or


[09/11/04 - 12:00 AM]
Development Update: September 8-10
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 pilots and other projects in development? Be sure to check out our detailed production chart listings by clicking here.

C.S.I.: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (Spike TV) - The cable channel's Labor Day marathon of the hit CBS series (9 a.m. eastern Monday to 3 a.m. on Tuesday) averaged a solid 1.9 household rating (2.29 million total viewers), making it the most-watched day of programming in the network's history. Said "C.S.I." marathon broke the previous all-day record set by a day of "Star Trek" movies in 2001 by 44%. Among the marathon's various benchmarks were 409,000 households at 9:00 a.m., 1.3 million at noon, 1.9 million at 4:00 p.m. and a peak of 2.4 million homes at 8:00 p.m. Overall, Spike was the most-watched ad-supported cable network in adults 18-49 and adults 18-34 for the day.

CABLE MOVIE PREMIERES (Various) - Several cable movie premieres have been announced in the past week: A&E's "The Brooke Ellison Story," from director Christopher Reeve (Monday, October 25 at 8:00/7:00c), Lifetime's "Plain Truth," starring Mariska Hargitay and Alison Pill (Monday, October 4 at 9:00/8:00c), TNT's "The Librarian," featuring Noah Wyle (Sunday, December 5 at TBA) and two ABC Family originals, "Searching for David's Heart," starring Danielle Panabaker and Ricky Ullman (Sunday, November 21st at 8:00/7:00c) and "Snow," starring Tom Cavanagh and Ashley Williams (Sunday, December 12 at 8:00/7:00c).

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR (NBC, New!) - The Peacock has given a hefty $2 million put pilot commitment to a new drama project from writer Shane Salerno ("U.C.: Undercover") and actor Ray Liotta ("Goodfellas"). "Behavior" revolves around the Major Crimes Unit of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, whose focus is apprehending the city's most dangerous fugitives before they commit more crimes. Liotta, whose involvement reportedly will earn him a seven-figure paycheck, is set as Frank Nolan, a detective-sergeant who leads the team. He'll also serve as a producer on the project, which is set up at NBC Universal Television. "Of all the stuff I've written, I came across one statistic that blew my mind: 10% of the most active criminals are responsible for 50% of a city's crime," Salerno told Daily Variety. "Eliminate 10% of the criminals and you eliminate 50% of the crime -- that was an incredibly cool concept for me." As for additional details, Liotta's character will begin dating a woman with a 3-year-old daughter later in the series which will show the dichotomy between his home and work life. Jordan Davis, the wife of feature producer John Davis ("Heartbreakers"), is credited as the originator of the concept. It's not clear however whether either Davis will be regularly involved with the series. "Behavior" was also said to be the focus of a four-network bidding war, no doubt leading to NBC's substantial commitment to the project.

GIRLFRIENDS (BET) - The cable channel has confirmed its off-network run of the series will kick off Tuesday, October 5 at 8:30/7:30c. Episodes will run in that slot every Tuesday through Thursday.

HOW CLEAN IS YOUR HOUSE? (Lifetime) - Lifetime's latest reality entry averaged 1.39 million households for its premiere on Monday, making it the most-watched reality series' debut in the network's history. "House" also came in second in the time period among women 18-49 and 25-54 as well as placed 33% above the network's household average of the previous four weeks.

J.A.G. (Hallmark) - Hallmark's off-network acquisition of the long-running CBS drama is set to premiere Sunday, October 3 at 11:00/10:00c on the cable channel. Episodes will run weekdays at 8:00/7:00c in addition to its Sunday, 11:00/10:00c airings.

JANE DOE (Hallmark, New!) - Lea Thompson ("For the People") and Joe Penny ("Jake and the Fatman") are set to topline one of Hallmark's three movie franchises set to begin in January (the others being the John Larroquette-led "McBride" and the Kellie Martin-led "Mystery Woman"). Thompson will play Cathy Davis in the project, a soccer mom with an extraordinary ability to solve puzzles who has a secret life as an independent contractor working for the government. Penny will play Cathy's former partner in a top-secret government operation while Bill Moses has also been cast as Cathy's husband. It's understood each of the Hallmark franchises will consist of four two-hour movies, each rotating as part of the network's Sunday lineup.

THE O.C. (FOX) - Peter Johnson, a former senior VP of drama development at FOX, has been named the president of McG and Stephanie Savage's production company Wonderland Sound and Vision. He'll oversee the company's two current series - "The O.C." and the WB's "Mountain" - as well as new and upcoming projects such as "Athens," also at FOX.

THE RIVERMAN (A&E) - 3.4 million viewers tuned into the network's original movie premiere on Monday, including an A&E movie record among adults 25-54 (1.9 million viewers). Said broadcast also fared well among adults 18-49, pulling in 1.5 million viewers.

SMOKE (FOX, New!) - Writer Robert Peacock ("Blue Collar TV") is developing a new one-hour drama at the network about a North Carolina family in the tobacco business, with an emphasis on the young rich kids who plan to spearhead the next generation of the cigarette-making dynasty. The project is set up at the 20th Century Fox Television-based Original Television, with the company's Marty Adelstein and Dawn Parouse executive producing alongside Peacock.

STONE COLD (CBS, New!) - Tom Selleck's ("The Culpepper Cattle Company") latest effort for the Eye will be a TV adaptation of Robert Parker's novel of the same name, about a world-weary, alcohol-loving police chief who has to put his personal house in order before tackling a series of murders. Selleck will topline and executive produce the project along with Michael Brandman for Sony Pictures Television.

THE SURREAL LIFE (VH1) - 1.7 million viewers tuned into the show's third season premiere on Sunday, making it the most-watched broadcast on the channel this year. "Life" also fared particularly well among adults 18-49 (1.3 million). Not so lucky was lead-in "In Search of the Partridge Family," which averaged 546,000 total viewers, including 431,000 among adults 18-49, for its premiere. Said performance for "Life" has led VH1 to give Mark Cronin's Mindless Entertainment the green light to begin casting a fourth installment of the series. In addition, Mindless has upped James Rowley and Stephanie Fisch to head development at the company, which recently received second season orders for IFC's "Ultimate Film Fanatic" and GSN's "Extreme Dodgeball." Mindless is also hard at work co-producing the Merv Griffin Enterprises' reality contest "Comedy College" and is behind the Seth Green ping-pong series "King Pong" as well as the Comedy Central pilot presentation "Have You Got Balls?" The latter features host (and co-creator) Tim Stack ("Son of the Beach") as he pulls random male contestants from a sports bar to compete in various challenges.

SURRENDER, DOROTHY (CBS, New!) - Diane Keaton is set to star and executive produce a small screen adaptation of Meg Wolitzer's novel of the same name, about an ultratight mother-daughter relationship that ends abruptly after the daughter dies in an accident. Wendy Finerman ("Forrest Gump") and Bill Robinson ("Elephant") are also on board to executive produce the Sony Pictures Television project, which will begin production next month for an expected 2005 air date.

UNTITLED ALICE GRECZYN PROJECT (FOX, New!) - Newcomer Alice Greczyn ("Sleepover") has signed a talent holding deal with the network. The actress was recently featured on an episode of FOX's "Quintuplets." The pact will no doubt place Greczyn in one of FOX's current or in development projects.

UNTITED DAVE ATTELL PROJECT (FOX, New!) - Dave Attell ("Insomniac With Dave Attell") has inked a talent holding deal with the network and 20th Century Fox Television to topline a new comedy project for the pair. It's not clear if Attell himself will write the project, additional details of which were not available.

UNTITLED ED REDLICH/SARAH TIMBERMAN PROJECT (CBS, New!) - The husband and wife team of Ed Redlich and Sarah Timberman have scored a put pilot commitment at the Eye for a new legal procedural forensic series set in a prosecutor's office. The project will be set up at Timberman's Warner Bros. Television-based 25C Productions. Said untitled project was reportedly the focus of a bidding war between three different networks. Redlich will write the script to the pilot and executive produce alongside Timberman and 25C head of creative affairs Carl Beverly.

UNTITLED ROBERT PEACOCK PROJECT (FOX, New!) - Writer Robert Peacock ("Blue Collar TV") has also set up a half-hour comedy at the network, from the 20th Century Fox Television-based Imagine Television. Said project, described as "Bull Durham" meets "Petticoat Junction," focuses on a Southern dad who, following the finish of his baseball career, ends up with custody of his three city-raised teenage daughters. Imagine's Katie O'Connell, David Nevins and Brian Grazer will executive produce the untitled project alongside Peacock. Peacock's last original project was the failed NBC pilot "Alligator Point" during the 2003 development season.

WILL & GRACE (NBC) - NBC Universal Television has signed three of the show's writers to seven-figure overall deals at the studio. Co-executive producer Gary Janetti has inked a three-year pact while the team of Tracy Poust and John Kinnally, who also serve as co-executive producers on the series, have signed on for two more years. Each pact keeps the writers at "Will & Grace" for the foreseeable future as well as features a development component.

Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [september 2004]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· ALLIGATOR POINT (NBC)
· ATHENS (FOX)
· BLUE COLLAR TV (WB)
· BROOKE ELLISON STORY, THE (A AND E)
· CONVICTION (CBS)
· CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR (NBC)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· CULPEPPER CATTLE COMPANY, THE (CBS)
· FOR THE PEOPLE (LIFETIME)
· GIRLFRIENDS (CW)
· HOW CLEAN IS YOUR HOUSE? (LIFETIME)
· IN SEARCH OF THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY (VH1)
· INSOMNIAC WITH DAVID ATTELL (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· JAG (CBS)
· JANE DOE (HALLMARK)
· JANE DOE (HALLMARK)
· JANE DOE (HALLMARK)
· JANE DOE (HALLMARK)
· LIBRARIAN, THE: QUEST FOR THE SPEAR (TNT)
· MCBRIDE (HALLMARK)
· MCBRIDE (HALLMARK)
· MCBRIDE (HALLMARK)
· MCBRIDE (HALLMARK)
· MOUNTAIN, THE (WB)
· MYSTERY WOMAN (HALLMARK)
· MYSTERY WOMAN (HALLMARK)
· MYSTERY WOMAN (HALLMARK)
· MYSTERY WOMAN (HALLMARK)
· MYSTERY WOMAN (HALLMARK)
· NEW CAR SMELL (FOX)
· OC, THE (FOX)
· PLAIN TRUTH (LIFETIME)
· QUINTUPLETS (FOX)
· RIVERMAN, THE (A AND E)
· SEARCHING FOR DAVID'S HEART (ABC FAMILY)
· SMOKE (FOX)
· SNOW (ABC FAMILY)
· SON OF THE BEACH (FX)
· STONE COLD (CBS)
· SURREAL LIFE, THE (VH1)
· SURRENDER, DOROTHY (CBS)
· UC: UNDERCOVER (NBC)
· UNTITLED ROBERT PEACOCK PROJECT (FOX)
· WILL & GRACE (NBC)
· WINDFALL (NBC)





[06/17/26 - 12:14 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of June 8
"Off Campus," "Every Year After," "Spider-Noir," "Clarkson's Farm," and "The Boys" led all original series worldwide.

[06/17/26 - 12:00 PM]
Disney+ Announces Season Four of "The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder" and New Holiday Special "A Proud Family Wizmas"
The fourth and final season will premiere on Wednesday, July 29, ahead of the beloved series' 25th anniversary.

