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[04/04/08 - 12:00 AM]
Development Update: Friday, April 4
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!
CAN OPENERS (CBS) - Eion Bailey ("ER") is the latest addition to the drama pilot presentation, about a brain surgeon (Lauren Lee Smith) who fights to survive in the competitive boys club that is the seven-year neurosurgical residency. He's set as Dr. Pete Anderson, a chief resident at the end of his seven-year neurosurgical residency. Sony Pictures Television and Apostle Productions are behind the project, which comes from creator Elle Johnson and fellow executive producers Denis Leary and Jim Serpico. Production is set to begin shortly in New York City.
DOLLHOUSE (FOX) - Olivia Williams ("X-Men: The Last Stand") is the latest addition to Joss Whedon's upcoming drama series, about a group of young men and women, known as "Dolls," who are imprinted with different personalities for different assignments. She'll play Adelle DeWitt, who's detailed in the casting notice as follows: "40 something, any ethnicity, beautiful, sophisticated, cold as an alp. Runs the Dollhouse with an efficiency that is both ruthless and protective. Would die before she showed anyone how lonely she is." There she'll join the previously cast Dichen Lachman, Eliza Dushku, Enver Gjokaj, Fran Kranz and Tahmoh Penikett. Whedon wrote the pilot and is directing for 20th Century Fox Television.
EXIT 19 (CBS) - Matthew Lillard ("Scooby-Doo") is set to star opposite Geena Davis in the drama pilot presentation, about Gloria (Davis), a quirky Manhattan homicide detective who also is a single mom to two kids in the suburbs on Long Island. He'll play Gloria's younger brother who lives with her. Jeffrey Bell is behind the ABC Studios/CBS Paramount Network Television-based project, which also comes from fellow executive producers Gene Stein and Nina Wass.
NY-LON (CBS) - Will Kemp ("Step Up 2: The Streets") has been tapped as the male lead in the drama pilot, about a New York store clerk (Elisha Cuthbert) and a London stock broker (Kemp) who embark on a cross-continental romance. His character, Michael Antonioni, is further detailed in the casting notice as follows: "30-34, British, rakishly handsome, charming, and confident. He's a successful, ambitious broker. He has plenty of casual relationships with women but has avoided intimacy. Mostly because he has extensive responsibilities; he supports his younger sister in college, his nephew and sister-in-law, and is about to take on his newly pregnant on-again/off-again sex partner. He won't be an irresponsible father like his own dad and his deadbeat brother. He's deeply emotional but that's masked with wit, charm, and cockiness. Until he falls hard for Edie, even though he's from a different world. Then he's hooked. He likes Edie's independence; she's different from the women he knows." Stephen Moyer played said role in the U.K. original. Caterina Scorsone and Johnny Whitworth also star in the ABC Studios-based hour, which comes from creators Lara Runnels and Patti Carr. Armyan Bernstein, Chris Coelen, Laurie Zaks and Rob Pursey also serve as executive producers while Larry Shaw is directing.
SMALLVILLE (The CW) - Co-creators/executive producers Al Gough and Miles Millar are departing the veteran drama after seven seasons. "As the creators of 'Smallville' we look back at 7 amazing years. We look back at 152 episodes. We look back knowing that the show will continue into Season 8 without us. After much heartache and debate we have decided it is time for us to move on," began an open letter to the show's fans on Kryptonsite.com. In their absence, fellow executive producers Darren Swimmer, Todd Slavkin, Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson will now serve as showrunners beginning next season.
SONY PICTURES TELEVISION (New!) - Graham Yost ("Raines"), Kevin Falls ("Journeyman"), David Guarascio & Moses Port ("Aliens in America"), Josh Berman ("Vanished"), Jenny Bicks ("Men in Trees"), Bill Martin & Mike Schiff ("Cavemen") and Will Gluck ("The Loop") have all inked development deals with the studio. The pacts, ranging from blind, two-script commitments to multi-year overall deals, come after said parties were force majeured out of their previous studio pacts during the recent WGA strike. Yost, Guarascio and Port were previously based at Universal Media Studios while Bicks was at Warner Bros. Television, Martin and Schiff at ABC Studios, Gluck at CBS Paramount Network Television and Berman and Falls at 20th Century Fox Television.
SPACED (FOX) - Yara Martinez ("The Unit") has joined the cast of the comedy pilot, about two strangers (Sara Rue, Josh Lawson) who pose as a married couple in order to rent an apartment. She'll play Marsha Klein, the woman's best friend. Julia Deakin originated said role in the original U.K. version. Federico Dordei also stars in the Warner Bros. Television-based half-hour, which Charles Stone is directing from a script by Adam Barr. Barr then is executive producing alongside Granada International's Robert Green and Wonderland Sound and Vision's McG and Peter Johnson.
STYLEDOME (The CW, New!) - BermanBraun ("Duel") and Super Delicious Productions ("Amne$ia") have scored a pilot commitment from the network for a new reality project which combines the traditional beauty makeover series with a race-against-the-clock competition show. The former's Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun are executive producing the hour alongside the latter's Joanna Vernetti, Cara Tapper and Adam Cohen. As for specifics, each week well-known stylists will head up a team of makeover artists as they attempt to give new looks to three worthy contestants. A live audience vote following the reveal then determines the winner. No prize however was mentioned.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[03/11/26 - 01:44 PM]
Academy Award Winner Tommy Lee Jones Joins Season Two Cast of "The Lowdown" Coming to FX and Hulu
Jones joins previously announced Betty Gilpin in the next season, which begins production this spring in Tulsa.
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[03/11/26 - 01:22 PM]
Lifetime Announces Two New "Ripped from the Headlines" Films for Spring
Nancy Travis and Stana Katic are among the featured talent.
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[03/11/26 - 01:00 PM]
FOX Entertainment Studios Signs Development Commitment with Frankie Quinones for New Comedy Series
Quiñones is a Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian and actor known for his viral character, "Creeper" and for starring in the Hulu comedy series "This Fool."
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[03/11/26 - 11:30 AM]
ESPN Delivers Most-Watched Women's College Basketball Regular Season Since 2008-09
ESPN networks were home to six of the top 10 women's college basketball regular season games across all networks this season and 29 of the top 30 on cable.
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[03/11/26 - 11:01 AM]
98th Oscars Rounds Out Show Presenters
Rose Byrne, Nicole Kidman, Jimmy Kimmel, Delroy Lindo, Ewan McGregor, Wagner Moura, Pedro Pascal, Bill Pullman, Lewis Pullman, Channing Tatum and Sigourney Weaver are all on tap.
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[03/11/26 - 10:05 AM]
Josh Gates Returns with an All-New Season of "Expedition Files," Revealing Striking New Revelations Behind History's Biggest Mysteries
The series is returning with a brand-new season on Wednesday, April 1 at 9pm ET/PT on Discovery Channel.
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[03/11/26 - 10:01 AM]
HBO Original Comedy Special "Color Theories by Julio Torres" Debuts March 27
In his second HBO comedy special, Peabody-winner Julio Torres presents a helpful guide to understanding the world through his playful interpretations of colors.
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[03/11/26 - 09:31 AM]
Video: MLB Opening Night: Yankees vs. Giants - Official Trailer - Netflix
The 2026 Major League Baseball season leads off on Netflix, with Yankees vs. Giants in a star-studded opener live at Oracle Park in San Francisco.
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[03/11/26 - 09:01 AM]
Date & Cast Announcement: Hulu's "Love Overboard"
Produced by Alex Cooper's Unwell Productions and Jeff Jenkins Productions, "Love Overboard" premieres Thursday, March 26 with all nine episodes on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally.
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[03/11/26 - 09:01 AM]
Nikki Glaser Returns to Host "The 84th Annual Golden Globes" Airing Sunday, Jan. 10, 2027 on CBS and Paramount+
Glaser said, "I'm thrilled to host the Golden Globes for a third time, not only because it's the greatest gig I've ever had, but because my sister has three kids and now we will be equal in the eyes of my parents and the Lord."
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[03/11/26 - 07:04 AM]
"#SKYKING," the Gripping New Documentary Set to Make Its World Premiere at SXSW 2026, Premieres on Hulu April 14
The feature-length documentary tells the story of Richard "Beebo" Russell, who captured the world's attention when he stole a commercial plane and took off on a flight that would come to embody the dreams and despair of the American working class, while offering a look at the US mental health crisis.
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[03/11/26 - 07:02 AM]
New Episodes of "Rick and Morty" Premiere May 24 on Adult Swim
Get ready to portal-jump back into the multiverse - Adult Swim's #1 series returns with a season that's bigger, bolder, and more ambitious than ever.
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[03/11/26 - 07:01 AM]
"Friday Night Baseball" Returns to Apple TV on March 27 for Its Fifth Season
Highlights include the storied New York Subway Series matchup between the Yankees and Mets, plus multiple appearances by reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani and the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
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[03/11/26 - 06:47 AM]
Matt Vasgersian Joins NBC Sports as a Play-by-Play Voice for "MLB Sunday Leadoff" on Peacock and NBCSN
Vasgersian, who spent the last five years as a Los Angeles Angels TV play-by-play voice, will continue his role at MLB Network, a position he has held since its inception in 2009.
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[03/11/26 - 06:31 AM]
Video: "The Hawk" - Lonnie Hawkins Character Reveal - Netflix
One of the greatest names in golf history (that you're somehow only just hearing about), American hero Lonnie "The Hawk" Hawkins is Will Ferrell's newest original character.
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