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[12/21/07 - 06:31 PM]
Development Update: Week of December 17-21
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) |
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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!
AMC ORIGINAL SERIES (AMC, New!) - The cable channel has added four new projects to its development slate. Said efforts will eventually result in one of two pilots the network plans to order next year. The other pilot will be based off its previously announced projects. As for the newcomers, they are: "Fort Smith," from "24's" Robert Cochran, about Isaiah Parker, who polices the Five Points - comprised of five different Indian tribes - with his posse in the lawless post-Civil War West; an untitled hour from Alison Anders and Terry Graham, about Comanche leader Quanah Parker, who fights the U.S. Army for the rights to his tribe's land; "Greenfields," from playwright Nicky Silver ("Raised in Captivity"), about a psychiatrist who breaks his patient out of jail; and "Uninvited Guest," from "Less Than Zero" screenwriter Harley Peyton and Mandalay's Peter Guber and Elizabeth Stephens, about a character who suffers from multiple personality disorder.
THE AMERICAN MALL (MTV, New!) - MTV is teaming with "High School Musical" producers Bill Borden and Barry Rosenbush for a romantic comedy/musical set at a mall in the vein of the Disney Channel sensation. Nina Dobrev and Rob Mayes will topline the project, about Ally, a high school grad/singer-songwriter (Dobrev), who battles to save her mother's music store and to keep the boy she loves (Mayes), a musically gifted young janitor who fronts a garage band. Autumn Reeser also stars as Ally's mean-girl adversary Madison, the spoiled and ruthless heiress to the owners of the mall, while Wade Allain-Marcus, Bianca Collins, Rodney To, Neil Haskell, Brooke Lyons, David Baum, Blythe Auffarth, Yassmin Alers, Bresha Webb, Neil Haskell and Al Sapienza round out the cast. Production is set to begin next month at a mall in Provo, Utah with Shawn Ku ("Pretty Dead Girl") directing. Borden is producing "Mall," which was originally set up as a feature at Columbia Pictures prior to "Musical's" release, with Rosenbush and Arata Matsushima serving as executive producers. "Mall" then will premiere this summer with a DVD release a couple of days later.
BACKYARDS & BULLETS (NBC) - The Peacock has opted not to move forward with the drama pilot, about a suburban Neighborhood Watch group gone awry. The news comes as a result of the network letting its options on the cast expire. The show's ensemble included Abigail Spencer, Billy Burke, Casey LaBow, Enuka Okuma, Jessalyn Gilsig, Kristen Lehman, Lou Diamond Phillips, Mathew St. Patrick and Richard Ruccolo. Charles McDougall directed the Sony Pictures Television/Pariah-based hour from a script by Ed Decter and John J. Strauss. Pariah's Gavin Polone and Jamie Tarses also served as executive producers.
COCO CHANEL (Lifetime, New!) - The cable channel is developing a biopic/mini-series about the famed fashion icon featuring Barbora Bobulova and Shirley MacLaine as the designer in the early and later periods of her life, respectively. Christian Duguay ("Human Trafficking") is on board to direct the Alchemy Television Group-based project, which is currently filming. Enrico Medioli ("Once Upon a Time in America") penned the script while Lux Vide SpA, Pampa Productions, Rai and France 2 are co-producing alongside Alchemy. The two-part effort, which is being done in cooperation with Chanel's estate, tracks her upbringing in an orphanage outside Paris through her move to reinvent herself in her 70s, after spending years in exile.
KAYA (MTV) - MTV development chief Tony DiSanto confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter this week the series, the network's first scripted effort in more than five years, won't be returning for a second season. "Kaya" opened its 10-episode run on Monday nights following "The Hills" before being banished to Saturday nights after failing to capitalize on said lead-in. DiSanto however was quick to note the network still plans to push forward in the scripted genre as several projects are in the works, including an untitled effort from Adam Ripp and Steven Wolfson as well as "Darius," from "Law & Order" veteran Michael S. Chernuchin.
SAINT OF CIRCUMSTANCE (FOX, New!) - "The Office" alum David Denman is set to topline a new single-camera comedy pilot for FOX about a man going through a midlife crisis who quits his dead-end office job to be a paramedic on the night shift. "Scrubs" star Zack Braff is in talks to direct the ABC Studios-based half-hour, which was created by Braff's brother, Adam ("Andrew Henry's Meadow"). Denman then will play the lead role of Wayne with the Braffs executive producing alongside Emile Levisetti. Production on the pilot is expected to begin after the WGA strikes concludes.
