or


[03/11/08 - 05:37 PM]
Development Update: March 10-11
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!


DRIVING AROUND WITH JONI (HBO, New!) - Jhoni Marchinko ("Men in Trees") has scored a pilot commitment from the pay channel for a new comedy about an eccentric, successful 40-year-old widow who spends her days driving around Los Angeles with her French bulldog, looking for meaning in her life after the sudden death of her husband. The project was originally set up at Warner Bros. Television where Marchinko had an overall deal prior to its termination during the WGA strike. Marchinko then will pen and executive produce "Joni" while Warner Bros. will still retain a piece of the show but not be creatively involved.


ELEVENTH HOUR (CBS) - Marley Shelton ("Grindhouse") has been tapped as the female lead in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced drama pilot, about Jacob Hood (Rufus Sewell), a special science adviser to the government who - with his feisty female bodyguard Rachel Young (Shelton) in tow - saves people from the worst abuses of science. Ashley Jensen originated Shelton's role in the U.K. version. Danny Cannon is directing the hour from a script by Mick Davis with the pair executive producing alongside Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman for Granada International and Warner Bros. Television.


HARPER'S ISLAND (CBS, New!) - Feature writer Ari Schlossberg ("Hide and Seek") has booked a pilot presentation order from the Eye and CBS Paramount Network Television for a new horror-themed drama that unfolds during the course of a season as a group of friends meet on an island off the Seattle coast for a destination wedding. "Jericho's" Jon Turteltaub is on board to direct and executive produce alongside his Junction Entertainment partners Karim Zreik and Dan Shotz. The latter pair then will serve as co-executive producers, as will Schlossberg.


MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL (CBS) - Josh Cooke ("Big Day") is set to star opposite Tim Peper in the multi-camera comedy pilot, about two best friends who own a bike shop and whose relationship becomes complicated when one (Peper) starts dating the ex-wife of the other (Cooke). Mike Sikowitz is behind the half-hour, which is set up at Sony Pictures Television.


THE SAINT (New!) - Barry Levinson, Tom Fontana, Jorge Zamacona, Bill Macdonald, Roger Moore and Geoffrey Moore are set to team to produce an independently financed two-hour TV movie/backdoor pilot based on Leslie Charteris's famed novels about debonair international thief Simon Templar. Zamacona and Macdonald previously set up the project at TNT last season (read the story) but it didn't move forward. The rights subsequently reverted back to them, after which Fontana and Levinson came aboard. Nehst Studios is behind the project while James Purefoy ("Rome") in talks to topline. Production then is set to begin next month with filming in Budapest, Hungary, New York and Puerto Rico. Since the 1997 feature starring Val Kilmer, both UPN (director John McTiernan and producer ATG in 2000) and ABC (writer Stephen Nathan and producer FremantleMedia North America in 2004) have taken stabs at developing a new small screen take.


UNTITLED NICK LACHEY PROJECT (MTV, New!) - Nick Lachey is developing a "Fame"-esque reality series set at his alma mater, the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati. The untitled project then would track its students, blending their performances with a narrative about what takes place in the school. Marc Platt and Russell Heldt are executive producing alongside Lachey.


WORST WEEK (CBS) - Erinn Hayes ("The Winner") has landed the female lead in the comedy pilot, about a guy named Sam (Kyle Bornheimer) and his rocky relationship with the parents of his fiancee (Hayes) during a family holiday. Her character, Melanie "Mel" Cook, is further detailed in the casting notice as follows: "30. Sam's fiancee. She's a beautiful, warm woman who is unaffectedly striking, even when she's not wearing any make-up. Currently in her first trimester of pregnancy, Mel is throwing up on a regular basis and just trying to soldier on until she's feeling better. Very attached to Sam, she's hoping that his visit for Dick's birthday will sweeten up her parents and set the stage for their announcement of Mel's pregnancy and engagement. However, Sam's surreal string of blunders, gaffes and boneheaded misfortunes make it very hard for Mel to convince her folks that Sam is indeed Mr. Right." Jay Malone also stars in the half-hour, which comes from Universal Media Studios and executive producers Jimmy Mulville, Marc Buckland and Matt Tarses.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [march 2008]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
      


