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[02/14/25 - 11:44 PM]
Development Update: Week of February 10-14
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) |
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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!
ACAPULCO (Apple TV+) - Keyla Monterroso Mejia will recur on the show's fourth season as "Memo's (Fernando Carsa) sister, the assistant head of operations under Maximo (Enrique Arrizon/Derbez)." (Deadline.com, 2/14)
BAND, THE (HBO, New!) - Ben Stiller is attached to star in a hourlong dramedy series at the network, which "offers an inside look at the music industry centered on Oscar (Stiller), a pop impresario and talent mogul beset by scandal who is tasked with forming a new act in order to save his career - and perhaps his soul." Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers are behind the project with Stiller, John Lesher, Savan Kotecha, Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer also executive producing for Media Res and Red Hour Films. (Deadline.com, 2/10)
BEAUTY, THE (FX) - Isabella Rossellini will recur on Ryan Murphy's upcoming series in a yet-to-be-revealed role. (Variety.com, 2/14)
BIG BANG THEORY SPIN-OFF PROJECT, THE (Max) - John Ross Bowie will reprise his role of plasma physicist Barry Kripke from "The Big Bang Theory" on the proposed spin-off series. He'll star alongside the previously announced Kevin Sussman (Stuart Bloom), Brian Posehn (Bert Kibbler) and Lauren Lapkus (Denise). (Deadline.com, 2/11)
BOSCH: LEGACY (Amazon) - Star/executive producer Titus Welliver has signed a first-look deal with Amazon MGM Studios to develop new series projects for the studio. (Deadline.com, 2/10)
BOYS FROM BRAZIL, THE (Netflix) - Jeremy Strong will topline the streamer's TV series adaptation of Ira Levin's famed novel-turned-feature film. He's believed to be playing Ezra Lieberman, a role originated by Laurence Olivier in the 1978 film: "That is the famous Nazi hunter who is drawn to investigate a conspiracy spun to him by a young Nazi hunter (played by Steve Guttenberg in the original). Lieberman is highly skeptical of the young man's claims that notorious Dr. Josef Mengele is in Paraguay, starting on a diabolical plan to reestablish the Third Reich through a cloning plan put in place after Germany lost World War II. When the young Nazi hunter is killed, Lieberman heads to Paraguay to uncover a truth that turns out to be horrific." Peter Morgan is behind the project with Suzanne Mackie of Orchid Pictures also executive producing. The film's screenwriter Heywood Gould was behind a previous small screen effort at TNT in 2001. (Deadline.com, 2/12)
BRIA MACK GETS A LIFE (Roku, New!) - The streamer has acquired the Canadian comedy series from New Metric Media, which stars Malaika Hennie-Hamadi as Bria McFarlane, "a 25-year-old black woman navigating adulthood in a predominantly white world. That's made all the more difficult, yet more tolerable, by Black Attack (Hannan Younis) being her invisible hype girl." Sasha Leigh-Henry is behind the six-part series, which also stars Leslie Adlam, Manuel Rodriguez-Saenz, Amalia Williamson, Marlee Sansom, Preeti Torul, Robert Bazzocchi, Nia Cummins, Robert Clarke, Shannon Jardine, Catherine De Sève and Mark Forward. Executive producers are Leigh-Henry, Mark Montefiore and Tania Thompson, while Angelique Knights and Tamar Bird are producers. (THR.com, 2/12)
COLD BLOODED LIAR (FOX, New!) - Blair Singer has sold a new drama to the network based on the bestseller of the same name by Karen Rose: "The development title is set in postcard-perfect San Diego, where strong-willed homicide detective Kit McKittrick uses her ferocious determination and heightened empathy from her foster kid background to solve the most chilling murder cases the city has ever seen. As she confronts some of the darkest corners of humanity, she meets a handsome, insightful psychologist named Sam Reeves, and together, their partnership develops into a transformative bond." Rose will serve as a consultant on the series, which is set up at FOX Entertainment Studios. (Deadline.com, 2/10)
COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES, A (Hulu) - The streamer has formally decided not to proceed with its adaptation of Sarah J. Maas's fantasy book series. (Deadline.com, 2/14)
DILETTANTE (Apple TV+, New!) - Jeff Daniels is attached to star in a small screen take on Dana Brown's memoir described as "a fictionalized coming-of-age story set in the glamorous and cutthroat "Golden Age" of magazines in 1990s New York." Brown and Daniel Goldfarb are penning the project with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Leigh London Redman also executive producing via their Warner Bros. Television-based Berlanti Productions. (Deadline.com, 2/13)
ELLE (Amazon) - Lexi Minetree has been cast as the title role of Elle Woods in the "Legally Blonde" prequel series. Executive producer Reese Witherspoon, who played Elle Woods in the feature films, announced the news on social media. (@reesewitherspoon, 2/13)
EUPHORIA (HBO) - Dominic Fike will reprise his role of Elliot on the upcoming season, "a guitar-slinging, drug-addicted teen who befriends Rue (Zendaya) and Jules (Hunter Schafer), wrapping them up in a messy love triangle and serving as an obstacle to Rue's sobriety." (Variety.com, 2/14)
FORGOTTEN REALMS, THE (Netflix, New!) - Drew Crevello has set up a live-action "Dungeons & Dragons" series at the streamer: "As the title suggests, the proposed series will take place in the iconic campaign setting and centerpiece of the Dungeons & Dragons universe, a fantasy world that is home to some of the brand's most famous characters and launchpad for some of D&D's most popular adventures." Shawn Levy and Dan Levine of 21 Laps are also on board to executive produce. Crevello was behind a different incarnation at Paramount+ with Rawson Marshall Thurber that ultimately didn't move forward. (Deadline.com, 2/13)
HANDMAID'S TALE, THE (Hulu) - D'Arcy Carden has scored a top secret role on the series' final season. (THR.com, 2/14)
HARRY POTTER LIVE-ACTION SERIES (HBO) - Six-time Emmy winner John Lithgow is in final negotiations to portray Professor Albus Dumbledore in the much-ballyhooed TV series. Richard Harris, Michael Gambon and Jude Law were among the actors to play Dumbledore in the films. (Deadline.com, 2/12)
HIGH WIRE (Apple TV+, New!) - Candice Fox's thriller novel is being developed for TV by the streamer: "Taking readers on a high-octane journey through the Australian outback, the story centers on Harvey Buck, a former soldier racing against time to reach his dying girlfriend. Along the way, he encounters Clare Holland, a traveler stranded after her car breaks down. Offering her a ride, Harvey unwittingly plunges them both into a nightmare. They are ambushed by a vengeful crew and forced into bomb vests, compelled to commit a series of increasingly dangerous missions under threat of detonation." Simonne Overend and Ridley Scott are among the executive producers for Scott Free Productions. No writer is currently attached. (Deadline.com, 2/13)
MARGO'S GOT MONEY TROUBLES (Apple TV+) - Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden will guest star in the upcoming series as Elizabeth, "the fiercely protective mother of the professor." (Deadline.com, 2/11)
MR. & MRS. SMITH (Amazon) - Sophie Thatcher is in talks to topline the show's second season opposite Mark Eydelshteyn. (Deadline.com, 2/14)
NCIS: ORIGINS (CBS) - Lauren Bowles will guest on the prequel series as Cliff Wheeler's (Patrick Fischler, her real-life husband) wife Shelly, "a travel agent who is trying desperately to keep her family together despite a rebellious son and a husband who's battling to keep his head above water." (TVLine.com, 2/11)
NOBODY WANTS THIS (Netflix) - Jackie Tohn's Esther Roklov, the sister-in-law of Adam Brody's Noah and the wife of Timothy Simons's Sasha, has been promoted to regular on the comedy's second season. (TVLine.com, 2/10)
OUTLANDER (Starz) - Kristin Atherton's Jenny Fraser Murray, a role originated by Laura Donnelly, will not return for the show's eighth and final season. (TVLine.com, 2/13)
PROJECT RUNWAY (Freeform) - Tim Gunn was not asked back to mentor the designers in the revival of the competition reality series. (People.com, 2/14)
ROBIN HOOD (MGM+) - Sean Bean has been cast as the Sheriff of Nottingham in the series, "who is envisioned as a statesman, a strategist, and a builder of Nottingham itself. A loving father, a politician, and cousin to King Henry II, he navigates the dangerous tides of power, facing not only an outlaw in the woods but also the ambitions of Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Norman Barons that surround him. Cunning and pragmatic, he is a man who rules with an iron hand, not out of cruelty, but an unshakable belief that the law, as Normans see it, must be preserved." (Deadline.com, 2/11)
SHARDS, THE (HBO) - Ryan Murphy is in discussions to produce a series-length adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's semi-autobiographical novel. Ellis and director Kristoffer Borgli previously spearheaded an adaptation at HBO which did not move forward last year. (THR.com, 2/12)
SHIFTING GEARS (ABC) - Jay Leno will cameo as himself on the show's March 12 installment, in which he brings "one of his vehicles into Matt's (Tim Allen) custom car shop for repairs." (THR.com, 2/11)
STAR CITY (Apple TV+) - The "For All Mankind" spin-off series has cast Solly McLeod as Sasha, "a reckless cosmonaut who has yet to live up to his potential"; Agnes O'Casey as Irina, "a recent addition to the surveillance department at Star City"; and Alice Englert as Anastasia, "an untested female cosmonaut in the Soviet Space program." (Deadline.com, 2/13)
TAYLOR LAUTNER: WEREWOLF HUNTER (Amazon, New!) - Taylor Lautner is attached to star in a proposed scripted series at Amazon MGM Studios: "After wrapping the final 'Twilight' film, Taylor Lautner vanished from the spotlight. Fans speculated, tabloids theorized - but the truth is wilder than fiction. Taylor wasn't just taking a mental health break. He was preparing for his real calling... Taylor Lautner: Werewolf Hunter. Playing himself, Taylor is drawn into a secret society of werewolf trackers who need his unique expertise. As he navigates his double life - Hollywood actor by day, supernatural warrior by night - Taylor must wrestle with the ultimate irony: fighting the very creatures that made him famous. Between saving the world, reviving his career, and falling in love, he faces the ultimate question - what happens when your biggest role becomes your greatest enemy?" Writer Daisy Gardner and directors Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are behind the project with Lautner, Adam Londy and Tarik Kanafani likewise executive producing for Radio Silence and Tornante. (Variety.com, 2/12)
TESTAMENTS, THE (Hulu) - Chase Infiniti is set to star alongside Ann Dowd in the streamer's long-in-the-works sequel series to "The Handmaid's Tale," also based on a novel by Margaret Atwood: "The story follows the lives of three women, Aunt Lydia (Dowd), Agnes (Infiniti) and Daisy, whose fates become intertwined as they uncover the secrets of Gilead and the resistance against its regime." The project is nearing a series greenlight with an eye towards beginning filming at the end of March in Toronto. Bruce Miller and Warren Littlefield are among the executive producers for The Littlefield Company and Amazon MGM Studios. (Deadline.com, 2/13)
TRACKER (CBS) - Chris Lee will recur on the series as Randy, "Bobby's (Eric Graise) charismatic and charming cousin who comes to town to give him a hand." (Deadline.com, 2/12)
TRUE DETECTIVE (HBO) - The fifth season of the anthology series will be set in Jamaica Bay, New York, with filming slated to begin in the coming months. Said report further indicates the season is not expected to launch until 2027. (Deadline.com, 2/12)
UNTITLED JONATHAN GLATZER SERIES (AMC) - Billy Magnussen has scored a lead role on the series as Duncan, "the co-founder of a Silicon Valley data-mining company." (Deadline.com, 2/10)
UNTITLED NEIGHBORHOOD SPIN-OFF PROJECT (CBS) - Justin Long, Kara Royster, Hunter King and Angelique Cabral will guest star in the show's finale this season, which will serve as a planted spin-off for co-stars Marcel Spears and Sheaun McKinney. Long will play Bruce, "a tech millionaire who is a mix of unjustified confidence and social ineptitude"; with Royster as Matisse, "Malcolm's new neighbor and a would-be influencer"; King as Bellamy, "who works generating content for the coolest cannabis boutique in SoCal"; and Cabral as Lisa, "a fast-talking book agent who seems genuinely passionate about Malcolm's writing talent and hopes to represent him and take him to the top of the literary world." (Deadline.com, 2/12)
WIDOW'S BAY (Apple TV+) - Emmy winner Matthew Rhys has signed on to star and executive produce the drama series, about Mayor Tom Loftis, "a no-nonsense single dad forced to deal with his town's superstitious citizens who believe it's cursed as he is desperately trying to put the area on the map as the next Nantucket." (Deadline.com, 2/11)
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[02/20/25 - 11:30 AM]
Presenters Announced for the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
The only awards show for actors, by actors, the SAG Awards will feature a star-studded lineup of presenters, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who will present the SAG Life Achievement Award to two-time Academy Award-winning actor, producer, author, and activist, Jane Fonda.
