or


[08/27/09 - 06:48 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, August 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!


CHUCK (NBC) - Brandon Routh ("Superman Returns") has booked a multi-episode arc on the show's third season. He'll play Shaw, "a mysterious new spy who takes control as the new leader of Operation Bartwoski, becoming a mentor to Chuck and a rival in his affections for Sarah." Routh then will make his first appearance in the season's fourth episode.


DAMAGES (FX) - Campbell Scott, fresh off his recurring stint on "Royal Pains," is set to join the cast of "Damages's" third season. Entertainment Weekly reports details about his character however are being kept under wraps. Production on the new season begins next month for a January premiere.


GIULIANA & BILL (Style) - The cable channel has commissioned a second season of the reality series, about "the lives of the long-distance marriage of E! correspondent Giuliana Rancic in Los Angeles and her Chicago-based husband." Through three weeks the series has "drawn 75% more viewers than Style's primetime average, nearly doubling the network's performance among women 18-49." The show's 10-episode freshman run wraps on October 7 with production on season two set for September. Carmen Mitcho and Jay James of Comcast Entertainment Productions, Sarah Weidman and Merah Chung of Style and the Rancics themselves are the executive producers.


HEATHERS (FOX, New!) - Mark Rizzo ("Zip") is looking to revive the 1989 Christian Slater/Winona Ryder feature as a weekly television series. Sony Pictures Television and Lakeshore Entertainment are behind the project, which would reimagine Veronica Sawyer (Ryder) for the 21st century. The feature film incarnation revolved around Veronica's attempts to navigate a clique of mean girls - all named Heather - only to have them "accidentally" start dying at her and new kid J.D.'s (Slater) hands, "who cover up the deaths by faking them as suicides." No details however were given about the updated take. "Sex and the City" alum Jenny Bicks is on board to executive produce the TV version alongside Rizzo, Gary Lucchesi and Tom Rosenberg.


HITCHED (CBS, New!) - "Chuck's" Josh Schwartz and Matt Miller are set to team for a new multi-camera comedy at the Eye about "a twentysomething newlywed couple navigating their new life together" following their honeymoon. The project, which is set up at Warner Bros. Television, is loosely based on the pair's recent marriages.


LEGEND OF THE SEEKER (Syndication) - Sam Raimi and Joshua Donen's Stars Road Entertainment has inked a two-year, first-look deal with Sony Pictures Television. The pact gives the studio first crack the company's non-horror output for primetime. (Said genre will remain the focus of Raimi's Ghost House Pictures banner.) Robert Zotnowski, fresh from his run as senior VP of drama at CBS, is spearheading the company's TV efforts.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [april 2026]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· CHUCK (NBC)
· DAMAGES (AUDIENCE)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· GIULIANA & BILL (E)
· HEATHERS (PARAMOUNT)
· HITCHED (CBS)
· LEGEND OF THE SEEKER (SYNDICATION)
· ROYAL PAINS (USA)
· SEX AND THE CITY (HBO)
· ZIP (NBC)





[04/02/26 - 12:31 PM]
Paramount+ Greenlights New Reality Series, "Team Moms," Executive Produced by Kim Kardashian and Love Island Producers, ITV
"Team Moms" launches viewers into the world of nationally competitive youth baseball via immersion into the Legendary Prep Academy in Scottsdale, Arizona's first and only baseball prep school.

[04/02/26 - 12:01 PM]
Jamie Bell and Charlie Heaton Lead a New Generation of "Peaky Blinders" and First Look of Bell as Duke Is Revealed
Jessica Brown Findlay, Lashana Lynch, and Lucy Karczewski are also on board.

[04/02/26 - 12:01 PM]
"Wizards Beyond Waverly Place" Returns for One Last Spell This Summer on Disney+ and Disney Channel
Executive producer Selena Gomez to make her directorial debut with the premiere episode.

[04/02/26 - 11:44 AM]
First-Ever "American Idol" Simulcast on ABC and Disney+ Surges Double Digits
Season to date, "American Idol" averages 5.11 million Total Viewers and stands as one of the few shows to notch year-over-year gains this season.

[04/02/26 - 11:11 AM]
Sarah Drew and Eric Johnson to Headline "When I Said I Do" (wt), The New Movie Inspired by Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black's Beloved Duet of the Same Name
The movie is set to premiere Saturday, May 23 at 8/7c as part of the network's upcoming spring "Love of a Lifetime" original movie slate.

[04/02/26 - 11:07 AM]
Thursday Night Heats Up as "9-1-1: Nashville" and "9-1-1" Soar to Best Performance of the Season
On linear over three days, "9-1-1" earned 5.94 million Total Viewers, also nearly matching the show's previous season high in January.

[04/02/26 - 11:05 AM]
Hulu's Critically Acclaimed Comedy Series "Deli Boys" Returns for a Second Season on May 28
Andrew Rannells and Kumail Nanjiani join as recurring guest stars for the second season, alongside series regulars Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh, Poorna Jagannathan and Fred Armisen.

[04/02/26 - 10:58 AM]
ESPN to Present WNBA Expansion Draft Friday, April 3
Malika Andrews will host the special, joined by analysts Carolyn Peck and Monica McNutt.

[04/02/26 - 10:31 AM]
Louis C.K. to Headline the Hollywood Bowl May 5 as Part of Netflix Is a Joke Fest
This summer, his newest stand-up special, "Ridiculous," will premiere globally on Netflix.

[04/02/26 - 10:01 AM]
HBO Original Comedy Special "Ramy Youssef: In Love" Debuts April 17
Whether it's his marriage, being a dog parent, AI, or religion, Ramy comes at everything with his own brand of heart and humor.

[04/02/26 - 09:36 AM]
Netflix Wins Hot Package "The Corrections"; Orders Limited Drama Straight-to-Series Starring Meryl Streep
The series - from Paramount Television Studios - will be directed by Cord Jefferson, and written and adapted by author Jonathan Franzen.

[04/02/26 - 09:10 AM]
Video: "Smiling Friends" - Final Episodes Trailer - Adult Swim
Watch the final two episodes of "Smiling Friends" on Sunday, April 12.

[04/02/26 - 09:01 AM]
"Sofia the First: Royal Magic" Premieres May 25 on Disney Jr. with the First 8 Episodes Streaming Next Day on Disney+
It was also announced today that Moana, Rapunzel, Jasmine, Cinderella, Aurora and Elena of Avalor will make special appearances throughout the series, offering guidance, wisdom and support when Sofia needs it the most.

[04/02/26 - 08:35 AM]
New Faces Join "The Chi" Ensemble Cast for Its Final Season on Paramount+
Daryl Dunning II, Biko Eisen-Martin, Akilah A. Walker, Laila Odom, Liza Jessie Peterson, and Anthony B. Jenkins are among the latest additions.

[04/02/26 - 08:35 AM]
Great American Media Sets "An Accidental Arctic Christmas," Reuniting Beloved Fan Favorites Cameron Mathison and Jill Wagner, From Executive Producer Candace Cameron Bure
Maya Rose Skabar also stars in the film, which will premiere as part of the upcoming all-star Great American Christmas on Great American Pure Flix, Great American Family, and GFAM+.