 |
 |
[08/07/08 - 07:01 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, August 7
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!
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? (FOX) - The network has ordered nine additional episodes of the series, bringing its third season total to 22 hours. Mark Burnett Productions and Zoo Productions are behind the project, which shifts to Friday nights starting September 5. Jeff Foxworthy hosts.
THE CONVERSATION (AMC) - Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 feature is once again being eyed for the small screen, this time at AMC. Christopher McQuarrie ("The Usual Suspects") and Erik Jendresen ("Band of Brothers") are penning the latest adaptation, following their previous pass for ABC/ABC Studios in 2006. Tony Krantz and Coppola are also returning via their respective companies Flame Ventures and American Zoetrope for Sony Pictures Television. McQuarrie, Jendresen and Heather McQuarrie then will executive produce alongside Krantz. As for specifics, the new incarnation will center on electronic surveillance expert Harry Caul (played by Gene Hackman in the film) as he works as an eavesdropper with a larger, ongoing storyline about who's monitoring him as he hears conversations he shouldn't be privy to. The AMC version will also bet set in the 1970s, unlike the ABC version which was set in present day. Prior to ABC, Krantz sold a version to NBC in 1995 as an agent, with Ron Bass writing and Kyle MacLachlan attached to star.
DROP DEAD DIVA (Lifetime) - Golden Brooks ("Girlfriends") and April Bowlby ("Two and a Half Men") are the latest additions to the drama pilot, about Deb, a dead aspiring actress-model who is reincarnated in the body of Jane (Brooke Elliott), a chubby, brilliant attorney. Brooks is set as Kim Kastle, who's detailed via the casting notice as: "Late 20s-Mid 30s, all ethnicities, in a Michael Kors suit, with a blue Hermes bag. Kim is a partner at the same law firm as Jane. Confident, savvy, manipulative and rather bitchy, she is not as smart as Jane, or as well liked by the clients, but she does know how to play the office politics game. For Kim, "everything's a competition. Every woman, a threat. Every man, a conquest"." And Bowlby then is playing Stacy Punt: "Early 20s, all ethnicities, "Sports Illustrated swimsuit sexy," a vapid but sweet young woman. She is Deb's best friend. Shallow, but with a gushy, fun personality, she is offended when Deb suggests she get a job and tells her, "I'm a model." Later, Stacy is the only person in whom Jane (Deb) confides about her rather unusual situation." Jackson Hurst and Margaret Cho also star in the Sony Pictures Television-based hour, which James Hayman is helming from a script by Josh Berman.
THE INFORMANT (FOX, New!) - Tom Szentgyorgyi ("Journeyman") is developing a domestic take on the Australian series of the same name, about Richard Button, a regular middle-class suburban dad who works as a police informant for an elite federal investigative agency. Greg Haddrick was behind the original version. 20th Century Fox Television and Alchemy Entertainment are co-producing.
LOVELAND (FOX, New!) - The network is reportedly close to importing the upcoming U.K. dating series, in which participants select their dates based on interactions with computer-generated versions of potential suitors. Jo Pine created the format, which comes from Tom Gutteridge's Standing Stone Productions. Antwerp animation house Nazooka is behind the technology used in the show, which is set to roll out on Sky One later this season, as is a web-based version of the format.
SHAWN RYAN PROJECTS (Various, New!) - "The Shield" creator Shawn Ryan has set up three new projects around town - "The Lead Sheet" at A&E, "Millionaires Club" at FOX and an untitled hour at FX. That's in addition to "Confessions of a Contractor" at CBS, which was announced earlier this week. All four stem from his overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television. "Sheet," created by author James Ellroy, chronicles the hunt for the infamous Hillside Strangler - a prolific serial killer who tortured, raped and killed young women in 1977-78 in the hills above Los Angeles. The series then follows three police officers and two DAs as they investigate the killer, with each episode of the crime procedural starting with a tip leading to a violent crime that may or may not be related to the Strangler. Ellroy is penning the hour and executive producing alongside his manager Joel Gotler. As for "Club," the single-camera comedy revolves around a ragtag group of wannabe millionaires who keep coming up with ill-fated plots to get rich. "Semi-Pro" helmer Kent Alterman attached to direct the half-hour from a script by Ryan. And finally, Ryan is teaming with "Ocean's Eleven" writer Ted Griffin for the FX project, which is billed as a comedic drama about a private eye. Ryan is executive producing each via his MiddKid Productions banner with 20th producing the broadcast projects and Fox 21 shepherding the cable projects.
