or


[03/09/07 - 12:13 AM]
Development Update: Friday, March 9
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!


THE BEAST (FOX) - Steve Howey ("Reba") has been tapped for the lead role on the comedy pilot, about a womanizing veterinarian (Howey). Howey's casting lifts said contingency off the pilot's production.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot (previously cast-contingent)
Cast: Steve Howey
Writer: Tucker Cawley
Director: TBA
Executive Producers: Tucker Cawley
Studios: CBS Paramount Network Television, FremantleMedia North America


CARPOOLERS (ABC) - Tim Peper ("Law & Order") has scored a role on the comedy pilot, about four suburban men who carpool to work together. He'll play Dougie, one of said quartet.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Allison Munn (Cindy), Faith Ford (Leila), Fred Goss (Gracen), Jerry Minor (Aubrey), Jerry O'Connell (Laird), T.J. Miller (Marmaduke), Tim Peper (Dougie)
Writer: Bruce McCulloch
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Executive Producers: Bruce McCulloch, Darryl Frank (DreamWorks Television), David Miner (3 Arts Entertainment), Justin Falvey (DreamWorks Television)
Studio: ABC Television Studio


CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS) - Executive producer Ed Bernero has inked a massive two-year, seven-figure overall deal with the show's co-producer CBS Paramount Network Television. The pact calls for Bernero to continue with his showrunning duties as well as develop new series projects for the studio.


GOSSIP GIRL (The CW) - Taylor Momsen ("Misconceptions") and Chace Crawford ("The Covenant") have both landed roles on the drama pilot. Crawford will play Nate, the boyfriend of Leighton Meester's character while Momsen will play an unspecified character.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Blake Lively (Serena), Chace Crawford (Nate), Leighton Meester (Blair), Taylor Momsen
Writers: Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage
Director: Mark Piznarski
Executive Producers: Bob Levy (Alloy Entertainment), Josh Schwartz (College Hill Productions), Leslie Morgenstein (Alloy Entertainment), Stephanie Savage
Studio: Warner Bros. Television


GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC) - Co-stars Ellen Pompeo, James T. Pickens Jr. and Chandra Wilson have each inked new deals with the ABC Television Studio while Justin Chambers and T.R. Knight are reportedly close as well. The pacts will give raises to all the actors with Pompeo now earning nearly $200,000 per episode while the others will now rake in about $125,000 per installment. As for the remaining original cast members - Patrick Dempsey, Sandra Oh and Katherine Heigl - the former two are still in negotiations with the studio while the latter has publicly broken off talks for the time being. Despite the impasse, Heigl and the others are still bound by their original contracts for the foreseeable future. Also landing a new deal: late arrival Kate Walsh, who's prepping for a potential spin-off for her character. No financial details were released about her new pact.


PHILADELPHIA GENERAL (FOX) - Drew Sidora ("Wild Hogs") has scored a role on the drama pilot, about the lives and loves of a team of nurses in a big-city hospital. She'll play Becca DiMato, who's detailed in the casting notice as follows: "Mid-20s, gorgeous, confident, smart. A beauty and our self-admitted resident slut. She's a dating machine but is not ashamed of her escapades. Becca doesn't take things too seriously and is lots of fun, but is deeper than she lets on and smarter than she looks. She drinks too much and steals pills from the floor pharmacy. She'll be Eve's fast friend and roommate. Serious about her job, Becca has an instinctive gift for healing, as she proves when she bucks the establishment to save a misdiagnosed patient."

Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Brett Dalton (Dr. Kurt Taylor), Drew Sidora (Becca DiMato), Gregory Harrison (Dr. Richard Miller), Katheryn Winnick (Eve Miller), Melinda Page Hamilton (Margo MacDonald), Ramon Rodriguez (Patrick Quinn), Sara Rue (Chris Korenek)
Writers: Andy Stern, Samantha Goodman
Director: P.J. Hogan
Executive Producers: Ann McManus (Shed Productions), Barry Josephson (Josephson Entertainment), Eileen Gallagher (Shed Productions), P.J. Hogan
Co-Executive Producers: Andy Stern, Samantha Goodman
Studio: 20th Century Fox Television


