or


[01/18/08 - 06:11 PM]
Development Update: Week of January 14-18
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!


CIRCUS OF THE STARS (ABC, New!) - ABC is in "serious negotiations" to land a potential revival of the 1980s series, which has also drawn interest from CBS and FOX. Michael Dempsey (MTV's "Video Music Awards") and original executive producer Bunny Stivers are behind the project, which is said to involve a new competitive aspect much like "Dancing With the Stars." Not surprisingly, exact format details have yet to be released as they are still being worked out.


DANCE MACHINE (ABC) - E! News correspondent Jason Kennedy has been named the host of the Alphabet's upcoming reality series, a weekly dance competition featuring non-professionals competing for a cash prize. The network has given the RDF USA-based project a five-episode order. Greg Goldman, Chris Coelen and Metro Entertainment's Brian A. Veskosky are the executive producers. No premiere date however has been announced.


FRINGE (FOX) - Kirk Acevedo ("The Black Donnellys") and Mark Valley ("Boston Legal") are the latest additions to the drama pilot, about a female FBI agent who ends up paired with a troubled scientist and his estranged son in a hunt for paranormal phenomena. Acevedo is believed to be playing Charlie Francis, a good-natured FBI agent, with Valley reportedly set as John Scott, another agent with whom the lead character is involved. J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Bryan Burk and Alex Graves are all behind the Warner Bros. Television/Bad Robot-based hour, which Graves is directing from a script by the former trio. Production then is set to begin next month in Toronto.


LAST OF THE NINTH (A.K.A. UNTITLED DAVID MILCH/BILL CLARK PROJECT) (HBO) - David Milch and Bill Clark's long-in-the-works drama script has been given a pilot commitment and a title. The project is described as a gritty drama set in the New York Police Department in 1972. As for specifics, Milch told Daily Variety: "It is about an older detective's mentoring of a young detective returned from Vietnam in a department fiscally crippled, under attack by revolutionaries, and which has been brought by allegations of systemic corruption into public disrepute." The pair co-wrote the pilot script and will executive produce. Filming then is expected to begin upon the conclusion of the WGA strike. Milch has an overall deal with HBO, which was extended back in August following the cancellation of "John From Cincinnati."


SPECIAL DELIVERY (LMN, New!) - Lisa Edelstein ("House") and Brenda Song ("The Suite Life of Zack and Cody") are set to topline a new "Midnight Run"-esque movie for the Lifetime sibling, about a bonded courier working in the Pacific Rim who's assigned to deliver a bratty teen to her father in China to her mother in the U.S. Edelstein will play said courier, Maxine Carter, with Song as the teen Alice. Michael Scott is set to direct the project from a script by Matt Dearborn with MarVista Entertainment's Michael Jacobs serving as executive producer and Marc Lorber producing. Production is set to begin later this year for a December air date.


TV LAND MYTHS & LEGENDS (TV Land) - TV Land is moving forward with a second season of the series, which aims to find out the truth behind mysteries, scandals, rumors and urban legends revolving around celebrities, music, TV series and movies. Seven new episodes are set to roll out on Wednesdays at 10:00/9:00c starting August 27. Among the upcoming topics: was Arnold Schwarzenegger originally cast as TV's "Incredible Hulk," is Jennifer Lopez's derriere really insured for $1 billion and did Mars Inc., maker of M&M's, turn down product placement in "E.T. The Extra Terrestrial?" The show's first season drew an average of 819,000 viewers, a 54% improvement over the same time period a year earlier. Gay Rosenthal Productions' Paul Barrosse is the executive producer.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [january 2008]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· BLACK DONNELLYS, THE (NBC)
· BOSTON LEGAL (ABC)
· CIRCUS OF THE STARS (ABC)
· DANCE MACHINE (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· FRINGE (FOX)
· HOUSE (FOX)
· JOHN FROM CINCINNATI (HBO)
· LAST OF THE NINTH, THE (HBO)
· SPECIAL DELIVERY (LMN)
· TV LAND MYTHS & LEGENDS (TV LAND)





[12/11/25 - 10:01 AM]
Michelle Buteau's Final Season of "Survival of the thickest" Casts New Guest Stars Wanda Sykes, D.L. Hughley, Ashley Graham, Ronny Chieng, Wyatt Cenac, Jenna Lyons, Ice-T, and More
Buteau and co-creator Danielle Sanchez-Witzel will also make their directorial debuts.

