood production will continue without the actor until its planned holiday hiatus later this month. (Deadline.com, 12/13)





  [december 2020]  
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F
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· BIG SHOT (DISNEY PLUS)
· CALL YOUR MOTHER (ABC)
· COLIN IN BLACK & WHITE (NETFLIX)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· EMPIRE (FOX)
· FIRST WIVES CLUB (BET PLUS)
· HELSTROM (HULU)
· I'M A VIRGO (AMAZON)
· MATCHED (NBC)
· MR. MAYOR (NBC)
· PEACEMAKER (HBO MAX)
· SAVANNAH (AMAZON)
· SIDEKICKS (NBC)
· SLOW HORSES (APPLE TV PLUS)
· UNTITLED EMPIRE SPIN-OFF PROJECT (FOX)
· WITCHER, THE (NETFLIX)





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