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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!
BAD DADS (FOX, New!) - Jim Durham, director of the National Child Support Center, is set to be the focus of a potential new reality series at the network. Said project, which comes from 3 Ball Productions ("Unan1mous"), tracks the pseudo-"Dog the Bounty Hunter" as he hunts down deadbeat dads and forces them to pay child support. Production has already been completed on the pilot, which showcased Durham as he confronts a wealthy man at his country club over leaving his ex-wife financially destitute. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services estimates that as of 2006, the nation's cumulative uncollected child support stood at about $105 billion. Durham's National Child Support Center then serves as an option for those who've been abandoned by the courts, where they get to keep 67% of whatever he collects on their behalf. 3 Ball principals JD Roth and Todd A. Nelson are the executive producers.
BURN NOTICE (USA) - "Battlestar Galactica" co-star Tricia Helfer has booked a multi-episode arc on the show's upcoming second season. She'll play Carla, Michael's "sleek, sexy and lethal 'handler,' who often comes across as unaffected and slightly amused by him." Series creator Matt Nix told TVGuide.com: "To protect the people he loves, Michael is forced to work for Carla � his only link to the people behind his burn notice." Look for the new season to bow on Thursday, July 10 at 10:00/9:00c.
GOOD BEHAVIOR (ABC) - Patrick Adams and Mae Whitman are the first to be cast on the drama pilot, which centers on the matriarch of a family of criminals who straightens out her brood after her husband ends up in the clink for five years. Whitman will play Roxy, the family's smart teen daughter who has been blackmailing her principal and selling hall passes and permission slips, while Adams is set in the dual role of Van and Haden, the couple's identical twin sons, one a successful young lawyer and one a dimwit who still lives at home and plots ill-fated schemes. Rob Thomas is behind the project, which is set up at ABC Studios. Charles McDougall is directing.
HUNG (HBO, New!) - Colette Burson and "The Riches" creator Dmitry Lipkin have landed a script order from the pay channel for a new dark comedy about a well-endowed man who figures out a way to take advantage of his physical gift. Said commitment, which has a significant penalty attached, marks the first by incoming HBO Entertainment president Sue Naegle. As for specifics, "Hung" centers on a man who was once a high school sports legend, but is now plodding along in middle age as a struggling father and high school basketball coach. His luck begins to change, however, when he figures out a way to use his best asset. Burson and Lipkin, who are not only writing partners, but also a married couple, created the project and are executive producing alongside Blueprint Entertainment's Michael Rosenberg. The script was originally set up the now defunct Maverick Television, Rosenberg's shop with former partner Guy Oseary.
KINGS (NBC) - Newcomer Allison Miller has landed the female lead in upcoming drama series, about a pure-hearted young warrior (Christopher Egan) who joins the court of the charismatic and authoritative King Silas (Ian McShane). She'll play Michelle Benjamin, Silas's daughter who falls in love with Egan's character. Sebastian Stan also stars in the Universal Media Studios-based hour, the pilot of which Francis Lawrence is directing from a script by creator Michael Green.
MAD MEN (AMC) - Gabriel Mann ("The Bourne Supremacy") has scored a recurring role on the show's second season, due in July. He'll play Arthur, a wealthy, educated man of privilege who becomes associated with Betty (January Jones). No other details were given. Production began this month on the new season.
MY BOYS (TBS) - Nia Vardalos ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding") has landed a three-episode arc on the upcoming second season of the series, which premieres Thursday, June 12 at 9:30/8:30c. She'll play Andy Franklin's (Jim Gaffigan) "work wife" in the comedy. No other specifics were released.
MY NAME IS EARL (NBC) - Co-producer Hilary Winston has inked a two-year overall deal with Sony Pictures Television. The pact calls for Winston to be loaned out to the 20th Century Fox Television-based "Earl" during the first year of the pact, where she'll be promoted to producer next season. Subsequently, she'll develop new series projects for the studio.
MYTHOLOGICAL X (CBS) - Amir Talai ("The Winner") is set to round out the cast of the drama pilot, about a woman (Elizabeth Reaser) who, after learning from a psychic that she already has dated the man she's supposed to marry, revisits all her past relationships in the hopes of finding him. He'll play Cyrus, formerly known as Kir, on the project. The original casting notice detailed the character as follows: "28-32. Asian-American. He is Fishy's best friend from college. He graduated high school at the age of fourteen and felt his accomplishments could end there. He's a lazy stoner and the self-proclaimed king of observational humor. He's extremely lucky without putting forth any effort. He's the guy who seems to always have cash though he hardly ever works. He can sleep until noon then find twenty bucks on the street while successfully hitting on a girl who is completely out of his league." Adam Rothenberg, Alexandra Breckenridge and Rachel Boston also star in the 20th Century Fox Television-based project, which Timothy Busfield is directing from a script by Diane Ruggiero.
NIP/TUCK (FX) - "Aliens in America" co-star Adhir Kalyan has been tapped for a recurring role on the series. He'll play Dr. Raj, an intelligent, socially awkward recent medical school graduate, who just happens to be 16 years old. Said character comes on board to help Christian (Julian McMahon) with surgeries following Sean's (Dylan Walsh) stabbing. Production on the show's sixth season - formerly known as the back half of its fifth season - is underway. No premiere date has been announced.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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