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[03/24/08 - 04:28 PM]
Development Update: Monday, March 24
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!
DIARY OF A MANHATTAN CALL GIRL (HBO) - The pay channel has commissioned a pilot for the Darren Star-produced project, an ensemble comedy that takes a look at how power, sex and money collide through the eyes of a group of Manhattan's highest-paid escorts. Star penned the pilot script based on Tracy Quan's memoir of the same name and is executive producing via his Sony Pictures Television-based Darren Star Productions alongside Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas. He's also expected to direct should his schedule permit.
HOW TO TEACH FILTHY RICH GIRLS (The CW) - Michael Cassidy ("Hidden Palms") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, about a Yale-educated young woman who is hired to be the tutor to two rich heiresses in Palm Beach. He'll play the woman's boyfriend in the project, which comes from creator Rina Mimoun, Alloy Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television.
MEANT TO BE'S (CBS) - Amy Smart ("Smith") has been cast in the lead role of the drama pilot, about a wealthy young gallery owner in New York who becomes a pseudo-angel after her death in order to earn her spot in heaven. Said role, Janine Sebring, is further described in the casting notice as: "30, beautiful, extremely wealthy, sleek and stylish. Janine is a quintessential, high-powered, uppercrust New Yorker, complete with art gallery ownership, an on-call driver, and a gorgeous fiance. Despite her classy trappings, she's an endearingly bad dancer with no rhythm. Witty, erudite and elitist, she can be sharp-tongued and high-maintenance, and her underlings at work don't always know when she's being sarcastic. She's the type who gives money to homeless people so they'll move out of her way, not because she feels compassionate toward them. When Steven, her fiance, decides they should make their union official immediately and worry about the celebration later, she believes he's being romantic and allows herself to be swept up in the plan. While grabbing items for the subsequent honeymoon, she is attacked in her apartment and thrown from her 40th floor balcony for reasons unknown to her. When she wakes up, she's neither in Heaven nor Hell, but a dream-like world in which people belonging to different metaphysical departments make choices for those still on earth that will change the course of their lives. Her tour guide and mentor is a handsome Man who explains she has become a "Meant To Be," like him. This means she has a ways to go before Heaven will admit her, and must spend her time giving people on earth a nudging, helping hand in the "meant to be" direction." Glenn Gordon Caron is behind the CBS Paramount Network Television-based hour, which he wrote and is directing.
NY-LON (CBS) - Larry Shaw ("Desperate Housewives") has signed on to direct the drama pilot, about a New York record store clerk and a London stock broker who, after a fateful encounter in London, embark on a cross-continental romance. He'll work from a script by co-creators Lara Runnels and Patti Carr. ABC Studios is behind the hour, which is being executive produced by Armyan Bernstein, Chris Coelen, Laurie Zaks and Rob Pursey.
PRISON BREAK (FOX) - Nick Santora, a co-executive producer on the series, has posted to his MySpace.com page that season four is officially a go. The posting reads: "So we got word on Wednesday that we are officially picked up by the network for Season 4. This is great news. We are all very excited. We are moving offices onto the Fox Studio Lot next week and we had to say goodbye to the offices that were our home for the past 3 years ... not really that sad because, well, c�mon, it�s just a frickin� building. But my new office is about half the size with just a tiny window which normally would suck except for one thing ... I get to go to work everyday with people I love and respect and I get to be creative. So I don�t really give a rat�s ass what our new offices look like! For those of you who celebrate Easter, have a great one. I will be at my home having Easter dinner with family (visiting cousins) and friends (including Prison Break writer Kalinda Vazquez) -- it should be a nice weekend leading into an even better week of diving head-first into Season 4!" A network spokesperson however has told us the network has yet to officially announce any pickup.
SINGLE WHITE MILLIONAIRE (CBS) - Fred Savage ("Crumbs") has been tapped as the title role in the comedy pilot, about an unassuming millionaire (Savage) in his 30s who is ready to settle down. Savage's involvement lifts the casting contingency off the multi-camera pilot's production. Ricky Blitt created the half-hour, which is based at Warner Bros. Television.
SPACED (FOX) - Will Sasso ("Mad TV") and Federico Dordei ("Without a Trace") have both joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about two strangers (one played by Josh Lawson) who pose as a married couple in order to rent an apartment and become intimately involved with the other misfits in the building. Sasso will play Mike Watt, the guy's best friend who believes in government conspiracies, while Dordei is set as Brian Topp, a neighbor who is a struggling artist. Nick Frost and Mark Heap respectively originated the roles in the U.K. version. Charles Stone is directing the Warner Bros. Television-based half-hour from a script by Adam Barr. Granada International and Wonderland Sound and Vision are also co-producing.
