or


[05/01/08 - 06:11 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, May 1
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!


90210 (The CW) - Jessica Stroup ("Reaper") has booked a role on the netlet's "90210" relaunch. She'll play Daphne Silver, who's detailed via the casting notice as follows: "Legal 18 to play 16. Born Daphne Silver, this true product of the 21st century has dropped the "Daphne," and - like Madonna, Cher or Paris - opts for a uni-name. Silver, like many of her peers, believes in fame for fame's sake. Her primary talent is her ability to self-promote, shock, provoke, incite. Her self-produced YouTube video series, "Answers to life's inane questions answered by a 15 years old in a bikini" garnered upwards of a half-million hits each. Her ability to pull-off such stunts owes greatly to the lack of a parental figure in the picture. Her mom and stepfather, owners of the Silver Screens movie theater chain, have been "on a cruise" for as long as anyone can remember. Silver shares a swank "above Sunset" mansion with her 24 years old brother, Max. As the friendship between Silver and Annie grows, it will become apparent that Silver is the id and Annie is the ego. Oh, and Dixon makes Silver weak in the knees. It's her Holy Grail to become the only Jewish girl at Beverly Hills High with a black boyfriend." She joins the previously cast AnnaLynne McCord, Dustin Milligan, Jessica Walter, Lori Loughlin, Ryan Eggold and Shenae Grimes in the CBS Paramount Network Television-based hour, which comes from executive producers Gabe Sachs, Jeff Judah and Rob Thomas.


NEVER BETTER (ABC) - Damon Wayans ("My Wife & Kids") is set to topline the single-camera comedy pilot, about a recovering alcoholic who's determined to be a good husband and father despite his many missteps. He'll also serve as an executive producer on the ABC Studios-based half-hour, which was created by David Walpert. Wayans's casting lifts said contingency off the pilot's production. In addition, Marc Buckland ("My Name is Earl") has been tapped to direct the project, which is also executive produced by Warren Littlefield and John Heyman. "Better" is loosely based on the recently launched BBC2 comedy of the same name from writer Sintan Ryan.


PRINCE OF MOTOR CITY (ABC) - Piper Perabo ("Because I Said So") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, a Gothic family soap inspired by William Shakespeare's "Hamlet," which centers on a young Harvard professor forced to return to Detroit and take over the family's auto company. She'll play Meg Riley, whom the casting notice details as follows: "Mid 20s-Early 30s, Caucasian, lovely and vibrant. She is Ophelia to Billy's Hamlet; his long lost childhood/teenage love who has never forgotten him. She is a talented sales rep for Hamilton Motors who travels throughout the country but remains stationed in Detroit. Though she is now dating Leo, her passion for Billy runs deep, and she's hurt and stunned when Billy momentarily lashes out at her." Aunjanue Ellis also star in the ABC Studios-based hour, which comes from co-creators Hamish Linklater and Jessica Goldberg.


THE STARTER WIFE (USA) - David Alan Basche ("Lipstick Jungle") has joined the cast of the series, a follow-up to the highly rated mini-series of the same name. He'll take over for Peter Jacobson - who subsequently became a series regular on "House" - as Kenny Kagan, the ex-husband of Debra Messing's character. He's detailed as follows: "Early 40s. Molly's ex. He is a hugely successful movie producer, high-strung, driven, narcissistic, immature but charming, charismatic even while being bombastic. Self-pitying when his latest film bombs big-time, Kenny is given a rallying pep talk by Molly and is quickly restored to all his "cheerful sociopathic glory"." Chris Diamantopoulos and Judy Davis also star in the project, which comes from 3 Arts Entertainment, McGibbon-Parriott Productions and Universal Media Studios.


SUBURBAN SHOOTOUT (HBO) - Kerri Kenney ("Reno 911") and Rachael Harris ("Notes from the Underbelly") have both been cast in the pilot, 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 vying for control of the town. Kenney will play Barbara, a battle-hardened gang leader, with Harris as Natalie, a member of the opposite gang who is at odds with Barbara. Barry Sonnenfeld is helming the project from a script by Michelle Ashford.


