[12/11/12 - 11:14 PM] Development Update: Tuesday, December 11 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!
DARCY'S TOWN (Lifetime, New!) - Sheryl J. Anderson ("Charmed") has sold a potential drama to the cable channel billed as "a modern retelling of Jane Austen's literary classic Pride and Prejudice set in a small Virginia town." Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jeanie Bradley's Fedora Films and Cineflix are behind the hour, which Anderson presumably will executive produce alongside said duo. (THR.com)DOUBLE DOWN (HBO, New!) - The pay channel has optioned Mark Halperin and John Heilemann's proposed follow up to their book-turned-telefilm "Game Change," this time "an account of this year's presidential election that saw President Barack Obama defeat GOP challenger Mitt Romney." Director Jay Roach and writer Danny Strong are deemed likely to return for the sequel should it move forward. (THR.com)JULIET IMMORTAL (ABC Family, New!) - Stacey Jay's young-adult novel - a mash up of William Shakespeare's literary classic in which "Juliet was murdered by her new husband, Romeo, as a sacrifice to ensure his immortality" - is being eyed as a potential drama at the network. Jay herself is penning the hour, which would track Juliet as she is granted eternity and "spends her days fighting her former beloved to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent." (THR.com)MOGULS (Bravo, New!) - Screenwriter Charles Randolph ("Love and Other Drugs") and playwright Sharyn Rothstein are developing a new drama at the network about "a media mogul and his family that is described as being similar in tone to Aaron Sorkin's 'The West Wing.'" They'll co-write the hour with Randolph serving as an executive producer alongside Michael Jackson and Rothstein as a supervising producer. No studio was indicated. (THR.com)MOM (CBS, New!) - Comedy juggernaut Chuck Lorre has received a pilot production order for a new half-hour about "a newly sober single mom who tries to pull her life together in Napa Valley." Eddie Gorodetsky and Gemma Baker ("Two and a Half Men") co-wrote the multi-camera comedy on spec alongside Lorre and will executive produce for Warner Bros. Television, home to Lorre's recent four-year overall deal. (Deadline.com)RECOVERY ROAD (ABC Family, New!) - Blake Nelson's book, about "a high school girl who finds love at rehab, where she's seeking treatment for a drinking and temper problem, and what happens to the couple once they leave recovery," is likewise being developed as a drama at the cable channel. Craig Piligian's Pilgrim Studios is behind the hour, which is currently searching for a writer. (THR.com)WE HATE PAUL REVERE (AMC, New!) - Ethan Sandler and Adrian Wenner ("Whitney") have sold a period comedy to the cable channel about "two brothers living in Colonial Boston who are not fans of local industrialist and activist Paul Revere." No other details were given about the half-hour, which said duo will write and presumably executive produce. (Deadline.com)WEIRD DESK (ABC) - The Alphabet has rescinded its 13-episode straight-to-series order for the drama, about the workings of a clandestine organization "tasked with investigating and solving occurrences of the paranormal, supernatural and sometimes extra-terrestrial." Said decision reportedly was made over concerns production could get up and running in time for a summer bow as well as potential concept overlap with its drama pilot "Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D." Carl Binder and David N. Titcher were behind the hour, which was set up at ABC Studios and Shaftesbury Films. (Deadline.com)AND IN OTHER NEWS... - Casting has begun on FOX's drama "Rake" and comedy "I Suck at Girls" in anticipation of official pilot orders (Deadline.com); Netflix is expected to expand the episode order for its "Arrested Development" revival from 10 to 12-15 episodes (Deadline.com); "Storage Wars" cast member Dave Hester is suing A&E and producer Original Productions "claiming he was wrongfully terminated after he accused the show of committing fraud" (EW.com); James Cromwell will recur on NBC's "Do No Harm" as renowned surgeon (TVGuide.com); and Theo Rossi is bound for "Law & Order: SVU" as "a working-class Catholic who is determined to seek justice for his sister when he finds that she was part of a church cover-up" (TVLine.com).
[06/19/13 - 01:39 PM] TNT Bumps Newcomer "72 Hours" to Friday Nights The reality competition series, which had been airing on Thursdays at 9:00/8:00c, will relocate to Fridays effective immediately.
[06/19/13 - 12:17 PM] ESPN to Present World Series of Poker Main Event To kick off ESPN's WSOP coverage, the inaugural World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific Main Event Final Table will air on Tuesday, July 23.
