 |
 |
[03/27/08 - 11:05 AM]
Development Update: Thursday, March 27
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!
ANYTOWN BEATDOWN (G4, New!) - "The Celebrity Apprentice" alum/Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Tito Ortiz is developing a new reality series at the cable channel in which friends and rivals resolve their differences by fighting in "The Octagon." G4 has given a pilot order to the project, originally dubbed "Anytown Throwdown," which will track Ortiz as he trains the participants in mixed-martial arts fighting and then lets them duke it out. No other specifics were released.
DOLLHOUSE (FOX) - Tahmoh Penikett ("Battlestar Galactica"), Fran Kranz ("Welcome to the Captain"), Dichen Lachman and Enver Gjokaj are the latest wave of additions to the Eliza Dushku-led drama, about a top-secret world of people programmed with different personalities, abilities and memories depending on their mission. Penikett will play Paul Smith, who's billed in the casting notice as: "30s, any ethnicity, good-looks hardened by a cynical distaste for most of humanity. An FBI field agent, he's been chasing the urban myth of the "Dollhouse" long enough to have lost any shot at promotion. Becomes obsessed with, and twisted romantic foil for, Echo." Kranz then is set as Topher Brink - "20's, any ethnicity, genius programmer who's articulate, nerdily attractive and blithely amoral. He's responsible for imprinting the dolls - and making sure they stay unaware of anything. Is fascinated by the science and kind of digging the illegality. Fun to be around, but might not be remotely trustworthy." - with Lachman as Sierra - "20's, Asian or any ethnicity - certainly not Caucasian. Strikingly beautiful. A Doll like Echo, she has every personality in the world but her own. Is not as self-aware as Echo, but is instinctively drawn to her as a friend." - and Gjokaj as Victor - "20's, any ethnicity, handsome and fit. A Doll, and the other closest thing to a friend Echo has. Childlike when he's inactive, and everything from Errol Flynn to (young) DeNiro when he's active." Joss Whedon is behind the hour, which is based at 20th Century Fox Television.
MYTHOLOGICAL X (CBS) - Rachel Boston, late of FOX's comedy pilot "Hackett," has signed onto the drama pilot, about a woman who, after learning from a psychic that she already has dated the man she's supposed to marry, revisits all her past relationships. She'll play Denise, who's detailed in the casting notice as: "26-32. Michaela's little sister and a bundle of sass and energy. She's fiercely loyal to her older sister, defending her at every turn, mostly when it's unnecessary. She's a professional dancer of the non-exotic variety. She's the girl who had posters of ballet shoes on her walls throughout her youth then went away to college to fully reinforce the negative stereotype of partying, promiscuous dance majors. She makes her living doing videos and commercials but the ageist industry is starting to shun her. She is about to get married to her long-term boyfriend." Diane Ruggiero is behind the 20th Century Fox Television-based hour, which Timothy Busfield is helming.
NY-LON (CBS) - Elisha Cuthbert ("24"), Caterina Scorsone ("1-800-Missing") and Johnny Whitworth ("CSI: Miami") are the first to be cast in the drama pilot, about a New York literacy teacher/record store clerk and a London stock broker who embark on a cross-continental romance. Cuthbert is playing the female lead, Edie Miller, who's detailed via the casting breakdown as follows: "25-29, American, an incredibly appealing, feisty, cool downtown woman who's adopted NY as her home. She teaches adults literacy, and she's totally committed to her students, although she doesn't make much money doing this. She believes in doing what she can to help the world. To make ends meet she also works at a Bleeker Bob's-type used record store for serious music-heads; she loves music. She comes from money but has rejected it, living independently in NYC. Her mother died of cancer when she was young. She's emotional, feisty, strongminded and loyal, someone who women totally identify with and men will follow anywhere. Edie meets Michael (a Brit) on a trip to London. When her bag gets stolen and she finds herself in a bar - broke and without a phone - she asks Michael for help. What starts up as a guarded but flirty exchange ends up as a full-on New York-London relationship, two people not looking for love but falling into it nonetheless."
Scorsone then is set as Astrid - "25-29, American (can be any ethnicity) and Edie's rocker, bohemian, slutty roommate. She's in London with Edie on this fateful trip. She works as a bartender in a funky bar and sleeps around unapologetically. She's totally committed to her "downtown" lifestyle. While she's hip, edgy and audacious, underneath it all, she is clearly lonely. She has relied on sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll to hook up, but we see her vulnerability in that she's in love with Luke, Edie's ex." - with Whitworth as Luke - "Mid-Late 20's, American. Edie's hot, cool, soulful, very sexy bad boy rocker and ex-boyfriend with whom she has recently broken up. His life on the road was too much for her, especially since she suspects he cheated on her. Now that he's just about to "break" as a musician, he doesn't want to be tied down and is totally absorbed with his career. But when his brother, Cookie, dies of an overdose in Edie's apartment (Cookie was house sitting while Edie and Astrid were in London), Luke leans heavily on Edie and quickly realizes that he should never have let her go. He has a long history with Edie and they continue to be attracted to each other. Luke is the guy you've been waiting for forever to come around but never has. Now it feels like he might just be ready. Is it too late? He's intense, he feels things deeply, and he's hot." Rashida Jones, Rachel Miner and David Rogers originated said roles in the U.K. original. Larry Shaw is directing the ABC Studios-based hour from a script by co-creators Lara Runnels and Patti Carr.
