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[10/07/08 - 06:24 PM]
Development Update: Tuesday, October 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!
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS (FOX, New!) - Christine Zander ("Samantha Who?") is developing a domestic take on the infamous U.K. comedy, about the friendship of two boozy, over-40 best friends who are desperate to stay hip and youthful. The project, which has script commitment with a penalty attached, is set up at Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum's Sony Pictures Television-based Tantamount banner. Jennifer Saunders, the mind behind the U.K. original, along with Ian Moffitt will also executive produce via BBC Worldwide Productions. ABC was the last network to take a stab at importing the show nearly a decade ago with Roseanne Barr and Carrie Fisher in the roles made famous by Saunders and Joanna Lumley.
THE RICHES (FX) - The cable channel confirmed this week the Minnie Driver/Eddie Izzard-led drama won't return for a third season. The news had been widely expected as its strike-shortened sophomore run experienced a significant 44% drop in the key 18-49 demographic. Dmitry Lipkin was behind the hour, which was co-produced by Fox Television Studios, FX Productions and Maverick Television.
THE WASHINGTONIENNE (HBO) - Rachael Taylor, Amanda Walsh and Bitsie Tulloch have scored the lead roles in the Sarah Jessica Parker-produced comedy, about the professional and personal lives of three smart, sophisticated 28-year-old girls working on Capitol Hill. Taylor will play Jackie, "a recent transplant from New York who has decided to pursue a career as a speechwriter but first must work her way up from the intern desk"; with Tulloch as April, her mentor friend from college "who has been on the Hill since graduation and lives a prematurely middle-age lifestyle with a boyfriend who seems more in love with his flashy senator boss than with her"; and Walsh as Laura, "a small-town girl whose workaholic ways often come at the expense of a social life and who is constantly defending her Republican views to her liberal friends." Also signing on is David Furr as April's boyfriend Tom, an aide to a charismatic senator. Susanna Fogel and Joni Lefkowitz penned the pilot script based on Jessica Cutler's semi-autobiographical book. Vanessa Taylor was previously attached to pen the adaptation. Parker, Parker's producing partner Alison Benson, Sarah Condon and Stacy Traub are the executive producers.
WIPEOUT (ABC) - Japanese broadcaster Tokyo Broadcasting System has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against ABC, alleging "Wipeout" is "a blatant copycat" of several of its classic Japanese competition series, including "Takeshi's Castle," "Sasuke" and "Kuniochi." Spike TV's "MXC" and G4's "Ninja Warrior" feature footage from "Castle" and "Sasuke," respectively, here in the U.S. "ABC's willful and wrongful use of Plaintiff's shows to create 'Wipeout' is egregious, inexcusable and not to be tolerated," the complaint reads. Among its claims: ABC bought search terms such as "MXC" on Google to help drive traffic to the official "Wipeout" page and a memo from Alphabet executive VP Howard Davine indicating producers to "carefully scrutinize" whether licensing foreign formats "is necessary or appropriate." A separate lawsuit against producer Endemol is also said to be pending.
THE WISHING WELL (Hallmark, New!) - Ernest Borgnine, Jordan Ladd and Sally Kellerman are set to star in a new original movie at the cable channel about a reporter (Ladd) sent to Slow Creek, Illinois, to write a fluff piece on the local wishing well, which ends up having an impact on her life. Borgnine then plays a local innkeeper with Kellerman as a waitress/the unofficial town therapist. David Jackson is directing the movie, from a script by Steven H. Berman with Larry Levinson executive producing and Brian Gordon and Susan McGuire producing.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[02/10/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "The 32nd Annual Actor Awards" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Host Kristen Bell is ringing up SAG-AFTRA members everywhere to spread the word about the 32nd Annual Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA.
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[02/10/26 - 08:00 AM]
Paramount+ and CBS Partner to Air "UFC 326: Holloway vs. Oliveira 2" Live on Paramount+ and CBS Television Network
Plus, CBS announced today "This Is UFC," tracing UFC's rise from underground spectacle to global powerhouse, airing Friday, February 20, (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+.
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[02/10/26 - 08:00 AM]
The Chaos Continues as Another Explosive Season of "Mama June" Returns Friday, March 13 with New Friends and New Foes
The new season promises to deliver everything fans love about the Shannon family and more, from family feuds and fires to Mama drama and a wedding.
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[02/10/26 - 06:28 AM]
Great American Media Partners with Bestselling Author Melissa Ferguson to Adapt "Meet Me in the Margins" and Upcoming Novel, "The Christmas Yes List" into New Original Movies for 2026
Known for her heartfelt storytelling, faith-forward themes, and charming romantic comedies, Ferguson has become a favorite among readers of Christian romance and romantic comedy novels.
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[02/10/26 - 06:01 AM]
Paramount Enhances Its Superior $30 Per Share All-Cash Offer for Warner Bros. Discovery and Provides Update on Regulatory Progress
Paramount's enhanced offer provides definitively superior value and certainty, as reflected in added provisions and distinguishing elements.
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[02/10/26 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "One Piece" Season 2 - Official Trailer - Netflix
Netflix's epic high-seas pirate adventure returns for Season 2 - unleashing fiercer adversaries and the most perilous quests yet.
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[02/09/26 - 11:01 AM]
"Celebrity Jeopardy! All Stars" Programming Update
The previously announced premiere date will be shifting two weeks and now premieres Friday, March 13 on ABC, streaming next day on Hulu.
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[02/09/26 - 09:32 AM]
Video: Oxygen Unveils Premiere Date and Official Trailer for "A Plan to Kill" Season Two
Season two is set to premiere Sunday, March 8 at 7pm ET/PT.
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[02/09/26 - 09:04 AM]
A Tradition Reimagined: ESPN and Disney Launch "We're Going," The First Marketing Campaign for ESPN's Inaugural Super Bowl
Following Sunday's Super Bowl LX, ESPN and Disney unveiled "We're Going," a high-energy, fast-paced, cameo-filled marketing campaign for ESPN's inaugural Super Bowl, set for February 2027.
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[02/09/26 - 09:01 AM]
CNN and Variety Announce Special Town Hall Conversation Event with Timothee Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey
The special will air Saturday, February 21 at 7pm ET/PT on CNN and stream live for subscribers of CNN's streaming offering.
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[02/09/26 - 09:00 AM]
UPtv to Debut the U.S. Cable Television Premiere of "Heartland" Season 19 on March 19
In season 19, the Bartlett-Fleming family must risk everything to keep Heartland and those they love out of harm's way.
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[02/09/26 - 08:52 AM]
Colin Firth Joins Cast of "Berlin Noir" Adaptation
Based on Philip Kerr's bestselling novels and executive-produced by Tom Hanks, Firth joins Jack Lowden in the upcoming series.
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[02/09/26 - 08:31 AM]
Peacock to Exclusively Stream Focus Features' "Song Sung Blue" Beginning February 13
Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, in her Academy Award, Golden Globe and Actor Award-nominated role, star in Focus Features' unforgettable romance alongside Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, Mustafa Shakir and more.
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[02/09/26 - 08:00 AM]
Callum Vinson Signs on to Play Atreus in Prime Video's "God of War" from Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios
Atreus, the ten-year old son of Kratos, grew up in a remote forest cabin, isolated from the rest of the world and raised almost entirely by his mother Faye.
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[02/09/26 - 07:31 AM]
Video: "Virgin River" Season 7 - Official Trailer - Netflix
Newly married, Mel and Jack pursue their dream of adopting a baby, while old loves smolder and new threats challenge Virgin River.
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