UNTITLED DAVID HEMINGSON PROJECT (ABC) - Matt Long ("Jack & Bobby"), Norbert Leo Butz ("Dan in Real Life") and Australian Ben Lawson have all signed onto the drama pilot, about a law school grad (Long) from a blue-collar background who gets lured to join a Los Angeles boutique law firm. Butz then will play the firm's smooth-as-silk, no-holds-barred recruiter, while Lawson is set as an associate at the firm. David Hemingson is behind the 20th Century Fox Television-based hour, which Dean Parisot is directing.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [may 2008]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· 90210 (CW)
· DEEP END, THE (2008 VERSION) (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· HOUSE (FOX)
· JACK & BOBBY (WB)
· LIPSTICK JUNGLE (NBC)
· MY NAME IS EARL (NBC)
· MY WIFE & KIDS (ABC)
· NEVER BETTER (ABC)
· NOTES FROM THE UNDERBELLY (ABC)
· PRINCE OF MOTOR CITY, THE (ABC)
· REAPER (CW)
· RENO 911! (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· STARTER WIFE, THE (USA)
· SUBURBAN SHOOTOUT (HBO)





[03/12/26 - 03:18 PM]
FOX Sports Scores All-Time High Team USA World Baseball Classic Viewership
3,171,000 viewers on average watched the four Team USA World Baseball Classic Pool play games across FOX, FS1 and FOX Deportes.

[03/12/26 - 03:01 PM]
CBS Midseason Premiere Week Tops Broadcast and Streaming Rankings in Live + 7-Day Multiplatform Viewership
The network scored three of the top four and 12 of the top 20 most-watched series among all broadcast and streaming competition.

[03/12/26 - 01:02 PM]
Video: Paramount+ Releases Official Trailer for Season Eight of "FBI True"
All 10 episodes of the new season will be available to stream at launch on on Tuesday, March 31.

[03/12/26 - 01:01 PM]
Paramount+ and CBS Partner to Air UFC 327: Prochazka vs. Ulberg Live on Paramount+ and CBS Television Network
CBS will simulcast select fights from both the prelims and the main card in primetime from 8:00-10:00 PM ET.

[03/12/26 - 12:31 PM]
BET Expands Daytime Lineup with AFRO TV's "The Sisaundra Show" and "Point of View," Celebrating Community, Culture and Connection on BET Her
The agreement brings the AFRO TV-produced live shows to BET Her's weekday lineup, premiering March 16.

[03/12/26 - 12:01 PM]
NBC's Unscripted Summer Celebration Arrives and Delivers the Hits
Following up on last year's phenomenal docuseries "The Americas," NBC will present "Surviving Earth," a landmark series showcasing how life not only survived but thrived through Earth's most catastrophic environmental crises.

[03/12/26 - 11:30 AM]
CBS Renews "Marshals" for Second Season
Its premiere episode (March 1 from 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) was watched by 20.6 million multiplatform viewers within seven days, marking the most-watched network original series premiere without a football lead in since 2017.

[03/12/26 - 10:31 AM]
Vox Creative, Verizon, and Roku to Premiere "Soccer Meets America" Ahead of World Cup
The three-part documentary series will premiere on The Roku Channel in May.

[03/12/26 - 10:02 AM]
Awards Season on Hulu: Oscar-Nominated Films Now Streaming
Also joining the lineup is the heartfelt family drama "Sentimental Value," coming to Hulu on March 23.

[03/12/26 - 09:46 AM]
Roku Launches NCAA March Madness Zone for 2026 Tournament
Available throughout the four weeks of March Madness, the zone also allows fans to set game reminders for their must-see match-ups and check final scores with the new score-strip row.

[03/12/26 - 09:31 AM]
NFL Films' "Super Bowl Champions: The 2025 Seattle Seahawks" Premieres Wednesday, March 18 on The Roku Channel
Narrated by actor and Seahawks fan Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the 75-minute documentary looks back at the Seahawks' 2025 season through game broadcast footage, including extended highlights of Seattle's victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX.

[03/12/26 - 09:01 AM]
Multiple Academy Award and Grammy Award Winning Artist Finneas O'Connell to Score Netflix's Next Installment of "Beef"
Said Finneas O'Connell: "Spent the last 12 months in 'Beef' land. All eight episodes out April 16, All original music by me."

[03/12/26 - 09:01 AM]
CNN Original Series "Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever" Premieres Saturday, April 11 at 9pm ET/PT
Produced by EverWonder Studio, the six-episode series follows legendary journalist Kara Swisher as she embarks on a deeply personal and sharply reported journey into the rapidly expanding world of longevity science and humanity's enduring quest to cheat death.

[03/12/26 - 09:00 AM]
Video: "Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair" Trailer Revealed
After shielding himself and his daughter from his family for over a decade, Malcolm is dragged back into their orbit when Hal and Lois demand his presence at their 40th anniversary party.

[03/12/26 - 09:00 AM]
"Mystery Road: Origin" Season 2 Premieres Monday, March 23 on Acorn TV
This six-episode Acorn TV original series will drop additional episodes weekly on Mondays.