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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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[10/09/26 - 05:00 PM]
Adult Swim's Acclaimed Animated Thriller "Common Side Effects" Returns January 24
The news was announced today at New York Comic Con by co-creators Joe Bennett and Steve Hely.
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[10/09/26 - 03:18 PM]
All Seasons of "The Walking Dead" Series Available on AMC+ for the First Time Ever, Beginning January 7
The pop culture phenomenon, which launched a television franchise, joins AMC+'s "The Walking Dead Universe" Collection, including all six spin-off series, totaling 371 episodes, as well as exclusive specials, bonus episodes, behind-the-scenes content, Comic-Con panels and more.
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[10/09/26 - 03:02 PM]
News from AMC Global Media's New York Comic Con Panels
Highlights include premiere windows for the new seasons of "Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches" (Wednesday, December 30) and "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon" (February 2027).
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[10/09/26 - 11:15 AM]
Video: Prime Video Unveils Explosive Teaser and Premiere Date for New Original Series, "Bloodaxe" from the Creator of "Vikings"
All eight episodes will premiere Wednesday, January 20, 2027 exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
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[10/09/26 - 09:14 AM]
Avatar Takes to the Stage at New York Comic Con - "Avatar: Seven Havens" Renewed for Books 3 and 4, New Animated Series "Avatar Kuruk: Wave of Chaos" Coming to Paramount+
In "Avatar Kuruk: Wave of Chaos" a rebellious teenage Avatar bucks thousands of years of tradition by choosing to learn the four elements through globetrotting adventures, staying one step ahead of his angry teacher, rowdy pirates, and chaotic spirits - all while helping the world in his own unique ways.
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[10/09/26 - 09:01 AM]
Season Two of "Little House on the Prairie" Wraps Production and Rounds Out Cast
Season two follows the next book in the series, "On the Banks of Plum Creek."
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[10/09/26 - 06:01 AM]
Date Announcement: "Dragon Ball Super: Beerus" Premieres Oct. 11 - Enhanced Version of the Hit Anime Comes to Hulu
Featuring more immersive battle sequences and an even more faithful representation of the original manga, "Dragon Ball Super: Beerus" offers both long-time fans and new audiences a fresh way to experience one of anime's most celebrated stories.
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[10/09/26 - 06:01 AM]
Apple TV Unveils First Look at "Prodigies," New Series Starring Will Sharpe and Ayo Edebiri
The seven-episode season premieres globally on Wednesday, February 10, 2027 with two episodes, followed by one episode weekly until March 17, 2027.
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[10/09/26 - 05:11 AM]
Netflix Announces a Fictional Miniseries Inspired by the Daniel Sancho Case
Produced by Bambú Producciones, the as-yet-untitled miniseries is executive produced by Ramón Campos.
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[10/09/26 - 05:01 AM]
"Under Siege" Arrives on Netflix on November 6
The fictional series is inspired by true and publicly known events that took place on November 6 and 7, 1985, and recounts the siege of the Palace of Justice by an M-19 guerrilla commando and the subsequent retaking of the building by the Colombian Army.
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[10/09/26 - 03:31 AM]
Netflix Premieres the Documentary "Unprotected: Murder in Galicia" on November 6
The film tells the story of Isabel Fuentes, whose case took place in Galicia in 2015 and was marked by the circumstances surrounding the crime and shortcomings in the protection of the victim.
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[10/09/26 - 02:21 AM]
Video: "How to Ruin Diwali" Season 1 - Trailer - Netflix
A hidden engagement forces a proud Zulu family and an Indian medical dynasty under one roof as secrets and colliding customs threaten to derail Diwali.
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[10/08/26 - 03:32 PM]
CBS All-"NCIS" Tuesday Premieres +39% Higher Than Last Year
"NCIS," the series premiere of "NCIS: New York," and "NCIS: Origins" were the night's top three most-watched scripted broadcast programs.
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[10/08/26 - 02:26 PM]
ABC News Wins in Late Night and Friday Night
"20/20: Home Alone" ranked as the Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49 on Friday, October 2.
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[10/08/26 - 02:01 PM]
HBO Orders New Drama Series "Crazy Rich Asians"
Based on the global bestselling books written by Kevin Kwan, the series will pick up after the events of the blockbuster film that became the highest-grossing Hollywood studio romantic comedy at the North American box office in nearly a decade.
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