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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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[08/28/26 - 11:38 AM]
Hulu & ABC Celebrates Dolly with Iconic "9 to 5" and More
Hulu celebrates Dolly's extraordinary life and legacy with a special collection of films and television that captures some of the joy she brought to the screen.
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[08/28/26 - 11:01 AM]
Disney+ Announces Global Distribution Deal with The Pokemon Company International
Highlights include a new stop-motion series "Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch'd & Pichu" coming to audiences worldwide in 2027.
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[08/28/26 - 10:51 AM]
FOX Sports Unveils Star-Studded 2026 College Football Roster
The on-air lineup features a decorated roster of Heisman Trophy winners, national champions, College Football Hall of Famers, Emmy Award recipients, and some of the sport's most recognizable voices across studio and game coverage.
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[08/28/26 - 09:48 AM]
Video: "Doc" Season 3 Official Trailer - FOX TV
Get ready for an all-new intense season!
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[08/28/26 - 08:51 AM]
"America's Game: The 2025 Seattle Seahawks" - An Inside Look at the Team's Run to Becoming Super Bowl LX Champions Premieres Aug. 29 on NFL Network
The all-access documentary debuts this Saturday following the network's final live NFL preseason broadcast and postgame coverage from "NFL GameDay Final."
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[08/28/26 - 08:31 AM]
Netflix Announces New Sci-Fi Series "Arrivals: A New Manifest Mystery" Set in the Universe of the Global Phenomenon
The project reunites the creative team behind Manifest, with original creator and showrunner Jeff Rake returning alongside former co-executive producers Margaret Easley and Laura Putney, who now step into the role of co-creators and co-showrunners.
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[08/28/26 - 08:14 AM]
FOX Sports' Award-Winning Series "Voices" Returns with All-New Episode "United by the Beautiful Game" Sunday, August 30 on FOX
Anchored by veteran host Mike Hill, the episode brings together some of the most compelling feature stories from across FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage, including the stars who took the world stage to the communities that made the historic tournament their own.
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[08/28/26 - 07:00 AM]
Weekly Original Sports Series "NFL Play Action" to Launch on Paramount+ September 9
Executive produced by NFL MVP and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Skydance Sports, and the NFL, the magazine-style studio show debuts on September 9 and tackles 360 degrees of the NFL for a co-viewing, family audience: football, fashion, food, follies, and more.
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[08/28/26 - 06:01 AM]
Emilio Sakraya Is Koza in "One Piece: The Battle of Alabasta"
A familiar face from Alabasta has arrived.
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[08/28/26 - 05:01 AM]
Apple TV to Premiere Season One of Comedy "Small Prophets" on October 7
"Small Prophets" is a comic tale of the eccentric Michael Sleep (Pearce Quigley) who, since his darling Clea disappeared seven years ago, has lived a very ordinary life.
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[08/27/26 - 09:30 PM]
"Big Brother" Achieves Two Guinness World Records Titles, Presented During Historic Milestone 1,000th Primetime Episode
During the live show, Guinness World Records official adjudicator Michael Empric officially presented host Julie Chen Moonves with the certificates for the two titles.
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[08/27/26 - 04:01 PM]
Video: "Plastic Beauty" - Official Trailer - Netflix
When a gifted ER surgeon is thrust into cosmetic medicine, her clash with a celebrity doctor exposes the greed and desire beneath the glamour.
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[08/27/26 - 02:08 PM]
Andre "3000" Benjamin Officially Joins the Cast of "Scooby-Doo: Origins"
The live action series is coming to Netflix in 2027.
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[08/27/26 - 01:37 PM]
Video: "Eternally Yours" Official Trailer - Premieres October 8 on CBS
The series follows Charles and Liz, a charming, married 500- year-old vampire couple whose relationship has survived centuries because, as vampires, divorce isn't exactly an option.
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[08/27/26 - 01:30 PM]
"The Price Is Right" and "Let's Make a Deal" Honor 60 Years of "Star Trek" with Special Episodes Airing Tuesday, Sept. 8 on CBS
It's a celebration six decades in the making and will be one for the starship logs.
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