SUBURBAN SHOOTOUT (HBO) - Barry Sonnenfeld ("Pushing Daisies") has been tapped to direct Michelle Ashford's comedy pilot, which received the firm go ahead this week. The project, which is based on the U.K. series of the same name, is a dark comedy about a woman who escapes the city for suburban bliss only to find herself caught between two rival gangs of homicidal housewives as they vie for control of their idyllic town. Ashford penned the adaptation and is executive producing (via her Round Two Productions) alongside Sonnenfeld (via his Right Coast Film Company) and Feelgood Fiction's Laurence Bowen and Philip Clarke.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[03/20/26 - 02:01 PM]
CBS Has Top 2 and 11 of Top 20 Series in Live + 7-Day Multiplatform Viewership Among All Broadcast and Streaming Competition in the First Week of March
CBS has #1 series/drama ("Marshals"), #1 comedy ("Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage"), #1 primetime news program ("60 Minutes") and #1 unscripted series ("Survivor") of the week.
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[03/20/26 - 01:01 PM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Tops Late-Night for Third Week in a Row Among Adults 18-49
The Thursday, March 5, episode scored the show's top telecast across all three weeks among Adults 18-49 (0.21 rating), with the show's best rating in the key adult demo in four weeks.
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[03/20/26 - 10:40 AM]
Discovery Channel Greenlights Seven New Series to Premiere in 2026
Highlights include new spin-offs of "Naked and Afraid" and "In the Eye of the Storm."
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[03/20/26 - 10:09 AM]
"Saturday Night Live UK" Begins Historic Run on March 21
Ahead of "SNL UK's" launch tomorrow (March 21), Sky has confirmed an additional two episodes, extending the run to eight 75 minute shows.
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[03/20/26 - 09:32 AM]
The Clock Never Stops in Return of Groundbreaking Culinary Competition Series "24 in 24: Last Chef Standing"
The new season premieres Sunday, April 26 at 8pm ET/PT on Food Network and streams the next day on HBO Max and discovery+.
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[03/20/26 - 09:13 AM]
"Betrayal," The Hit Docuseries Based on the No. 1 True Crime Podcast, Is Coming to Primetime with All-New Stories Premiering Sunday, March 29, on ABC, and Streams Next Day on Disney+ and Hulu
Following three seasons of "Betrayal," the popular docuseries streaming on Hulu, the podcast-turned-docuseries is making the leap to primetime television, featuring a new story each week.
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[03/20/26 - 09:00 AM]
A24's Oscar Nominated and Golden Globe Winning Film "Marty Supreme" Begins Streaming Exclusively on HBO Max April 24
The film stars Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion, Kevin O'Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara, Fran Drescher, Luke Manley, and Koto Kawaguchi.
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[03/20/26 - 08:31 AM]
Kevin Hart to Be Roasted Live on Netflix from the Epic Final Night of Netflix Is a Joke Fest, Hosted by Shane Gillis
The special will stream live on Netflix Sunday, May 10, 2026.
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[03/20/26 - 07:13 AM]
Tubi Greenlights Sequel to Hit Original Film "R.L. Stine's Pumpkinhead"
Inspired by R.L. Stine's beloved "The Haunting Hour," the young-adult horror movies blend just the right mix of chills and thrills, delivering a frightfully fun experience.
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[03/20/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Jeff Ross: Take a Banana for the Ride" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Making his Broadway debut, legendary comic Jeff Ross turns the spotlight on himself in a one-man show that is as heartfelt as it is hilarious.
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[03/20/26 - 05:31 AM]
Netflix's "Assassin's Creed" Begins Production in Rome, Italy
The original story will be set in Rome 64 AD.
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[03/19/26 - 06:01 PM]
Awkward Teen Moments and Heartfelt Laughs Drive Prime Video's Korean Coming-of-Age Series "Absolute Value of Romance"
The youthful Korean coming-of-age series arrives exclusively on Prime Video April 17.
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[03/19/26 - 02:34 PM]
10,784,000 Viewers: World Baseball Classic Final on FOX and FOX Deportes Delivers Most-Watched WBC Telecast Ever
Viewership peaked with 12,148,000 from 10:30-10:45 PM ET on FOX.
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[03/19/26 - 01:17 PM]
Maya Hawke to Star in Netflix's Series Adaptation of "The God of the Woods"
The multi-generational drama series is set in the Adirondacks, exploring the Van Laar family's dark secrets, class tensions, and the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of 13 year old Barbara Van Laar from her family's summer camp - in the wake of an earlier family tragedy that may be related.
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[03/19/26 - 01:16 PM]
Renee Rapp Joins "The Morning Show" for Season 5
New network talent.
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