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[03/11/08 - 05:37 PM] Development Update: March 10-11 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!
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
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[05/25/12 - 03:22 PM] Production for Season Two of "Grimm" Commences on May 30 Repeats of the series will air Mondays at 10:00/9:00c this summer as a build up to the show's return in August.
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[05/25/12 - 02:26 PM] Interview: "Mrs. Eastwood & Company" Star Dina Eastwood E!'s latest reality entry airs Sundays at 10:00/9:00c after "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."
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[05/25/12 - 01:51 PM] Thursday's Cable Ratings: Heat Clincher Puts ESPN in Front Plus: numbers for Animal Planet's "Swamp Wars," TLC's "On the Fly" and "Tattoo School."
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[05/25/12 - 12:58 PM] TBS's New Original Sitcom "Men at Work" Scores More than 2.6 Million Viewers And 1.6 Million Adults 18-49 in Thursday Night Debut TBS spins the numbers for Thursday, May 24.
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[05/25/12 - 11:43 AM] Celebrate Father's Day as SOAPnet Presents "A Veronica Mars Marathon: Who's Your Daddy?" on Sunday, June 17 3PM - 7PM The four-hour marathon revolves around whether or not Keith Mars is Veronica's biological father.
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[05/25/12 - 10:29 AM] Video: Trailers from CBS's Upfront Presentation The full previews are now available for the Eye's new fall series.
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[05/25/12 - 09:39 AM] ABC Family Celebrates Father's Day With an All Day Marathon of Movies Dads Love Sunday, June 17 Starting at 7AM Highlights include the basic cable premiere of "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time."
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[05/25/12 - 09:33 AM] Return to a Galaxy Far, Far Away as Spike TV Launches Into Hyperspace With the World Premiere of the Next Big "Star Wars(TM)" Game Franchise A first look at this top secret project will be revealed on Thursday, May 31, as a part of the pre-E3 episode of Spike's hit video game show "GTTV."
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[05/25/12 - 09:33 AM] Dierks Bentley Delivers His New Hits and Adds His Own Bluegrass Touch to an Adele Smash When CMT.com Premieres "Unplugged" on Tuesday, May 29 The episode will also air as a half-hour special on Palladia (Saturday, June 2) and CMT (Monday, June 25).
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[05/25/12 - 08:41 AM] ABC's "Duets" Tops Fox's "Dance"/"Rookie Blue" Marks Most-Watched Telecast Since Aug '10 ABC spins the numbers for Thursday, May 24.
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[05/25/12 - 08:37 AM] Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: "So You Think You Can Dance" Opens Summer on Top FOX's mainstay however is down 25% from last year's launch among adults 18-49.
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[05/25/12 - 08:11 AM] Wedding Season Replaces Football Season When "Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Brides" Premieres Friday, June 2 on CMT The one-hour special features Cassie Trammell, Sunni Cranfill and Trisha Trevino "as they juggle work, school and practice all while planning their dream wedding."
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[05/25/12 - 07:05 AM] ABC to Exclusively Broadcast Celtics-Sixers Game Seven Mike Breen and analyst Jeff Van Gundy will call the game, which starts at 8:00/7:00c, with reporter Doris Burke.
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[05/25/12 - 06:34 AM] Lifetime's Major Program Event, "The Week the Women Went," to Premiere in August The four-part series was previously slated to launch on Wednesday, June 6.
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[05/25/12 - 06:00 AM] 2012 MTV Movie Awards to Feature Exclusive Footage From "The Dark Knight Rises" on Sunday, June 3 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on MTV Plus: Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey, stars of the upcoming film "Magic Mike," will join its impressive line-up of presenters.
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