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[02/20/25 - 11:00 AM]
What's New on Max This March
This March, stream March Madness live from the opening tip-off of the First Four all the way to the Elite 8.
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[02/20/25 - 11:00 AM]
Prime Video Unveils First-Look Images and Release Date for Devilish New Series "The Bondsman," Starring Kevin Bacon
All eight episodes will be available on April 3, exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
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[02/20/25 - 10:01 AM]
Video: "The Righteous Gemstones" Season 4 - Official Trailer - Max
They're raising holy hell one last time.
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[02/20/25 - 09:31 AM]
Video: "The Twister: Caught in the Storm" - Official Trailer - Netflix
In May 2011, a massive tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri. With pulse-pounding firsthand footage, this documentary goes inside a deadly twister.
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[02/20/25 - 09:07 AM]
Discovery Channel Renews Five Freshman Series
Set to return this year, "Expedition Files," "Hustlers Gamblers Crooks," "In the Eye of the Storm," "The Last Woodsmen" and "Mud Madness" were each top three cable series among Men 25-54 in their respective timeslots, excluding news and sports, and each reached at least 8.5 million viewers.
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[02/20/25 - 09:03 AM]
NBC Orders Second Season of Its Hit Comedy Series "Happy's Place"
The pilot episode of "Happy's Place" is now up to 17.6 million viewers across all platforms, +338% from its initial airing on October 18.
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[02/20/25 - 09:01 AM]
Date Announcement Hulu Original "Matteo Lane: The Al Dente Special"
Matteo Lane's comedy is like catching up with your old friend at brunch. In his latest special, he shares a glimpse into his travels, unique family background and friendships.
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[02/20/25 - 09:01 AM]
Apple's New Sci-Fi Series "Murderbot" to Make Global Debut May 16, 2025
Based on Martha Wells' bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-winning book series of the same name, "Murderbot" is a sci-fi thriller/comedy about a self-hacking security construct who is horrified by human emotion yet drawn to its vulnerable clients.
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[02/20/25 - 09:00 AM]
Prime Video Reveals First-Look Images and Premiere Date for Adult-Animated Series, "#1 Happy Family USA," from Ramy Youssef
The series follows the maniacally upbeat Husseins - the most patriotic, most peaceful, and most definitely-not-suspicious Muslim family in post-9/11 "Amreeka."
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[02/20/25 - 08:30 AM]
Love Breaks Free - A New Season of "Love After Lockup" Premieres Friday, March 21st on We TV
The new season follows seven couples, including fan favorites from "Love During Lockup," as they discover more love, new doubts, and encounter unforeseen obstacles in their relationships.
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[02/20/25 - 08:20 AM]
AXS TV Dives Deep Into One of Rock's Most Iconic Artists in the Dave Grohl Sunday Marathon, Airing March 9 Starting at 4P ET
Dive deep into the music that defined a generation in this career-spanning celebration of one of rock's most beloved figures.
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[02/20/25 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Visionaries" - Official Trailer - The Roku Channel
Keanu Reeves and Gard Hollinger founded ARCH Motorcycle reimagine motorcycles. Fueled by more than a love of bikes, watch as they search for inspiration from those who help shape the world around us.
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[02/20/25 - 08:01 AM]
Nickelodeon Announces All-New Animated Series "Avatar: Seven Havens" Set in the World of "Avatar: The Last Airbender"
Set in the world of "Avatar: The Last Airbender," the original 26-episode, 2D-animated series centers around a young Earthbender who discovers she's the new Avatar.
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[02/20/25 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Wolf King" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A young commoner comes of age and learns he's the last of a long line of Werewolves - and heir to the throne - in this epic fantasy adventure series.
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