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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!
LEGALLY MAD (A.K.A. UNTITLED DAVID E. KELLEY PROJECT) (NBC) - The Peacock has quietly offered up casting details about David E. Kelley's drama pilot for the network, about an aging partner at a Chicago law firm and his daughter who works with him as well as a host of eccentric characters around them. Gordon Hamm, the father, is detailed as follows - "Late 40s, any ethnicity. The firm's senior partner, part F. Lee Bailey, part Harold Hill of "The Music Man." Fun-loving, fast-talking, a little slick...it was either a career in law or used cars. He chose the law." - with his daughter Brady as - "Late 20s, any ethnicity. Lawyer/den mother/babysitter/she is the center of this warped universe; in fact, she is the lifeline to everyone else's semblance of sanity. Easygoing, popular with friends and foes alike; she disarms with charm. Offered several prestigious clerkships out of law school, she instead chose to work for her father, who she remains deeply devoted to. Deadpan funny, it's often through her bemused eyes that we experience all the madness." Rounding out the group then is Steven Pearle (" the sensitive Frick to Gordon's slick Frack"), Janette Harris ("on the constant verge of a nervous breakdown"), Joe Matty ("no reason for anybody to like him; everybody does"), Skippy Pylon ("she can go from The Flying Nun to Mommy Dearest in a nano-second") and Paige Gideon ("deceiving good looks, sneaks up on people with her cheeky humor, often caustic.") Nearly all the characters are listed as needing a singing ability.
PERFECT 10 (ABC Family) - The first details about the drama pilot, set in the world of competitive gymnastics, have been released via a casting notice. Toplining the cast are two sisters - Payson and Becca Maretti - as well as their parents Kim and Mark. The former sister is detailed as follows: "16 (18 or high school proficient to play younger), all ethnicities. Payson is one of the top 10 gymnasts in the country, but she's grounded by her very normal, middle class family. Though her family has never pushed her, Payson has superhuman focus, dedication to the sport, and sense of responsibility way beyond her years, as well as the natural perfectionistic streak of the oldest child. Her body is as solid, muscular and powerful as her will. Though she is a good girl at heart, she's a bit on autopilot: Payson is not very well rounded, gymnastics is her whole entire life. She doesn't have any friends outside the gym and absolutely no hobbies to speak of. She's well respected by her peers and worshipped as a leader by younger girls, but no one really knows her very well - including her. People think she is quiet but she explodes in competition and on rare occasions in life when things aren't going her way. She has a need to control, which can bump up against her parents sometimes. Though her body is a machine in gymnastics, she doesn't have any sense of her sexuality or her body out in the world yet, doesn't have much use for boys, and isn't all that comfortable with "civilians". In the first season, when injury threatens to take away her dream, we will see Payson start to encounter the "real world" with the brand new eyes of an alien just off the ship, and deal with her identity and much of teenage life for the very first time."
Becca then is described as: "14 (18 or high school proficient to play younger), all ethnicities. Becca is Payson's younger sister and though she has some of the natural athletic ability of her sister, shares none of her focus or will. Having a star sister means Becca has been slightly overlooked, and this has allowed her to blossom in some interesting, unchecked ways. Sometimes she acts out in silly or goofy ways just to get attention. More immature but much more well rounded than her sister, Becca loves music and writing, and makes fantastic collages and video movies. Because she is so happy-go-lucky, you might be surprised that her art occasionally reveals the pain of being in her sister's shadow, a fact she hides from everyone, including herself. She doesn't work as hard at gymnastics as her star sister, but she is good, perhaps in the top 100 in the US, and because she has a much more mellow and fun approach to the sport, you can occasionally see glimmers of someone who could be much better than she thinks she is. Because a part of her feels "second place", she can get totally sucked in to the attention of boys. In the first season, when an injury threatens to take out her sister, Becca somehow steps up and naturally shines, which shatters her identity, completely wracks her with guilt, and challenges the family order." Filling out the ensemble then are fellow gymnasts Kylie ("a girl who wants to stay small and limber for her sport but is clearly growing into a woman") and Bradford Snow ("equally attractive but a lot more clueless"), their parents Kip and Ronnie, Emily Kmetko ("perhaps the most naturally gifted gymnast, she has had only scattershot training, but was born to do this") and Mario Rodriguez ("madly in love with Kylie Snow, they've been secretly together for a year, and he has quiet plans to marry her when the spotlight is off them.") Holly Sorensen is behind the hour, which comes from Super Delicious Productions.
STARGATE UNIVERSE (Sci Fi) - The cable channel has issued a casting notice for the latest "Stargate" spin-off, about a crew of the Destiny, a starship "launched by The Ancients at the height of their civilization as a grand experiment set in motion, but never completed." Spearheading the crew is Colonel Everett Young, whom said notice details as: "40's handsome, capable, former SG team leader. Like the Jack O'Neill of ten years ago, but Young's edges have tended to sharpen over time. He requested permission to serve the remainder of his commission on Earth upon marrying his wife, Hailey, two years ago, but for now he's temporary commander of a secret off world base. The loss of two members of his team several years ago has taught him never to take anything for granted, and be prepared for anything. He stays on top of his team so they stay alive." Also on board are: Chloe Carpenter ("Daughter of a U.S. Senator. Silver spoon upbringing and a little spoiled but not stupid either."), Eli Hitchcock ("Total slacker. Utter genius."), Lt. Jared Nash ("Officer material but green and rough around the edges. Every teenage girl's fantasy."), Ron "Psycho" Stasiak (" Marine. Big, strong, silent. You want him on your side. You don't want him mad at you.") and Tamara Jon ("SGC Field medic, Captain grade. Off world experience. Beautiful, tough, smart, capable.").
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
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