TREME (HBO) - Khandi Alexander ("CSI: Miami") and "The Wire" alums Wendell Pierce and Clarke Peters are the first to be cast in the drama pilot, a post-Katrina-themed drama which chronicles the rebuilding of New Orleans through the eyes of local musicians. David Simon and Eric Overmyer are behind the hour, which is also executive produced by Nina Noble for Simon's Blown Deadline Productions. As for specifics, Pierce will play Antoine Batiste, "an accomplished jazz trombonist who is now scratching for gigs, trying to support a live-in girlfriend and a new baby, while still carrying a torch for a failed marriage to Ladonna Batiste (Alexander), the mother of his two children, who is single-handedly keeping her bar afloat," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Peters then is set as Albert Lambreaux, a big chief of the White Feather Nation trying to bring the tribe's members home.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
|
|
|
 [august 2008]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| | | | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[11/28/25 - 02:01 AM]
Video: "Are You Sure?!" Season 2 - Teaser Trailer - Disney+
Jimin and Jung Kook are back for another unforgettable trip.
|
[11/27/25 - 04:01 PM]
Paramount and UFC Announce Debut Event on Paramount+: UFC 324: Saturday, January 24 - T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
On Saturday, January 24, fans can watch UFC 324, the first of 13 marquee numbered events scheduled in 2026-all included with a Paramount+ subscription, at no additional cost, live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
|
[11/27/25 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Pro Bono" - Official Trailer - Netflix
When a respected judge's world falls apart overnight, he joins a top law firm's pro bono team - where hope and purpose wait in humble, unexpected places.
|
[11/27/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "A Time For Bravery" - Official Trailer - Netflix
A psychoanalyst on community service aids an agent shattered by infidelity; together, they will confront danger and discover second chances.
|
[11/27/25 - 04:01 AM]
Paramount+ Introduces the "Canada Shore" Cast as Series Debut Set for January 22, 2026
Produced by Insight Productions and filmed last summer on the shores of Kelowna, British Columbia, the series brings together ten bold and unapologetic Canadian singles for a whirlwind season of romance, friendships, and full-throttle fun.
|
[11/26/25 - 08:01 PM]
Video: "Raat Akeli Hai - The Bansal Murders" - Official Teaser - Netflix
When members of the Bansal family are found murdered, Inspector Jatil Yadav uncovers a trail of greed, betrayal and secrets tied to a deadly conspiracy.
|
[11/26/25 - 05:01 PM]
Get Ready to Swoon with Ahn Bo-hyun and Lee Joo-been's "Spring Fever" on Prime Video
The series will premiere on January 5, with two new episodes released weekly in over 240 countries and territories, exclusively on Prime Video.
|
[11/26/25 - 03:01 PM]
Animated Series "Love Through a Prism" Casts New Light on Romance Between Aristocrat and Exchange Student in London
In 1914 London, a young Japanese woman enrolls in a renowned art school, only to be surprised when rivalry with a talented classmate turns to romance.
|
[11/26/25 - 02:31 PM]
"20/20" Is the Most-Watched in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 in Time Period vs. CBS and NBC
"20/20" posted substantial increases week to week across the board.
|
[11/26/25 - 02:30 PM]
With Largest Viewership in 7 Weeks, ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Demos
"Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.
|
[11/26/25 - 02:21 PM]
"Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary" Is the Season's Most-Watched Primetime Entertainment Special
The telecast delivered 6.32 million viewers and was the most-watched entertainment program Monday night.
|
[11/26/25 - 02:15 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Caps Spectacular Season 34 with 9.24 Million Total Viewers - Drawing Largest Finale Audience in 9 Years
Among Adults 18-49, the show nearly doubled last season's finale episode (+89% - 2.15 rating vs. 1.14 rating), hitting its strongest finale result in 10 years.
|
[11/26/25 - 11:07 AM]
Flex Game! Anthony Edwards and Minnesota Timberwolves Host Devin Booker and Phoenix Suns on "Peacock NBA Monday," Dec. 8, on Peacock and NBCSN at 7:30 P.M. ET
The previously scheduled Sacramento-Indiana and San Antonio-New Orleans games will be available in their local markets.
|
[11/26/25 - 10:38 AM]
An Encore Presentation of "Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion" Special to Air Friday, November 28th on CBS
The telecast will replace the previously announced repeats of "Fire Country."
|
[11/25/25 - 09:31 PM]
Video: A Confession Starts It All - Netflix Unveils Trailer for New Tamil Psychological Thriller "Stephen"
A psychiatrist digs into Stephen, a self-confessed killer's mind and begins doubting his guilt.
|
|
|
|