PROTECT & SERVE (CBS) - Thad Luckinbill ("The Young and the Restless") and Victoria Cartagena ("The Bedford Diaries") have both landed roles on the drama pilot, about cops living in the Los Angeles suburbs as they deal with the stress of police life on and off the job. They'll play Tim and Antia, respectively, two unspecified characters. In addition, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan ("Battlestar Galactica") has been tapped to direct the hour from a script by co-creators Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Eric Balfour (Grogan), Monica Potter (Lizzie), Steve Harris (Dennis), Thad Luckinbill (Tim), Victoria Cartagena (Anita)
Writers: Mark Gibson, Philip Halprin
Director: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
Executive Producers: Gary Scott Thompson, Mark Gibson, Philip Halprin
Studio: NBC Universal Television Studio


REAPER (The CW) - Rick Gonzalez ("Coach Carter") has been cast in the drama pilot, about a young man (Bret Harrison) who essentially becomes Satan's bounty hunter, reclaiming souls that have somehow escaped from hell. No details about his character were released.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Bret Harrison (Sam), Nikki Reed (Andi), Rick Gonzalez, Tyler Labine (Sock)
Writers: Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters
Director: Kevin Smith
Executive Producers: Deborah Spera (The Mark Gordon Company), Mark Gordon (The Mark Gordon Company), Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters
Studio: ABC Television Studio


SLUTS (FOX) - Lacey Chabert ("Party of Five") has signed onto the comedy pilot, about three sorority sisters (Chabert, Molly Stanton, Dorian Brown) who try to clean up their act after graduating from college. No other specifics were given about her character.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Dorian Brown (Kate), Lacey Chabert, Molly Stanton (Allison)
Writer: Elizabeth Meriwether
Director: Jason Winer
Executive Producers: Dawn Parouse (Dawn Parouse Productions), Jeff Richman (Dawn Parouse Productions)
Supervising Producer: Elizabeth Meriwether
Studio: 20th Century Fox Television


THE THICK OF IT (ABC) - Oliver Platt ("Huff") has been tapped for a role in the comedy pilot, about the workers in the office of a low-level congressman. He'll play the chairman of the Party Committee.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Oliver Platt, Rhea Seehorn (Ollie)
Writers: Mitchell Hurwitz, Richard Day
Director: Christopher Guest
Executive Producers: Armando Iannucci, Mitchell Hurwitz, Paul Telegdy (BBC Worldwide Productions), Richard Day
Studio: Sony Pictures Television


UNTITLED GREY'S ANATOMY SPIN-OFF PROJECT (ABC) - "Veronica Mars" co-star Chris Lowell is the latest to score a role on the "Grey's Anatomy" spin-off backdoor pilot. As was the case for the previous casting announcements, no details were given about his character.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Chris Lowell, Kate Walsh (Addison Shepherd), Paul Adelstein, Taye Diggs, Tim Daly
Writer: Shonda Rhimes
Director: Michael Grossman
Executive Producers: Betsy Beers (Shondaland Productions), Mark Gordon (The Mark Gordon Company), Shonda Rhimes (Shondaland Productions)
Studio: ABC Television Studio


VIVA LAUGHLIN! (CBS) - P.J. Byrne ("Charlie Wilson's War") and Eric Winter ("Harold & Kumar 2") are the latest additions to the drama pilot, about a man (Lloyd Owen) who dreams of opening a casino. Winter is set as Peter Carlyle, a police detective, while Bryne will play the accountant and business manager of Owen's character.

Commitment: Ordered to pilot
Cast: Carter Jenkins (Jack), D.B. Woodside (Marcus), Ellen Woglom (Cheyenne), Eric Winter (Det. Peter Carlyle), Hugh Jackman (Guest Star), Lloyd Owen (Ripley Holden), Madchen Amick, P.J. Byrne
Writer: Bob Lowry
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Executive Producers: Bob Lowry, Gabriele Muccino, Hugh Jackman (Seed Productions), John Palermo (Seed Productions), Paul Telegdy (BBC Worldwide Productions), Peter Bowker
Studios: CBS Paramount Network Television, Sony Pictures Television


