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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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[07/14/25 - 02:13 PM]
Lifetime Announces Three New "Ripped from the Headlines" Movies Debuting Saturdays This Fall
Keana Lyn Bastidas, Jon McLaren, Marilu Henner, Brielle Robillard, Sam Trammell, Steve Byers, Ashley Jones, Holly Barrett, Doug Savant, Maggie Lawson, and Courtney Stodden are among the featured talent.
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[07/14/25 - 01:10 PM]
Season 10 of the Hit Dating Series "Ready to Love" Returns to Philadelphia as the Journey to Find Love Continues This Summer on OWN
Beginning Friday, August 1 at 8 PM ET/PT on OWN, viewers return to the City of Brotherly Love to reignite the search for lasting love among its most eligible singles.
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[07/14/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix and MVP's Taylor-Serrano 3 Goes the Distance with Nearly 6 Million Global Viewers
In the US, an estimated AMA of 4.2 million viewers tuned in to the main event (Live+1) according to VideoAmp and Netflix, making it the most-watched professional women's sports event of 2025.
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[07/14/25 - 11:01 AM]
Video: "SEC Football: Any Given Saturday" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Follow college football's most elite players and coaches in this unfiltered documentary series that goes behind the scenes of the 2024 SEC season.
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[07/14/25 - 11:01 AM]
Hosted by Ken Jeong & Erin Andrews, "99 to Beat" Premieres Wednesday, September 24 Following the Season Four Premiere of "The Floor," Hosted by Rob Lowe
In "99 to Beat," 100 contestants go head-to-head in a range of visually distinctive and hilarious games in an arced competition game show like we've never seen before.
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[07/14/25 - 10:01 AM]
Prime Video Announces 2025 San Diego Comic-Con Programming
Featured are beloved returning series including "Gen V," "Upload," "Hazbin Hotel," "The Legend of Vox Machina," and highly anticipated new series like "Helluva Boss," "The Mighty Nein," and "Butterfly."
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[07/14/25 - 09:00 AM]
Video: Hulu Reveals Official Trailer for "The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball"
Additionally, it's been announced that the series will make its franchise-first debut at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, July 26.
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[07/14/25 - 09:00 AM]
Video: Prime Video Debuts Trailer and Key Art For Spy Thriller "Butterfly," Starring and Executive Produced by Daniel Dae Kim
As previously announced, all six episodes will debut on Wednesday, August 13.
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[07/14/25 - 08:15 AM]
Sean Hannity to Host "Wanted: Dead or Alive" on FOX Nation
Set to premiere on Wednesday, July 16, new episodes will be released weekly and tackle the stories of the infamous John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face Nelson, and Ma Barker.
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[07/14/25 - 08:00 AM]
Gabby Windey Sets Sail as Host of Hulu's New Unscripted Series "Love Overboard"
Step aboard the ultimate luxury yacht, where sexy singles are ready to mix and mingle... and find love.
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[07/14/25 - 08:00 AM]
HBO Original "Harry Potter" Television Series Begins Production
The series will debut in 2027 on HBO and HBO Max where it's available, including in upcoming launch markets Germany, Italy, and the UK.
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[07/14/25 - 08:00 AM]
Video: Prime Video Releases First-Look Images and Teaser Trailer for Upcoming Psychological Thriller "The Girlfriend"
All six-episodes will be available September 10 exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories around the world.
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[07/14/25 - 07:41 AM]
Welcome to Atlanta: FOX Sports Assembles All-Star Cast for MLB's 95th Midsummer Classic
Live from Truist Park, FOX MLB's lead duo of Emmy Award-winning play-by-play announcer Joe Davis and first-ballot Hall of Famer John Smoltz (eight-time All-Star with the Atlanta Braves) reunite in the booth for their fourth All-Star Game together.
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[07/14/25 - 07:15 AM]
Prime Video Announces Six Additional Cast for New Original Series "Bloodaxe"
Karlis Arnolds Avots, Rod Hallett, Alina Tomnikov, Sisse Marie, Rune Temte, and Jesper Christensen join the cast of the historical drama.
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[07/14/25 - 07:14 AM]
Icon Award, Presenters, Attendees, and Musical Performances Announced for "The 2025 ESPYS Presented by Capital One," Airing Live Wednesday, July 16 at 8pm ET/ 7pm CT on ABC and Streaming on ESPN+
During this year's event, ESPN will honor former WNBA player Diana Taurasi and former USWNT player Alex Morgan with the Icon Award in recognition of their incredible careers and significant impact on the world of sports.
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