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[04/28/21 - 11:24 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, April 28
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!


DOPESICK (Hulu) - Trevor Long has been cast as a young Rudy Giuliani on the limited series, a recurring role. (Variety.com)
LATER WITH JOHN MAYER (Paramount+, New!) - The streamer is nearing a deal with seven-time Grammy-winning musician John Mayer to host a weekly talk show based on the format of the BBC's long-running "Later with Jools Holland." The series would feature "performance segments as well as interviews with musicians, artists and other cultural figures in a setting designed to look like an after-hours club for musicians." Specials derived from the show's performance segments would "air periodically on CBS as well." No auspices however were given. (Variety.com)
PAM & TOMMY (Hulu) - Taylor Schilling has signed onto the limited series as Erica, "Rand's (Seth Rogen) wife - at least on paper. Erica is a porn star on her own terms, with emotional and intellectual intelligence that Rand cannot quite fathom. Although she's moved on long ago, she still holds a place in her life for Rand... as long as he behaves." Spenser Granese and Mozhan Marnò are also on board as Steve Fasanella, "a mulleted, low-IQ individual who works for Uncle Miltie (Nick Offerman) at Ingley Studios"; and Gail Chwatsky, "an absolute powerhouse of a publicist," respectively. (Deadline.com)
POWER, THE (Amazon) - Ana Ularu is the latest to recur on the global thriller as Zoia, "sister of Tatiana (Zrinka Cvitesic)." (Deadline.com)
PROMISED LAND (ABC) - Katya Martín has scored a role on the drama pilot as Juana, "a young immigrant who flees El Salvador along with her sister Rosa. Despite the perilous journey, Juana is driven by her dream of one day becoming a teacher. Buoyed by her hopes for the future and a romantic interest in her fellow immigrant, Carlos (Andres Velez), Juana takes a job as a fruit-picker on the Heritage House Vineyard in the Sonoma Valley." (Deadline.com)
$UGAR (Hulu, New!) - Kimi Howl Lee has sold a potential drama to the streamer which "centers on the accidental formation of a Sugar Baby ring at the elite college intent on bringing down the titans of the tech industry and empowering its members. Via sex-capades and corporate espionage, $ugar explores the ways in which young co-eds are "leaning in" and embracing their sexuality in order to gain access to the exclusive echelons of the male-dominated tech world." Sarah Condon and Micah Schraft are also on board to executive produce. (THR.com)
SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY, THE (Amazon) - Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, Rachel Blanchard and Jackie Chung have all been cast in the streamer's adaptation of Jenny Han's YA novel series, a multigenerational drama that hinges on a love triangle between one girl and two brothers, the ever-evolving relationship between mothers and their children, and the enduring power of strong female friendship. Tung will play Belly, who "used to be gawky and awkward, but this summer she turns 16 and she is starting to turn heads-and it's taking some getting used to"; with Briney as Conrad Fisher, "the boy she's loved forever, the boy who never even looked in her direction-is paying attention to her."; Blanchard as Susannah, "warm-hearted, free-spirited, Susannah is Laurel's (Chung) best friend who hosts the two families every summer in her luxurious beach town home"; and Chung's Laurel, "Belly's mom, is a novelist with a wry sense of humor and an aversion to technology." (Deadline.com)
TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, THE (HBO) - Desmin Borges and Natasha Lopez are the latest additions to the Audrey Niffenegger adaptation. Borges will play Gomez, "who is one of Clare's best friends - and secretly in love with her. Gomez being Gomez, it's a secret he's managed to keep from absolutely no one. Truculent, clever, with an often blundering sense of humor, he is also fiercely honorable. Over the years, despite everything, he becomes Henry's best friend, and his savior many times." Lopez then is Charisse, "no nonsense, no filter, and a little neurotic, she is Clare's closest confidante and her roommate - and also Gomez's long-suffering girlfriend. When the mysterious Henry arrives on the scene, Charisse is determined to get to the bottom of who he really is. And when Charisse wants to know something, the questions don't stop." (Deadline.com)
TITANS (HBO Max) - Vincent Kartheiser has been cast as Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. DC Comcis villain Scarecrow, in the new season, "an inmate at Arkham Asylum who used to terrorize Gotham City using toxins to exploit his enemies' phobias." (Deadline.com)
UNTITLED BANS & KREBS PROJECT (Peacock, New!) - Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs are on track to land an anthology series project at the streaming service, which "follows darkly comedic twisted love stories throughout history. The first season, based on the Washington Post article "Flight of the Heart," explores the true story of Ron McIntosh and Samantha "Dorinda" Lopez, two unlikely criminals who met at the original Club Fed prison in the mid-1980s, fell in love and desperate to be together forever, staged what would become one of the most daring prison escapes in history." Universal Television is producing. (Deadline.com)
WALKING DEAD, THE (AMC) - Jacob Young is bound for the show's 11th and final season as Deaver, a yet-to-be-revealed role. (Deadline.com)





  [april 2021]  
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W
T
F
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· $UGAR (HULU)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DOPESICK (HULU)
· LATER WITH JOHN MAYER (PARAMOUNT PLUS)
· LATER WITH JOOLS HOLLAND (MTV LIVE)
· PAM & TOMMY (HULU)
· POWER, THE (AMAZON)
· PROMISED LAND (HULU)
· SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY, THE (AMAZON)
· TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, THE (HBO)
· TITANS (HBO MAX)
· UNTITLED BANS & KREBS PROJECT (PEACOCK)
· WALKING DEAD, THE (AMC)





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