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[02/15/08 - 05:25 PM]
Development Update: Week of February 11-15
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!
24 (FOX) - Co-creator/executive producer Joel Surnow is departing the series after seven and a half seasons. "I did some soul-searching," Surnow told the trade publications. "I took it as an opportunity to write on my own and do other things." The news comes on the eve of his overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television expiring. Surnow's exit nevertheless won't derail the show's production as fellow executive producer Howard Gordon has served as the day-to-day showrunner in recent years alongside co-creator Robert Cochran.
CW NOW (The CW) - In a follow up to our February 8 report (read the story), The Hollywood Reporter has subsequently confirmed the series has indeed been canceled. "While you always wish the ratings were higher, we are proud of 'CW Now' and how it improved every week from a creative standpoint," CW COO John Maatta said in a statement. "The program was a highly collaborative endeavor, and you can't put a price tag on what we learned from this project." The show's final broadcast is set for February 24.
HOLE IN THE WALL (FOX, New!) - FremantleMedia North America is looking to import the Japanese game show in which contestants, dressed in spandex and hard hats, play a game of human Tetris versus a shape-changing moving barrier in order to avoid being knocked into a pool of water. YouTube.com and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" have popularized the format domestically. Fuji Television originated the family-friendly show in July of 2006. As for specifics, teams gain or lose points depending on whether they manage to stay dry through each round. Stuart Krasnow is on board to executive produce the U.S. version alongside FremantleMedia chief Cecile Frot-Coutaz.
IFL BATTLEGROUND (MyNetworkTV) - The fledgling netlet has opted out of a second season of its formerly top-rated series. The show was widely reported as being part of the network's 2007-08 season plans over the summer. Its March 12 launch scored a then record 0.8 household rating but ultimately sagged by its final first-run airing on September 24. Repeats were featured briefly on Saturday nights during October and November. IFL coverage nevertheless will continue on previous partner Fox Sports Net as well as the newly added HDNet.
POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS/THE UNITED STATES OF TARA (Showtime) - The pay channel has confirmed both pilots are still a go following the strike's resolution. In addition, Craig Gillespie ("Lars and the Real Girl") has signed on to direct the latter project, about a woman (Toni Collette) with multiple-personality disorder. "Juno" screenwriter Diablo Cody penned the half-hour, which comes from DreamWorks Television. Tim Robbins then is behind "Effects," a drama about a family that runs a pharmaceutical company and the political, scientific and bureaucratic machinery that makes up the pharmaceutical industry. Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Daniel Thomas also serve as executive producers.
THE RICHES (FX) - The cable channel has slated the show's second season to launch on Tuesday, March 18 at 10:00/9:00c. Like fellow sophomore entry "Dirt," only seven of the 13 episodes ordered were shot prior to the strike. The network has opted to bring back both series with truncated runs rather than wait until their original 13-episode order was completed. Izzard, Minnie Driver, Shannon Woodward, Noel Fisher, Aidan Mitchell, Margo Martindale, Gregg Henry, Todd Stashwick and Jared Harris all star. FX Productions and Fox Television Studios are co-producing.
UGLY BETTY (ABC) - Executive producers Marco Pennette and James Hayman have been let go from the series, the same week it was renewed for a third season. The news marks its latest behind-the-scenes shuffle, coming on the heels of letting five writers go after its freshman run. Silvio Horta, Salma Hayek and Jose Tamez will continue on as the remaining active executive producers.
UNTITLED DENISE RICHARDS PROJECT (E!, New!) - Denise Richards's long-rumored reality series has been officially announced by the cable channel. E! staple Ryan Seacrest ("Keeping Up With the Kardashians") is executive producing the project, which will focus on Richards's life as a single mom following her high-profile divorce from Charlie Sheen. The proposed series made headlines earlier this year after Sheen went to court over Richards's decision to allow their children in front of the cameras. Ryan Seacrest Productions's Eliot Goldberg will serve as a co-executive producer. No launch date was specified.
UNTITLED JUSTIN HARTLEY PROJECT (The CW) - Justin Hartley ("Smallville") has inked a talent holding deal with the network. The actor toplined two recent pilots for the network - "Aquaman" and "Spellbound" - and was brought in to replace Johnny Lewis on the midseason entry "Eight Days a Week." That project has been in limbo since the WGA strike as only the original pilot has been completed thus far. Said deal then calls for the CW to find a new project for the actor.
UNTITLED DAVID KOHAN/MAX MUTCHNICK PROJECT (ABC, New!) - "Will & Grace" creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick have landed the first major TV sale since the end of the WGA strike, pacting with ABC for a new multi-camera comedy at the network. The semi-autobiographical project, which was written on spec prior to the strike, revolves around two men - one straight, one gay - who are lifelong best friends/business partners that find their relationship threatened after each begin serious romantic relationships. Said half-hour, which is based at Warner Bros. Television and has a pilot commitment, is not to be confused with their CBS effort from last season, about a gay writer and a straight writer who are best friends and their hot young assistants.
WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB (ABC) - R. Scott Gemmill, Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain have all been let go from the freshman drama. Said development comes as the Alphabet mulls the fate of the 20th Century Fox Television-based hour, which will ultimately hinge on finding a replacement. Craft and Fain, who created the series, will remain under their overall deals with 20th, as will Gemmill.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[02/10/26 - 03:51 PM]
Super Bowl LX Is Second Most-Watched All-Time with Nearly 125 Million Viewers, Peaking at All-Time U.S. Record 137.8 Million Viewers Across NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo
Super Bowl LX is the most-watched show in the history of NBCUniversal, which celebrates 100 years of NBC in 2026.
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[02/10/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of February 2 - "Bridgerton" Season 4 Is the Tea Everyone Is Having in This Week's Top 10
Plus: the new season of the hit drama series "The Lincoln Lawyer" took the No. 2 spot on the English TV list with 9 million views.
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[02/10/26 - 12:00 PM]
Teresa Palmer-Led Mystery Series, "The Family Next Door," to Debut Monday, February 23 on Acorn TV
When the enigmatic Isabelle (Palmer) moves into a small seaside rental in Osprey Point, her obsessive drive to solve a neighborhood mystery casts suspicion on four local families.
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[02/10/26 - 11:08 AM]
NBC to Rebroadcast the Pilot Episode of "The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins" on Feb. 28 Immediately Following "Saturday Night Live"
The series returns on Monday, February 23 at 8 p.m. with an encore of the pilot and a new episode immediately following at 8:30 p.m. in its timeslot premiere.
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[02/10/26 - 11:01 AM]
Prime Video Releases First-Look Images for Upcoming Live-Action "Spider-Noir" Starring Nicolas Cage
Produced by Sony Pictures Television exclusively for MGM+ and Prime Video, the hotly anticipated series will debut domestically on MGM+'s linear broadcast channel, then globally on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories thereafter.
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[02/10/26 - 10:27 AM]
MLB.TV Launches on ESPN Beginning February 10
Beginning today, fans can purchase MLB.TV through ESPN platforms with flexible options designed to meet a range of viewing needs.
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[02/10/26 - 09:26 AM]
Warner Bros. Discovery Confirms Receipt of Further Amended Unsolicited Tender Offer from Paramount Skydance
The Board is not modifying its recommendation with respect to the Netflix Merger Agreement.
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[02/10/26 - 09:04 AM]
Video: "Dear Killer Nannies" - Teaser - Hulu
"Dear Killer Nannies" is a gripping coming-of-age series told through Juampi's perspective as a child, the son of Colombia's most notorious drug lord, Pablo Escobar Gaviria.
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[02/10/26 - 09:02 AM]
Video: National Geographic Documentary Films and Abramorama Unveil Trailer, Coast-to-Coast Theatrical Simulcast, and Disney+ and Hulu Streaming Date for Werner Herzog's "Ghost Elephants"
The film follows National Geographic Explorer Steve Boyes on an epic journey as he sets out with some of the last remaining master trackers in the world in pursuit of an animal long believed to be a myth.
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[02/10/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Tyler Perry's Joe's College Road Trip" - Official Red Band Trailer - Netflix
To teach his sheltered grandson about the real world, Madea's foul-mouthed brother Joe takes the college-bound teen on a raucous cross-country road trip.
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[02/10/26 - 09:00 AM]
HBO Original Comedy Special "Chris Fleming: Live at the Palace" Debuts February 27
From the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, comedian Chris Fleming bursts onto the screen with a fun and lighthearted blend of skillful storytelling and wild physicality in his first HBO stand-up special.
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[02/10/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "The 32nd Annual Actor Awards" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Host Kristen Bell is ringing up SAG-AFTRA members everywhere to spread the word about the 32nd Annual Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA.
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[02/10/26 - 08:00 AM]
Paramount+ and CBS Partner to Air "UFC 326: Holloway vs. Oliveira 2" Live on Paramount+ and CBS Television Network
Plus, CBS announced today "This Is UFC," tracing UFC's rise from underground spectacle to global powerhouse, airing Friday, February 20, (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+.
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[02/10/26 - 08:00 AM]
The Chaos Continues as Another Explosive Season of "Mama June" Returns Friday, March 13 with New Friends and New Foes
The new season promises to deliver everything fans love about the Shannon family and more, from family feuds and fires to Mama drama and a wedding.
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[02/10/26 - 06:28 AM]
Great American Media Partners with Bestselling Author Melissa Ferguson to Adapt "Meet Me in the Margins" and Upcoming Novel, "The Christmas Yes List" into New Original Movies for 2026
Known for her heartfelt storytelling, faith-forward themes, and charming romantic comedies, Ferguson has become a favorite among readers of Christian romance and romantic comedy novels.
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