THE PRINCE OF MOTOR CITY (ABC, New!) - Playwright Jessica Goldberg, actor Hamish Linklater ("The New Adventures of Old Christine") and executive producers Chris Brancato and Bert Salke are set to team for a new gothic family soap with "Hamlet" overtones set in the world of the Detroit auto business. Goldberg and Linklater penned the pilot script to the project, which is based at ABC Studios. Goldberg, Brancato and Salke then are executive producing with Linklater, who's not attached to star, serving as a consulting producer.
SUMMER HEIGHTS HIGH (HBO, New!) - The pay channel is importing all eight episodes of Chris Lilley's Australian comedy series, a mocumentary about life at a high school. Lilley created and executive produced the half-hour, which sees him assuming three different roles: Mr. G, a self-important, high-strung drama teacher; Ja'mie, a haughty, private-school female exchange student; and Jonah, a delinquent, break-dancing obsessed student. Bruce Kane also serves as an executive producer with Laura Waters producing and Stuart McDonald directing. It's understood HBO plans to pair the series with its new animated series "The Life and Times of Tim" on Friday nights this June.
UNTITLED DAVID HEMINGSON PROJECT (ABC) - David Hemingson's dramedy has been given the green light to produce a pilot. The untitled hour revolves around a recent law school grad with blue collar roots who ends up working in a boutique L.A. firm. Hemingson penned the pilot script and is executive producing for 20th Century Fox Television. The Alphabet originally gave the project a put pilot commitment back in August (read the story).
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
|
|
|
 [april 2024]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[04/22/24 - 09:05 AM]
Smash Hit Home Renovation Competition Series "Rock the Block" Delivers Strong Season Ratings for HGTV
Attracting 13.6 million total viewers since it premiered on Monday, March 4, the seven-episode season boasted strong double-digit ratings gains of 53 percent among Adults 25-54 and 58 percent among Women 25-54 over the prior six weeks.
|
[04/22/24 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Power" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Driven to contain threats to social order, American policing has exploded in scope and scale over hundreds of years. Now, it can be described by one word: power.
|
[04/22/24 - 07:01 AM]
"A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" Coming to Netflix
Commissioned by the BBC, it will first premiere in the UK and Ireland on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer.
|
[04/22/24 - 07:00 AM]
Roku Originals Goes Big with Tentpole Series "The Great American Baking Show" and "Honest Renovations"
The first seasons of both series opened as the #1 on-demand titles on The Roku Channel during their respective opening weekends.
|
[04/22/24 - 07:00 AM]
The Emmy-Nominated Series "Off Script with The Hollywood Reporter" Returns to AMC Networks, Revealing All-Star Talent Lineup for Select Emmy Season Episodes
The new season is set to premiere on Friday, May 24, at a new time of 10 pm PT/1 am ET exclusively on IFC and streaming on AMC+.
|
[04/22/24 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "The Roast of Tom Brady" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Tom Brady will take the hits when sports and comedy stars team up to roast the greatest NFL quarterback of all time.
|
[04/21/24 - 08:31 PM]
Netflix Reveals Cast of 65 Actors for "Joko Anwar's Nightmares and Daydreams", Streaming June 14
Unfolding over seven episodes, the series presents a different story and a new set of actors in each installment.
|
[04/21/24 - 08:01 PM]
Video: "Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf" - Official Trailer - Netflix
On the run from a past crime, Juzo Fujimaki is blackmailed into joining an illicit tournament and has to face top martial artists in deadly match-ups.
|
[04/20/24 - 03:00 PM]
Surprise! New "Bluey" Episode Begins Streaming Tonight on Disney+
"Surprise" arrives following the April 7 episode "Ghostbasket," and last weekend's extended-length special, "The Sign," which captivated audiences around the world.
|
[04/19/24 - 11:47 PM]
Development Update: Week of April 15-19
Updates include: CBS cancels "CSI: Vegas," "So Help Me Todd"; Sabrina Impacciatore, Domhnall Gleeson first to be cast new "The Office" series; and Don Johnson, Phillipa Soo tapped for ABC's "Dr. Odyssey."
|
[04/19/24 - 01:30 PM]
Earth Day 2024 Marked by Unprecedented Content Rollout Across Disney+, Hulu and Disney Entertainment Television to Celebrate the Wonders of ourHOME
Beginning April 19 through April 22, Earth Day-themed content will be spotlighted across ABC News, Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Freeform, FX, FXX, Hulu, National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD and Nat Geo Mundo, with ourHOME collections on Disney+ and Hulu.
|
[04/19/24 - 01:00 PM]
CBS Celebrates 33 Nominations for the "51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards," Airing Live, June 7 on CBS
"The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold And The Beautiful" each received 12 nominations, and "The Talk" received two nominations with the hosts nominated for Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host.
|
[04/19/24 - 12:09 PM]
All-New Docuseries "Expedition from Hell: The Lost Tapes" Premieres Sunday, May 12 on Discovery Channel
The series unfolds a stranger-than-fiction story of Mickey Grosman, a former special forces demolitions expert who took a group of amateur adventurers on a nearly impossible journey across South America.
|
[04/19/24 - 09:00 AM]
"The Iron Claw" Begins Streaming on Max May 10
The film stars Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons, Maura Tierney, with Holt McCallany and Lily James.
|
[04/19/24 - 09:00 AM]
National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) Announces 2024 Daytime Emmy Nominations
The Lifetime Achievement honorees, hosts, presenters, Silver and Gold Circle honorees and telecast categories will be announced at a later date.
|
|
|
|