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [march 2007]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (SYFY)
· BEAST, THE (FOX)
· BEDFORD DIARIES, THE (WB)
· CARPOOLERS (ABC)
· CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· GOSSIP GIRL (CW)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· HOT YEARS, THE (FOX)
· HUFF (SHOWTIME)
· LAW & ORDER (NBC)
· MISCONCEPTIONS (WB)
· NURSES (FOX)
· PARTY OF FIVE (FOX)
· PRIVATE PRACTICE (ABC)
· PROTECT & SERVE (CBS)
· REAPER (CW)
· REBA (CW)
· THICK OF IT, THE (ABC)
· VERONICA MARS (CW)
· VIVA LAUGHLIN (CBS)





[05/25/12 - 03:22 PM]
Production for Season Two of "Grimm" Commences on May 30
Repeats of the series will air Mondays at 10:00/9:00c this summer as a build up to the show's return in August.

[05/25/12 - 02:26 PM]
Interview: "Mrs. Eastwood & Company" Star Dina Eastwood
E!'s latest reality entry airs Sundays at 10:00/9:00c after "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."

[05/25/12 - 01:51 PM]
Thursday's Cable Ratings: Heat Clincher Puts ESPN in Front
Plus: numbers for Animal Planet's "Swamp Wars," TLC's "On the Fly" and "Tattoo School."

[05/25/12 - 12:58 PM]
TBS's New Original Sitcom "Men at Work" Scores More than 2.6 Million Viewers And 1.6 Million Adults 18-49 in Thursday Night Debut
TBS spins the numbers for Thursday, May 24.

[05/25/12 - 11:43 AM]
Celebrate Father's Day as SOAPnet Presents "A Veronica Mars Marathon: Who's Your Daddy?" on Sunday, June 17 3PM - 7PM
The four-hour marathon revolves around whether or not Keith Mars is Veronica's biological father.

[05/25/12 - 10:29 AM]
Video: Trailers from CBS's Upfront Presentation
The full previews are now available for the Eye's new fall series.

[05/25/12 - 09:39 AM]
ABC Family Celebrates Father's Day With an All Day Marathon of Movies Dads Love Sunday, June 17 Starting at 7AM
Highlights include the basic cable premiere of "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time."

[05/25/12 - 09:33 AM]
Return to a Galaxy Far, Far Away as Spike TV Launches Into Hyperspace With the World Premiere of the Next Big "Star Wars(TM)" Game Franchise
A first look at this top secret project will be revealed on Thursday, May 31, as a part of the pre-E3 episode of Spike's hit video game show "GTTV."

[05/25/12 - 09:33 AM]
Dierks Bentley Delivers His New Hits and Adds His Own Bluegrass Touch to an Adele Smash When CMT.com Premieres "Unplugged" on Tuesday, May 29
The episode will also air as a half-hour special on Palladia (Saturday, June 2) and CMT (Monday, June 25).

[05/25/12 - 08:41 AM]
ABC's "Duets" Tops Fox's "Dance"/"Rookie Blue" Marks Most-Watched Telecast Since Aug '10
ABC spins the numbers for Thursday, May 24.

[05/25/12 - 08:37 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: "So You Think You Can Dance" Opens Summer on Top
FOX's mainstay however is down 25% from last year's launch among adults 18-49.

[05/25/12 - 08:11 AM]
Wedding Season Replaces Football Season When "Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Brides" Premieres Friday, June 2 on CMT
The one-hour special features Cassie Trammell, Sunni Cranfill and Trisha Trevino "as they juggle work, school and practice all while planning their dream wedding."

[05/25/12 - 07:05 AM]
ABC to Exclusively Broadcast Celtics-Sixers Game Seven
Mike Breen and analyst Jeff Van Gundy will call the game, which starts at 8:00/7:00c, with reporter Doris Burke.

[05/25/12 - 06:34 AM]
Lifetime's Major Program Event, "The Week the Women Went," to Premiere in August
The four-part series was previously slated to launch on Wednesday, June 6.

[05/25/12 - 06:00 AM]
2012 MTV Movie Awards to Feature Exclusive Footage From "The Dark Knight Rises" on Sunday, June 3 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on MTV
Plus: Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey, stars of the upcoming film "Magic Mike," will join its impressive line-up of presenters.