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[10/15/08 - 06:10 PM]
Development Update: Wednesday, October 15
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!
THE AMAZING MRS. NOVAK (Lifetime) - Amy Pietz ("Aliens in America"), Tom Verica ("American Dreams") and Kristen Dattilo ("The Chris Isaak Show") are the first to be cast in the drama pilot, about a supermarket manager who unexpectedly becomes the governor of New Jersey. Pietz will play the title role of Trish Novak with Verica as her husband Frank and Dattilo as her sister-in-law Goldie. Vanessa Taylor is behind the hour, which comes from Warner Horizon Television and Kudos Film & Television. Carolyn Bernstein, Jane Featherstone and Stephen Garrett also serve as executive producers.
ELI STONE/THE GOODE FAMILY (ABC) - The Alphabet has asked for four more scripts of "Eli Stone," which returned for its second season last night. It's understood the network is pleased with the episodes filmed to date and gave the actual go ahead shortly before yesterday's premiere. Meanwhile, midseason entry "The Goode Family" has likewise been asked for seven additional scripts. The early request is a result of the lead time needed to potentially produce additional episodes the series, an animated comedy from "King of the Hill" co-creator Mike Judge.
THE IRENA SENDLER STORY (CBS, New!) - Anna Paquin ("True Blood") is set to topline a new Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation about Irena Sendler, a Polish woman credited with saving the lives of thousands of Jewish children during World War II. Paquin will play the Nobel Peace Prize nominee, who died at age 98 earlier this year. Production on the telefilm is set to begin next month in Riga, Latvia, for an April premiere. John Kent Harrison is directing from his own script, based on Anna Mieszkowska's book "Mother of the Children of the Holocaust: The Irena Sendler Story," with Brent Shields and Jeff Most executive producing.
JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (NBC, New!) - Josh and Jonas Pate ("Surface") have scored a script commitment from the Peacock for a new drama based on the famed Greek myth following a bidding war with at least one other network. The project, which has a penalty attached should it not move forward to pilot, is expected to be shot entirely on green screen, a la the recently launched Sci Fi series "Sanctuary." The Pates then are penning the pilot and will executive produce for Media Rights Capital. NBC previously aired an "Argonauts" mini-series (from Hallmark Entertainment) back in May of 2000.
MADE OVER (ABC, New!) - "Miss/Guided" co-creator Caroline Williams has landed a put pilot order from the Alphabet for a new comedy about a shallow, image-obsessed cosmetics executive who has a crisis of conscience and quits her job. She subsequently joins a younger woman with completely different values to start a unique consulting company. The project, which Williams will write and executive produce, is set up at Warner Bros. Television.
MEDIUM (NBC) - The Peacock has asked for three more scripts of the drama, which is set to return at midseason on the network. Thus far NBC has only ordered 13 episodes for the show's fifth season. The additional scripts however suggest that number may increase in the coming months.
RITA ROCKS (Lifetime) - The Nicole Sullivan-led comedy, which bows with a weeklong stunt next week, has gotten an order for three additional scripts. Following the aforementioned stunt, "Rita" will air Tuesdays at 8:30/7:30c starting October 28.
UNTITLED DAVID E. KELLEY PROJECT (NBC, New!) - David E. Kelley's latest legal drama has received a series commitment from the Peacock, home to his 1986-1994 drama "L.A. Law." The newcomer, which Kelley wrote on spec, is set in a Chicago law firm and revolves around an aging partner and his daughter who works with him as well as a host of eccentric characters around them. The news marks Kelley's first new project since moving to Warner Bros. Television earlier this year. Kelley will then executive produce the pilot, which has a multimillion-dollar penalty if it doesn't go to series.
UNTITLED TRIBECA PROJECTS (CBS, New!) - Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal have inked a three-for-one pilot deal with CBS. The pact calls for the pair's Tribeca Productions to develop three projects for the network, one of which is ultimately guaranteed a pilot order. Already in the works: an untitled hour set in New York from Oscar-winner William Monahan ( "The Departed"). No other specifics about the project were released.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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[03/04/26 - 11:31 AM]
"Disney Animation's Songs in Sign Language" to Debut on Disney+ April 27
Directed by veteran Disney animator/director Hyrum Osmond, the featured songs are "The Next Right Thing" (from Frozen 2), "We Don't Talk About Bruno" (from Encanto) and "Beyond" (from Moana 2).
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[03/04/26 - 11:03 AM]
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The series is slated to debut later this August on HBO and available to stream on HBO Max.
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[03/04/26 - 10:01 AM]
Netflix's "Untamed" Season 2 Production Kicks Off in Hawaii
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[03/04/26 - 10:01 AM]
MTV Announces the Final 18 Episodes of "Jersey Shore Family Vacation," One of TV's Most Influential Reality Franchises, Premiering on Thursday, May 7 at 8PM ET/PT
This farewell season marks the culmination of a franchise that entertained millions with major life milestones, laugh-out-loud chaos, and the unfiltered chemistry that defined an era of reality television.
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[03/04/26 - 09:46 AM]
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In each episode, Russo and a lineup of sports insiders, journalists, and analysts get to the bottom of the hottest debates in sports history, presenting both sides through a fast-paced documentary debate format.
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[03/04/26 - 09:45 AM]
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[03/04/26 - 09:44 AM]
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[03/04/26 - 09:43 AM]
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Slated to premiere in September in remembrance of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the movie is based on Genelle Guzman-McMillan's memoir "Angel in the Rubble: The Miraculous Rescue of 9/11's Last Survivor."
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[03/04/26 - 09:42 AM]
Lifetime Expands Roster of Powerhouse Creatives with New Movie Projects Helmed By Queen Latifah and Taraji P. Henson
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[03/04/26 - 09:41 AM]
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[03/04/26 - 09:40 AM]
The History Channel Marks the 25th Anniversary of September 11 with New Two-Hour Special "102 Minutes Inside the Towers"
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[03/04/26 - 09:39 AM]
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[03/04/26 - 09:38 AM]
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[03/04/26 - 09:37 AM]
The History Channel Orders "Extraordinary Origins with Ted Danson" (w.t.) A New Series Hosted and Executive Produced by the Multi-Award-Winning Actor
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[03/04/26 - 09:36 AM]
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