· BIG DAY (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DRIVING AROUND WITH JONI (HBO)
· ELEVENTH HOUR (CBS)
· ELEVENTH HOUR, THE (BBC AMERICA)
· HARPER'S ISLAND (CBS)
· JERICHO (CBS)
· MEN IN TREES (ABC)
· MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL (CBS)
· ROME (HBO)
· SAINT, THE (ABC)
· SAINT, THE (TNT)
· TAKING THE STAGE (MTV)
· WINNER, THE (FOX)
· WORST WEEK (CBS)





[06/28/26 - 02:38 PM]
FOX Sports Reveals Match Assignments For FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32
John Strong and Stu Holden, FOX Sports' lead announcer team for the FIFA World Cup 2026, call the U.S. Men's National Team's (USMNT) must-win Round of 32 match vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday, July 1.

[06/28/26 - 08:03 AM]
Back to College, One Last Time: The Final Season of "Maxton Hall - The World Between Us" Premieres in December 2026 on Prime Video
The final six episodes of the global series phenomenon will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and regions worldwide.

[06/28/26 - 03:01 AM]
"Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2" Is Coming This Fall - Only on Netflix
New crew. Same chaos.

[06/27/26 - 04:45 PM]
The Next Chapter Begins: "Every Year After" Renewed for a Second Season Inspired by Carley Fortune's "One Golden Summer"
Amy B. Harris will continue to serve as showrunner with Fortune continuing to serve as an executive producer.

[06/27/26 - 03:11 PM]
"The Last Sunrise" Premieres August 26 on Prime Video
Based on the beloved novel, the film follows Ry (Maia Reficco), a college student with a chronic illness, on a summer escape to Mallorca with her mother (Eva Longoria).

[06/27/26 - 01:13 PM]
Video: "The Love Hypothesis" - Official Teaser Trailer - Prime Video
We tested it. The results are in. The chemistry is there.

[06/27/26 - 01:01 AM]
Video: "The Doll" - Official Trailer - Netflix
When Stanislaw falls in love with the aristocratic Izabela, he dedicates his entire life to winning her over. Inspired by the classic Polish novel.

[06/26/26 - 05:35 PM]
Third Leg of FIFA World Cup 2026 Group Stage Kicks Off, FOX Sports Viewership Stays Strong
8.7 million viewers tuned into 9:00 PM ET window featuring Mexico-Czechia on FOX and South Africa-Korea Republic on FS1.

[06/26/26 - 03:24 PM]
Video: "The Bad Guy" - Official Trailer - The Network
When a Sicilian prosecutor is wrongly accused of being a Mafioso and sentenced to prison, he decides to exact his revenge by returning, and avenging what was stolen from him, under the new identity of Balduccio Remora: a bad guy.

[06/26/26 - 02:44 PM]
USMNT Caps Historic FIFA World Cup 2026 Group Stage with 15.856M Viewers on FOX
Said coverage marked the third most-watched FIFA Men's World Cup Group Stage telecast in English-language U.S. history.

[06/26/26 - 10:14 AM]
A Nationwide Celebration: ESPN Marks America 250 with Unforgettable Content Across Platforms
ESPN's flagship news and information program "SportsCenter" will present a special two-hour edition live on July 4 at 5 p.m. ET on ABC, celebrating the people, moments and stories that have shaped American sports culture.

[06/26/26 - 09:46 AM]
Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour Will Reunite in Upcoming Spy Drama Series
In the series, disgraced FBI agent turned security expert Matt Wolfe (Harbour) is drawn back into the world he left behind when his estranged daughter, Rebecca (Brown) - now an FBI agent determined to follow in his footsteps - vanishes on a mission, forcing him to return to a field that has evolved beyond him.

[06/26/26 - 09:00 AM]
"Lee Cronin's The Mummy" Begins Streaming Exclusively on HBO Max July 3
The film stars Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, with Veronica Falco´n.

[06/26/26 - 07:13 AM]
Adult Swim Announces "Heist Brothers," New "Robot Chicken" Specials, and Expanded Slate at Annecy International Film Festival
"Heist Brothers" is a new high-octane animated action comedy from Emmy Award-winning creator Genndy Tartakovsky.

[06/26/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "Kaulitz & Kaulitz" Season 3 - Official Trailer - Netflix
Health checkups, a stormy wedding and an overdue journey to the past: The twins are ready to confront life's big questions - and each other.