or


[01/19/07 - 12:37 AM]
Development Update: Friday, January 19
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!


BUSINESS CLASS (NBC) - Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein's single-camera comedy has been given a cast-contingent pilot order. The NBC Universal Television-based half-hour revolves around the absurd adventures of two traveling soda salesmen. The pair wrote the script and will executive produce alongside Dutch Oven's Doug Liman and David Bartis.

Commitment: Cast-contingent (previously script)
Cast: TBA
Writers: Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Bill Oakley, Dave Bartis (Dutch Oven Productions), Doug Liman (Dutch Oven Productions), Josh Weinstein
Studio: NBC Universal Television Studio


THE CAPTAIN (CBS, New!) - "Meet the Parents" screenwriter John Hamburg has booked a pilot order from the Eye for a new single-camera comedy about a young writer whose life changes when he moves into a legendary old Hollywood apartment building. He wrote the pilot script and will direct and executive produce the half-hour, which is based at CBS Paramount Network Television.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: TBA
Writer: John Hamburg
Director: John Hamburg
Executive Producers: John Hamburg
Studio: CBS Paramount Network Television


FAST FORWARD (FOX, New!) - Marla Ginsburg ("Highlander") and screenwriter Neena Beber ("How to Deal") are developing a new drama at the network about a young female attorney in New York City. Beber will pen the pilot script and executive produce alongside Ginsburg and Bob Cooper's Fox Television Studios-based Landscape Entertainment.

Commitment: Script
Cast: TBA
Writer: Neena Beber
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Bob Cooper (Landscape Entertainment), Marla Ginsburg, Neena Beber
Studio: Fox Television Studios


THE MARTINI KID (FOX, New!) - Don Woodard and Tom Maxwell ("Just Shoot Me") are set to team with Bob Cooper's Landscape Entertainment for a potential new comedy at the network. The Fox Television Studios-based half-hour is a single-camera comedy about a socially inept lawyer. Woodard and Maxwell will pen the pilot script and executive produce alongside Cooper.

Commitment: Script
Cast: TBA
Writers: Don Woodard, Tom Maxwell
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Bob Cooper (Landscape Entertainment), Don Woodard, Tom Maxwell
Studio: Fox Television Studios


PROTECT & SERVE (CBS) - The Gary Scott Thompson-produced hour, about cops living in the Los Angeles suburbs who deal with the stress of police life on and off the job, has been ordered to pilot. Mark Gibson and Phillip Halprin penned the pilot script and will apparently executive produce alongside the NBC Universal Television-based Thompson.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot (previously script)
Cast: TBA
Writers: Mark Gibson, Philip Halprin
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Gary Scott Thompson, Mark Gibson, Philip Halprin
Studio: NBC Universal Television Studio


THEM (FOX) - FOX has ordered to pilot its small screen take on Michael Oeming and Daniel Berman's graphic novel "Six," about an alien agent who must locate a rogue operative on Earth and finds himself tempted by the planet's offerings. David Eick and John McNamara penned the pilot script to the CBS Paramount Network Television-based hour which Jonathan Mostow will direct. The trio will also executive produce with Circle of Confusion's David Alpert, David Engel and Lawrence Mattis serving as co-executive producers.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot (previously script with penalty)
Cast: TBA
Writers: David Eick, John McNamara
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Executive Producers: David Eick, John McNamara, Jonathan Mostow
Co-Executive Producers: David Alpert (Circle of Confusion), David Engel (Circle of Confusion), Lawrence Mattis (Circle of Confusion)
Studio:


UNTITLED ALEC SOKOLOW/JOEL COHEN PROJECT (NBC, New!) - Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen ("Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties") are developing a new single-camera half-hour at the Peacock. The romantic comedy, full details of which weren't specified, will be written and executive produced by the duo and Bob Cooper's Fox Television Studios-based Landscape Entertainment.

Commitment: Script
Cast: TBA
Writers: Alec Sokolow, Joel Cohen
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Bob Cooper (Landscape Entertainment), Alec Sokolow, Joel Cohen
Studio: Fox Television Studios


UNTITLED DAVID ISRAEL/JIM O'DOHERTY PROJECT (NBC, New!) - David Israel and Jim O'Doherty ("The Tracy Morgan Show") have landed a cast-contingent pilot order for a new workplace comedy about the eccentric staff at a popular wildlife park. The pair wrote the pilot script and will executive produce for NBC Universal Television alongside Conaco Productions' Conan O'Brien, Jeff Ross and David Kissinger.

Commitment: Cast-contingent
Cast: TBA
Writers: David Israel, Jim O'Doherty
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Conan O'Brien (Conaco Productions), David Israel, David Kissinger (Conaco Productions), Jeff Ross (Conaco Productions), Jim O'Doherty
Studio: NBC Universal Television Studio


THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BARNES (A.K.A. UNTITLED TOM WHEELER PROJECT) (The CW) - Tom Wheeler's dramedy for the netlet has both a title and a pilot presentation order. The Warner Bros. Television-based hour revolves around two cheeky Princeton students who use their skills to help solve crimes. Andrew Plotkin and Steve Pearlman of Class IV Productions are executive producing the project alongside Wheeler.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot (previously script)
Cast: TBA
Writer: Tom Wheeler
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Andrew Plotkin (Class IV Productions), Steve Pearlman (Class IV Productions), Tom Wheeler
Studio: Warner Bros. Television


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [january 2007]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· BUSINESS CLASS (NBC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FAST FORWARD (FOX)
· JUST SHOOT ME (NBC)
· MARTINI KID, THE (FOX)
· PROTECT & SERVE (CBS)
· THEM (FOX)
· TRACY MORGAN SHOW, THE (NBC)
· UNTITLED SOKOLOW & COHEN PROJECT (NBC)
· WELCOME TO THE CAPTAIN (CBS)
· WILDLIFE (NBC)
· WORLD ACCORDING TO BARNES, THE (CW)





[05/29/26 - 03:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Newsmagazine, Leading "Dateline" in Total Viewers for the 5th Consecutive Broadcast Season
"20/20" improved on the previous season in Total Viewers (+5%/+170,000 - 3.672 million vs. 3.502 million).

[05/29/26 - 03:01 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers Sunday Morning and in Late-Night
"Nightline" posted double-digit gains week to week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[05/29/26 - 01:01 PM]
Video: Peacock Releases Summer Sizzle for "Days of Our Lives"
Audiences can access the past season and new episodes every weekday.

[05/29/26 - 10:38 AM]
Video: We TV and All Reality Unveil Sneak Peek of All New Original Unscripted Series "Age Inappropriate"
The eight episode series is set to premiere this August, exclusively on We TV and All Reality.

[05/29/26 - 10:01 AM]
Hallmark Channel's Annual "Christmas in July" Programming Event Returns June 26 with Four Original Movie Premieres
Plus: Hallmark+ subscribers will be treated to a second season of sailing the high seas with their favorite Hallmark stars in "Christmas at Sea," available to stream on Wednesday, July 1.

[05/29/26 - 08:01 AM]
Paramount+ Sets U.S. and International Premiere for "Wild Cherry"
The acclaimed six-part BBC thriller from the U.K., will stream exclusively on Paramount+ on June 24 in the U.S., Canada, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and Latin America.

[05/29/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "A Different World" - Official Teaser - Netflix
The new class just enrolled. "A Different World" premieres on Netflix September 24.

[05/29/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: HBO Releases Official Trailer for Season Three of Original Drama Series "House of the Dragon"
Based on George R.R. Martin's "Fire & Blood," the series, set 200 years before the events of "Game of Thrones," tells the story of House Targaryen.

[05/29/26 - 06:06 AM]
Tubi's New Exclusive Series "Deestroying the Pitch" Premieres on June 4th
The series follows YouTube star Deestroying (Donald De La Haye) as he hits the streets of Los Angeles, Miami and Toronto to uncover the soul of soccer through a 1v1 competition as the World Cup lands in North America.

[05/29/26 - 06:00 AM]
Disney+ Greenlights New Docuseries from Maximum Effort Following SailGP's BONDS Flying Roos Australian Team and Co-Owners Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds
Blending humor, pressure and behind-the-scenes access, the series captures life inside one of the world's most demanding sports leagues as the team operates as a tight-knit family built on trust and camaraderie.

[05/29/26 - 03:01 AM]
Video: "Physical 100: Italy" - Official Trailer - Netflix
One hundred Italian athletes face brutal physical challenges, each battling to outlast the rest and claim the glory of becoming the one true champion.

[05/28/26 - 11:31 PM]
Video: "The Pyramid Scheme" - Official Trailer - Prime Video
The series follows the story of Goldy, an ambitious but impatient young man, whose quest to get rich through a pyramid marketing business spirals into a rollercoaster of chaos - risking not just his future, but also the love and trust of his close-knit joint family.

[05/28/26 - 05:01 PM]
Gripping Suspense Drama Series "Notes from the Last Row" Premieres June 26
A failed writer-turned-professor finds rare talent in a student's writing - and grows obsessed with his draft as their private lessons go off course.

[05/28/26 - 03:32 PM]
Acorn TV Renews Breakout Murder Mystery Series "You're Killing Me," Starring and Executive Produced by Brooke Shields
Season two, which will again be set in the quaint Maine town of Founder's Cove, will also consist of six, hour-long episodes and go into production later this year.

[05/28/26 - 03:23 PM]
2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Presented by Dunkin' Finishes Strong with Average Audience of 7.4 Million Viewers Across ESPN and ABC
Additionally, Game 4 on ESPN averaged 7.2 million viewers, marking the most-viewed Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 across any network since 2018.