UNTITLED CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER PROJECT (ABC) - ABC Studios has extended the options on the entire cast of the multi-camera comedy pilot, about a family man (Cedric the Entertainer) who always has been the proud breadwinner but has difficulty adjusting when his wife's (Regina Hall) hobby turns into a multimillion-dollar enterprise. Production on the project, which also stars Charles Malik Whitfield, Jasmine McNeal, Melissa Peterman, Peter Mackenzie and Steven Wash, Jr., was completed in October. Ken Whittingham directed from a script by co-creators Cedric the Entertainer, Michael Soccio and Rock Reuben.
WIFE SWAP (ABC) - Lifetime's purchase of the show's off-network rights from Disney-ABC Domestic Television on Tuesday (read the story) is said to be valued at $250,000 per episode. The four-year pact, which begins in October, gives the cable channel the right to play reruns of the series twice a day.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[03/30/26 - 01:00 PM]
CBS Announces Season Finale Airdates for 2025-2026
The network today announced season finale dates for its original primetime comedies, dramas and unscripted series for the 2025-2026 broadcast season.
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[03/30/26 - 12:42 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers Largest MLB Opening Day Audience on Record for Multi-Game Presentation
The two-game presentation averaged 2.7 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, based on official Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics.
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[03/30/26 - 12:10 PM]
"Greys Anatomy" Returns for Season 23 on ABC
The network confirmed the news on social media today.
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[03/30/26 - 11:02 AM]
Investigation Discovery's "Hollywood Demons" Returns with Season 2 Premiere on April 20, 2026
New episodes will continue to pull back the glamorous curtain of fame and dissect pivotal moments in popular culture to expose the hidden sacrifices, struggles, and scandals that accompany life in the spotlight.
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[03/30/26 - 10:36 AM]
"Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out" Returns for Season 2 Premiering Mondays at 9P/8C Starting April 20 on Lifetime
As the 2025 Critics Choice Real TV Award winner for Female Star of the Year, Dr. Lee continues her relationship with Lifetime as she mentors up-and-coming protégés and helps more patients suffering from painful, complex, and often life-altering dermatological conditions.
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[03/30/26 - 10:14 AM]
BET Launches the Creator Studio with "The Jason Lee Show" to Premiere April 8 as Flagship Series from New Digital-First Platform
With new episodes dropping every Wednesday, the series combines access to Lee's day-to-day life with sit-down conversations alongside his celebrity guests.
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[03/30/26 - 10:03 AM]
FOX Sports and The Workshop Content Studios Announce New Original College Basketball Documentary "March in the Garden" Premiering April 1 on FS1
The film, presented by Pacific Life, offers an all-access look at the tradition, stakes and legacy surrounding the 2026 Men's Big East college basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden.
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[03/30/26 - 10:01 AM]
Ready, Set, "Danny Go!" The Beloved Children's Show Is Coming to Netflix
Starting April 6, five episodes packed with fan-favorite songs like "'Ka-Pow!' Superhero Dance" and action-filled adventures like "Escape from Tiger Island!" are coming to Netflix.
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[03/30/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: HBO Releases Second Trailer for Season Three of the HBO Original Drama Series "Euphoria," Debuting April 12
A group of childhood friends wrestle with the virtue of faith, the possibility of redemption, and the problem of evil.
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[03/30/26 - 09:01 AM]
The 90th Masters Tournament Begins on Amazon Prime Video, Thursday April 9th
Teeing off at 1:00 p.m. ET on both days, Prime Video will open this year's first and second rounds with two additional hours of live Tournament coverage on Thursday, April 9 and Friday, April 10, as the best players in the world converge to compete for a coveted Green Jacket.
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[03/30/26 - 08:31 AM]
Emmy-Winning Comedy Superstar Wanda Sykes Celebrates Her Legacy for Her Third Netflix Comedy Special
"Wanda Sykes: Legacy" premieres globally on Netflix on May 19.
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[03/30/26 - 08:15 AM]
CBS News Boosts Its Investigative Unit with Five New Award-Winning Journalists
Joining the investigative unit immediately are: former Washington Post journalist Daniel Gilbert; The Free Press writer Gabe Kaminsky; and CBS News' Laura Geller, Jake Rosenwasser and Callie Teitelbaum.
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[03/30/26 - 08:03 AM]
Video: "This First House" - Official Trailer - The Roku Channel
From the producers of "This Old House," a team of young experts guide two millennial families through the process of buying, fixing up, and moving into their first home.
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[03/30/26 - 07:01 AM]
BritBox Announces Second Season of "Lynley," Now in Production
Leo Suter returns as DI Tommy Lynley and revealed news of the second season, along with details of new and returning cast members, during an appearance on "On the Box: The BritBox Podcast."
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[03/30/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Vitrerie Joyal" - Official Trailer - Prime Video
Dive into the world of "Vitrerie Joyal," the new series by Martin Matte, following the daily life of a Quebec family-run business in the 1990s.
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