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[08/07/08 - 07:01 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, August 7
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!
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
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[12/12/25 - 01:46 PM]
ID Sets January Return for "People Magazine Investigates," Featuring More Ripped from the Headlines Cases That Captivated the Nation
The new season premieres Monday, January 12 at 9:00/8:00c on ID, with new episodes airing weekly.
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[12/12/25 - 01:31 PM]
Hallmark Expands the Universe of "When Calls the Heart" with Prequel Series "Hope Valley: 1874" Starring Bethany Joy Lenz, Benjamin Ayres and Jill Hennessy
The eight-episode series begins production next week in Vancouver, BC and will premiere in March 2026 exclusively on Hallmark+.
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[12/12/25 - 10:05 AM]
Meet the 14 Contestants Competing on "Fear Factor: House of Fear," Premiering Wednesday, January 14th at 9/8c on FOX
Dropped into an unforgiving, remote location, a group of strangers will live together under one roof, and face mind-blowing stunts, harrowing challenges and a twisted game of social strategy where trust is fleeting - and fear is a weapon.
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[12/12/25 - 10:01 AM]
Video: What's Coming in Early 2026 - "Shrinking," "Monarch," "Hijack" & More - Apple TV
Also on tap are "The Last Thing He Told Me" and "Eternity."
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[12/12/25 - 09:06 AM]
Crave Greenlights "Heated Rivalry" Season 2, While Global Momentum Continues
Also confirmed today, HBO Max U.S. and Australia, and NEON (Sky New Zealand), who already exclusively stream Season 1 in those respective markets, have all committed to the streaming rights for a second season.
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[12/12/25 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Best Medicine" Season 1 Official Trailer (Starring Josh Charles) - FOX TV
Dr. Martin Best leaves his career as a Boston surgeon to become the general practitioner in the quaint East Coast fishing village where he spent his childhood summers.
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[12/12/25 - 08:09 AM]
HBO Max Rolls Out In-App Curated Channels for Fan-Favorite Series and Genres in the U.S.
Designed for an effortless streaming experience, this feature enables users to seamlessly enter a continuous feed of curated episodes from fan-favorite titles, making it easier than ever to find an episode of their favorite programming.
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[12/12/25 - 06:01 AM]
Apple TV Announces Season Two for Acclaimed Thriller "Down Cemetery Road"
Season two reunites Zoë Boehm (Emma Thompson) and Sarah Trafford (Emma Wilson) chasing down another twisted mystery.
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[12/12/25 - 05:00 AM]
Video: HBO Max Brand Spot Teases 2026 Original Programming Slate with Never-Before-Seen Footage and First Looks
Including exclusive first looks on HBO Max social accounts, the spot underscores HBO Max's commitment to delivering high quality, must-see stories that inspire, entertain, and spark conversations around the globe.
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[12/11/25 - 03:15 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Target Demos
The series also saw gains on the same week last year in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.
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[12/11/25 - 11:58 AM]
Lifetime to Kick Off 2026 with Three New "Ripped from the Headlines" Movies
Kate Beckinsale, Scott Eastwood, Katie Cassidy, Luke Humphrey, Chloe Lanier, Dillon Casey, and Maddy Hillis are among the featured talent.
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[12/11/25 - 11:22 AM]
A&E's New Series "Crime in Progress" Follows the Evolution of Investigations Told Exclusively Through Raw Footage Premieres January 1 at 10pm ET/PT
The story of each crime is woven together through raw, unfiltered video from the point of view of officer body cam and surveillance footage for a first-hand look at justice in action.
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[12/11/25 - 11:01 AM]
New Netflix Doc Series About Jonestown Dives Into One of the Deadliest Mass Murders in American History
From Emmy-nominated director J.M. Harper comes a three-part documentary series about the events and ideas leading up to the Jonestown massacre.
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[12/11/25 - 10:32 AM]
Lola Petticrew Will Join the World of "Assassin's Creed" Alongside Toby Wallace in the New Live-Action Series Adaptation of Ubisoft's Best-Selling Video Game Franchise
Netflix confirmed the news on social media this morning.
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[12/11/25 - 10:31 AM]
Video: "Breakdown: 1975" - Official Trailer - Netflix
This documentary explores how a turbulent era gave rise to iconic movies like "Taxi Driver," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Network."
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