[05/08/08 - 05:45 PM] Development Update: Thursday, May 8 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!
CASTLE (ABC) - Ruben Santiago-Hudson ("Lackawanna Blues") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, about a famous mystery novelist (Nathan Fillion) who helps the NYPD solve crimes. He'll play Captain Montgomery who's detailed in the show's casting notice as follows: "Mid 50s, African-American. Captain Montgomery is Kate Beckett's gruff but paternal boss. Expert at over-ruling her, Montgomery orders Kate to accept Nick Castle's offer of help, wanting to clear the case, and also perhaps wanting a prominent author to see the inner workings of his department. But later, when a suspect has been arrested, Montgomery is ready to declare victory and move on, and he's not pleased when Nick insists they have arrested the wrong guy." Rob Bowman is helming the ABC Studios-based hour, which comes from creator Andrew Marlowe.
FIVE YEAR PLAN (ABC) - Steve Howey ("Reba") and Lee Thompson Young ("Akeelah and the Bee") are the first to be cast in the multi-camera comedy pilot, about a group of twentysomethings who try to figure out the next five years and beyond. The former is playing Mickey, a law school grad engaged to be married, while Young is set as the roommate to Mickey's older brother. Joe Port and Joe Wiseman are behind the project, which is set up at Universal Media Studios.
GOLDEN CAGE (ABC) - The Alphabet has passed on its domestic take on the popular Dutch format, in which the participants live together in a luxurious house with one goal - to irritate the other inhabitants into submission, the last of which gets the house. John de Mol's Talpa Productions was behind the project, a spokesperson for which confirmed the news, citing that the network was put off by the costs involved in producing the program.
GOOD BEHAVIOR (ABC) - Stephanie Lemelin ("Cavemen") is the latest to land a role on the drama pilot, about a family of criminals whose matriarch (Catherine O'Hara) decides it's time for her brood to go straight. She'll play Tawny in the project, which comes from ABC Studios, Larkin-Goldstein Productions and South Pacific Pictures. Mae Whitman and Patrick Adams also star in the hour, which Charles McDougall is directing from a script by Rob Thomas.
PRIVATE PRACTICE (ABC) - David Sutcliffe has inked a deal to return to the "Grey's Anatomy" spin-off this fall. He'll play Officer Kevin Nelson, a love interest for Kate Walsh's character, in 11 episodes next season. No other details were given.
TRUE BLOOD (HBO) - Stephen Root has booked a three-episode arc on the upcoming pay channel drama. He'll play Eddie Gautier, a lonely vampire smitten with Nelsan Ellis's character. Additional specifics were not released.
UNTITLED DAVID HEMINGSON PROJECT (ABC) - Morena Baccarin ("Heartland") has landed the female lead in the drama pilot, about a law school grad (Matt Long) from a blue-collar background who joins a Los Angeles boutique law firm. She'll play another new associate at the firm, a scrupulous Beverly Hills born and bred woman. Ben Lawson and Norbert Leo Butz also star in the 20th Century Fox Television-based project, which David Hemingson is directing from a script by Dean Parisot.