[12/11/25 - 09:16 AM]
Paramount+ Greenlights Animated Adaptations of Acclaimed Children's Books by Mo Willems
The series orders mark the first collaborations between Paramount+ and Hidden Pigeon Company.

[12/11/25 - 09:02 AM]
"MonsterQuest" Returns January 2 to Investigate the World's Most Chilling Monster Encounters on The History Channel
Bigfoot, UFOs, hauntings and killer beasts on land and sea -are these myths, legends, folklore or real monsters lurking in the world around us?

[12/11/25 - 09:01 AM]
TLC's New Series "Suddenly Amish" Takes Six Individuals on a Dramatic and Life-Changing Journey Into Amish Culture
The series follows six non-Amish individuals on a rare journey as they leave behind their modern "English" lifestyle and step into a deeply traditional Amish community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

[12/11/25 - 09:01 AM]
"Love During Lockup" Returns to We TV with a New Season Friday, January 16, Streaming Same Day on All Reality and AMC+
The new season features six all-new couples, including the return of fan-favorite cast member, Monique.

[12/11/25 - 09:00 AM]
Video: Prime Video Releases "Beast Games" Season Two Trailer and Reveals Epic "Survivor" Crossover
Filmed on location in Fiji - the current home of Survivor - this "Beast Games x Survivor" crossover episode marks a first-of-its-kind relationship between two global competition phenomena.

[12/11/25 - 08:32 AM]
New Season of Discovery Channel's "Expedition X" Kicks Off Wednesday, January 7 at 9PM ET/PT
In the season premiere, special guest and paranormal investigator Jack Osbourne teams up with Heather Amaro in Vulture City, AZ - a former old west gold mining village that brings new meaning to the term "ghost town."

[12/11/25 - 08:31 AM]
Peacock Releases Premiere Date and First Look Images for Season 2 of "Ted"
All episodes of Seth MacFarlane's record-breaking live-action comedic prequel return March 5, 2026 only on Peacock.

[12/11/25 - 08:01 AM]
Video: Prime Video Releases Official Trailer and Key Art for Season Two of "The Night Manager"
The first three episodes will debut on Sunday, January, 11, 2026, on Prime Video, with one new episode releasing every Sunday, until the season finale on Sunday, February 1.

[12/11/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "His & Hers" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Two estranged spouses - one a cop, the other a news reporter - compete to solve a murder case in which each believes the other is a prime suspect.

[12/11/25 - 06:31 AM]
Video: "NFL Christmas Gameday 2025" - Kelly Clarkson - Announcement - Netflix
Unwrap an NFL doubleheader with Cowboys vs. Commanders, then Lions vs. Vikings - along with special live performances and lots of holiday cheer.

[12/11/25 - 06:15 AM]
Journey Through the Planet's Most Extreme Environments in National Geographic's New Series "Pole to Pole with Will Smith"
The seven-part docuseries premieres January 13 on National Geographic worldwide and streams next day on Disney+ globally and Hulu in the U.S.

[12/11/25 - 06:02 AM]
"Tyler Perry's Beauty in Black" Renewed for Third and Final Season Ahead of Season 2 Part 2 Debut
Season 2 Part 2 will premiere on March 19, 2026.

[12/11/25 - 06:01 AM]
The Second Part of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" Will Arrive in August 2026
After the armistice and signing of the treaty of Neerlandia, peace still does not reach Macondo.

[12/11/25 - 06:01 AM]
The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI Reach Landmark Agreement to Bring Beloved Characters from Across Disney's Brands to Sora
As part of this new, three-year licensing agreement, Sora will be able to generate short, user-prompted social videos that can be viewed and shared by fans, drawing from a set of more than 200 animated, masked and creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars.