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[01/11/08 - 06:17 PM]
Development Update: Week of January 7-11
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!
30 DAYS (FX) - Host/executive producer Morgan Spurlock has inked a two-year overall deal with Fox Television Studios. The pact calls for the prolific filmmaker to develop series projects - both for broadcast and new media - for the company via his Warrior Poets banner. He'll also continue his work on the FX series, a co-production of Reveille and Actual Reality, which will roll out its third season sometime this year. Separately, Spurlock is set to debut his new film "Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?" at Sundance later this month.
A&E ORIGINAL SERIES (A&E) - The cable channel is moving forward with three new original series, all of which are expected to roll out in the coming months. First up is "Crime 360" (Base Productions, 17 episodes), a one-hour effort that uses CGI visualizations and state-of-the-art 3-D photography to look at the evidence in investigations of actual crimes. Next is the half-hour "Manhunters: Fugitive Task Force" (Stars & Stripes Media, 11 episodes), which focuses on the work of a Manhattan-based federal agency whose job is to join with state and local agencies to track down dangerous felons on the lam in the greater New York/New Jersey area. Finally, there's "Rookies," a docusoap which tracks a group of recent police academy graduates in their first year on the job. A&E plans to air the series as two separate incarnations - one in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana (Tiger Aspect USA, eight episodes) and another in Tampa, Florida (The Greif Co., eight episodes). The executive producers of the aforementioned projects are John Brenkus and Mickey Stern on "Crime 360," Gary Tarpinian, Stuart Goodman and Vincent Scarza on "Manhunters," Charles Brand, Jamie Munro, Lawrence Cumbo and Christine Connor on the Jefferson Parish edition of "Rookies" and Leslie Greif and Adam Reed on the Tampa edition of "Rookies." For A&E, Rob Sharenow and Laura Fleury will executive produce "Crime 360" and "Manhunters" with Sharenow, Neil A. Cohen and Stephen Harris on "Rookies" (Jefferson Parish) and Sharenow, Cohen and Andy Berg on "Rookies" (Tampa).
APATOW PRODUCTIONS (New!) - Filmmaker Judd Apatow, the mind behind the cult series "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared," has inked a first-look deal with 20th Century Fox Television. The pact gives the studio first crack at any of Apatow's TV efforts. In addition, former 20th executive Nicholas Weinstock has been tapped as the head of development for Apatow's self-titled banner.
DIRT (FX) - The cable channel has announced the show's second season will bow on Sunday, March 2 at 10:00/9:00c. Its return however will be short-lived: only seven of 13 ordered episodes were completed before the WGA strike.
INSEPARABLE (FOX) - Shaun Cassidy's ("Invasion") drama script, previously set up at CBS for 2003-04 season consideration, is being redeveloped by FOX and ABC Studios. The project, a modern-day Jekyll and Hyde tale about a partially paralyzed forensic psychiatrist with a split personality whose alter ego is a charismatic criminal, was resurrected by the studio as part of his overall deal. In an interesting twist however, FOX has given the go ahead to cast the hour despite Cassidy not turning in a revised draft of the script due to the WGA strike. No official pilot order however will be given until Cassidy's updated script is completed.
SONS OF ANARCHY (A.K.A. FOREVER SAM CROW) (FX) - Charlie Hunnam, Scott Glenn and Katey Sagal have all been cast in the pilot, a drama set in the world of motorcycle clubs. Hunnam will play the lead role of Jackson "Jax" Teller, who's described in the casting notice as follows: "25-33, Caucasian. Handsome in a broken cowboy kind of way, an expert mechanic with lots of tattoos and scars on his arms, he is the vice-president of SAMCRO, and is the son of the founder, John Teller. The motorcycle club life is all he has ever known, but Jax is starting to have his doubts -- doubts that could invalidate the last 32 years of his life. Jax is a paradox on two wheels: he's intelligent, sensitive and reflective, yet quick-tempered and dangerously reactive, a man who can anguish over his sick child yet drive a pool cue into an enemy's groin. Jax's enemies are multiplying these days: rival Latin and White Supremacist gangs have joined forces to rip off SAMCRO's stash of weapons. The father of a premature baby (born too soon because his pregnant ex-wife Wendy took too many drugs while carrying the baby), Jax has been studying his late father's journals, and he's begun to question SAMCRO's "outlaw = criminal" business model. He begins to foster a belief that his club's commitment to the MC lifestyle may not have to include selling arms. But this shift in philosophy seems destined to bring him into deadly confrontation with his foster father, Clay Morrow." Glenn then is set as Jack's aforementioned stepfather, the president and patriarch of the club, with Sagal as Jack's mother and the matriarch of the club. In addition, Allen Coulter has signed on to direct the hour while Fox 21 has been tapped to co-produce alongside FX Productions. Kurt Sutter penned the pilot script and is executive producing alongside Art Linson and John Linson. Production is set to begin in mid-February.
THE TWO COREYS (A&E) - The network has renewed the Corey Haim/Corey Feldman series for a second season of 10 half-hour episodes. RDF USA ("Wife Swap") and Tijuana Entertainment ("Breaking Bonaduce") are behind the project, which is expected to return sometime in the spring. Haim and Feldman, longtime friends best known for their various 1980s films, were last seen feuding at the end of season one and apparently have not seen each other since. The new season then will pick up as they finally reunite and decide whether to work through their differences or part ways. While exact numbers weren't released, A&E noted the show's first season delivered a 28% and 40% growth from the network's primetime average among adults 25-54 and 18-49, respectively. Feldman and Haim also serve as executive producers alongside RDF's Greg Goldman, Chris Coelen and Tony Yates; Tijuana's Troy Searer and John Foy; and A&E's Rob Sharenow, Michael Morrison and Scott Lonker.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[06/11/24 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Renews "After Midnight," Hosted by Taylor Tomlinson, for the 2024-2025 Broadcast Season
"Taylor is a gifted comedian who brings a unique voice, energy and plenty of rizz to late night (I learned rizz is a real word thanks to the show.) We're excited for more of her daily smart takes about the dumbest things on the internet," said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment.
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[06/11/24 - 11:00 AM]
Emmy Award Winner Nate Burleson to Host "Hollywood Squares"
The celebrity-stacked game show, starring Drew Barrymore as the famed center square, will air Wednesdays (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) starting in January on the CBS Television Network.
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[06/11/24 - 10:06 AM]
FOX MLB's "Baseball Night in America," Highlighted by Dodgers-Yankees, Averages 2.9 Million Viewers
It also ties as FOX MLB's most-watched regular season Saturday baseball telecast in six years.
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[06/11/24 - 10:00 AM]
HBO Original Two-Part Documentary "One South: Portrait of a Psych Unit" Debuts June 25
This intimate look behind the locked doors of one of the only inpatient units in the U.S. that specializes in treating college students follows several young patients undergoing treatment for serious mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, and personality disorders.
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[06/11/24 - 09:31 AM]
Netflix & Shondaland Announce the Original & Cover Song List Featured in "Bridgerton" Season 3: Part 2
Following the release of the soundtrack for Season 3: Part 1, acclaimed composer Kris Bowers returns with an additional line up of contemporary pop songs transformed into instrumental covers for Part 2.
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[06/11/24 - 09:01 AM]
Peacock Announces New Original True Crime Documentary from Executive Producer Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson "TikTok Star Murders"
Premiering June 25 on Peacock, "TikTok Star Murders" delves into how the seemingly picture-perfect relationship between TikTok personality Ali Abulaban and his wife Ana turned deadly through private, never-before-aired cellphone footage and audio.
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[06/11/24 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Homicide: Los Angeles" - Official Trailer - Netflix
The new docuseries illuminates the stories of notorious murder cases as told by the people who know them best: the detectives and prosecutors who cracked them.
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[06/11/24 - 09:01 AM]
ESPN Announces Television Start Times and Windows for Remainder of 2024 SEC Football Season
Designating windows for all games after Week 3 prior to the start of the season is a new benefit of the new conference rights agreement between the Southeastern Conference and ESPN kicking off this fall.
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[06/11/24 - 09:00 AM]
Video: Prime Video Reveals Official Trailer and Key Art for Upcoming Series "Sausage Party: Foodtopia"
The series will premiere all eight episodes of the outrageous comedy exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories around the world on July 11.
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[06/11/24 - 08:53 AM]
ESPN's Exclusive Coverage of Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees on June 9 Draws Largest "Sunday Night Baseball" Audience in Two Years
The broadcast averaged 2,300,000 viewers and peaked with 2,620,000 viewers from 9:15-9:30 pm. ET.
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[06/11/24 - 08:04 AM]
AMC Networks Greenlights Third Series in Its Anne Rice Immortal Universe, A New Drama Set in the Secretive World of The Talamasca
With a working title of "Anne Rice's The Talamasca" and slated for a 2025 premiere, the series will feature the men and women responsible for tracking and containing the witches, vampires, werewolves and other creatures scattered around the globe.
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[06/11/24 - 08:03 AM]
Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix Earns Its Largest Live U.S. Television Audience Ever
The audience peaked at 1.97 million viewers between 3-3:15 p.m.
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[06/11/24 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Arcane" Season 2 - Official Teaser - Netflix
Creators Christian Linke and Alex Yee also confirm the upcoming season is the final chapter of award-winning series.
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[06/11/24 - 07:29 AM]
TNT Sports Reaches Expansive Agreement with French Tennis Federation to Be New Home of Roland-Garros in the U.S. Beginning in 2025
This new expansive deal - building on Eurosport's 35-year relationship with Roland-Garros - will make Warner Bros. Discovery the largest global broadcast partner to Roland-Garros and it will bring fans the most comprehensive coverage of the prestigious event ever in the United States.
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[06/11/24 - 07:01 AM]
Max Arrives in France and Poland, and Enhanced Offering Rolls Out in Netherlands and Belgium Completing Initial Phase of European Launches
Following these latest launches, Max is available in 25 countries in Europe, spanning Iberia, France, Benelux, Nordics, and Central and Eastern Europe and 65 countries and territories in total globally.
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