[06/17/26 - 11:22 AM]
Lifetime Announces Five New Movies for July and August
"He Couldn't Let Go," "Crowning at the Prom," "Girl in the Coffin," "Killer Clown," and "She Stole My Son's Heart" will premiere on successive Saturdays beginning July 11.

[06/17/26 - 10:29 AM]
"BET Awards" 2026 Reveals First Wave of Performers
As Culture's Biggest Night approaches, BET will continue to unveil additional performers, presenters, special guests, and surprise moments leading up to the live broadcast, hosted by Druski, airing Sunday, June 28 at 8 PM ET/PT on BET from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

[06/17/26 - 10:14 AM]
Video: "The Welcome Table" - Official Trailer - HBO
From Oscar-nominated director Josh Fox, the film tells the story of climate migrants across six continents, centering the voices and experiences of survivors on the front lines of the climate crisis.

[06/17/26 - 10:07 AM]
"Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross" Season 2 - Streaming on The Roku Channel July 20th
She's back, packing her bags and inviting audiences to join her solo trips to Australia, Thailand, and Switzerland to experience the joy of solo travel.

[06/17/26 - 10:03 AM]
Starz Picks Up Timely and Riveting Queer Drama "Tip Toe," Starring Alan Cumming and David Morrissey to Air in 2026
Starring Alan Cumming and David Morrissey as warring neighbors, the five-part series will premiere exclusively on Starz later this year.

[06/17/26 - 10:01 AM]
New Series "Homestead Rescue: Intervention" Pushes Wilderness Expert Raney Family Into Their Most Emotional and High-Stakes Rescues of Off-Gridders Living Beyond the Edge of Survival
The series premieres Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel.

[06/17/26 - 09:20 AM]
NBC's "Macy's 4th of July Fireworks" Celebrates 50th Anniversary with Star-Studded Lineup of Musical Artists
The star-studded event will feature performances by Noah Kahan, Post Malone, Salt-N-Pepa, Bebe Rexha, Shaboozey and Blake Shelton.

[06/17/26 - 09:05 AM]
New City. New Experts. Bold New Era of Love. Season 20 of Peacock's "Married at First Sight" Returns Sunday, July 12
Featuring more couples than ever before, a brand-new panel of experts, fresh dynamics and deeper emotional stakes, Season 20 reimagines the groundbreaking social experiment that has captivated audiences for two decades.

[06/17/26 - 09:01 AM]
BET Returns to Its Stand-Up Comedy Roots with "ComicView: Rooftop Series," Hosted by Chris "CP" Powell, Premiering June 30
Each episode spotlights three of the funniest comics delivering sharp, unfiltered takes on culture, family, and real life - from a Hollywood rooftop.

[06/17/26 - 09:00 AM]
Prime Video Greenlights Season Two of "One Night in Idaho: The College Murders"
The series returns for a new season with unprecedented first-time, exclusive access to the police and lead investigators who bore the weight of a nation's obsession and - until now - were unable to tell their story due to a gag order on the case.

[06/17/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Susana and Elvira: No Plan B" - Official Trailer - Netflix
After a fallout abroad, two former best friends reluctantly reunite to plan a high-profile wedding for the hottest artists in town - with no backup plan.

[06/17/26 - 07:44 AM]
CNN FlashDoc "Chasing Soccer Glory: America's Long Game" Now Streaming on the CNN App
More than three decades after the World Cup last came to the United States, "Chasing Soccer Glory" examines how soccer evolved from a niche sport into a cultural force, and why the promise of the U.S. Men's National Team remains unfulfilled.

[06/17/26 - 07:41 AM]
Video: MGM+ Debuts Official Trailer, Key Art and New Photos for Gritty Drama Series "The Westies" Starring Academy Award-Winner J.K. Simmons
The eight-episode series will premiere with two episodes on Sunday, July 12, followed by a weekly release on MGM+ in the U.S., the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia.