 |
 |
[12/26/08 - 06:43 PM]
Development Update: Week of December 22-26
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) |
|
|
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!
BITCHES (FOX, New!) - Feature writer Michael Dougherty ("Superman Returns") has scored a hefty script commitment from the network for a new drama about a quartet of female friends in New York who are werewolves. The project, which has a penalty attached should it not move forward to pilot, is set up at Warner Bros. Television. Writer/producers Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts ("Pushing Daisies") have been tapped to supervise Dougherty and executive produce. No other specifics were given.
GILMORE GIRLS (The CW) - One day after filing a lawsuit against CBS over "Two and a Half Men" (see below), Warner Bros. Television itself has been sued by producer Gavin Polone over "Gilmore Girls." The breach-of-contract lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims the vertically integrated Time Warner companies Warner Bros. Television and The WB "have colluded to defraud the originator of hit 'Gilmore Girls' television series with a scheme that rivals the greed and bravado of any story line defendants could script." Hofflund/Polone, Polone's company with Judy Hofflund, alleges the "modified adjusted gross," the money the show earns after costs are deducted, for "Gilmore's" first six seasons was modified by the studio - through "collusion among defendants to set below-market license fees" and a series of improper charges - which cut into Hofflund/Polone's profits as a result. A third-party audit commissioned by Hofflund/Polone in October 2006 alleges that number was understated by $45.5 million and the company has asked for "tens of millions of dollars" in damages as a result. Warner Bros. has yet to comment on the suit.
LOST & FOUND (NBC) - Australian actor Damon Herriman ("All Saints") has joined the cast of the drama pilot, which centers on Tessa Cooper (Katee Sackhoff), an offbeat LAPD detective who, after butting heads with higher-ups, is sent as punishment to the basement to work on John and Jane Doe cases. He'll play Anthony Yeckel, an oddball civilian consultant to the police's lost-and-found department who has an obsessive love of old detective TV shows. Brian Cox and Josh Cooke also star in the Universal Media Studios/Wolf Films-based hour, which Michael Engler is directing from a script by creator Chris Levinson.
TWO AND A HALF MEN (CBS) - Warner Bros. Television filed a $49 million breach of contract lawsuit against CBS on Tuesday. Said suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims the network owes Warner Bros. additional fees toward the production deficit carried by the studio. The "deficit recoupment" was understood to be tied to "Men" hitting certain ratings milestones as specified by the show's original four-year license agreement signed in 2003. The suit indicates the studio incurred a $61.1 million deficit over the course of the first four years of the show (for instance CBS paid $750,000 per episode during "Men's" first season while Warner Bros. actual cost to produce the show came in at $1.22 million), a cost which CBS would cover should "Men" finish as a top 10 show. Additionally, should "Men" finish in the top five in its fourth season, CBS would pay an additional $650,000 more per episode in the fifth and sixth seasons (with a downward scale from there). "CBS has reaped the benefits of the tremendous success of 'Two and a Half Men" but wants to deny Warner Bros. the right to its agreed-upon share," Warner Bros. said in a statement. CBS countered with simply, "Wow, I wonder what they got the other networks for Christmas."
UGLY BETTY (ABC) - "Dexter" co-star Lauren Velez has booked a multi-episode arc on the Thursday dramedy. She'll play Elena, a nurse that enters the lives of the Suarez family, whom reports speculate will be linked to a major plot development. It's not clear when her first episode will air.
UNTITLED MARIA BELLO PROJECT (HBO, New!) - Maria Bello ("The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor") is set to topline a potential new drama at the pay channel about a woman who's forced into a life of crime to support her three teenage sons after her husband is killed. Gary Lennon ("The Shield") is penning the hour, which sees the woman using her sons as henchmen, leading them all down a destructive road. Bello herself will executive produce alongside Lennon, Gavin Polone and John Carrabino.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
|
|
|
 [december 2008]  |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
[08/18/25 - 09:01 AM]
Pioneering Creator and Former NASA Engineer Mark Rober Is Coming to Netflix
The former NASA engineer turned social media star, teacher, inventor, and philanthropist, is coming to Netflix with a new Kids and Family competition series in 2026.
|
[08/18/25 - 07:14 AM]
Video: Official Trailer - Joanna Gaines Invites Viewers Into Her Kitchen, With "Magnolia Table: At the Farm"
For the first time, fans old and new will get episodes concurrently on Magnolia Network and Food Network, as well as streaming on HBO Max the same day.
|
[08/18/25 - 07:01 AM]
"Frankenstein," A Film by Guillermo del Toro, Is Coming to Select Theaters October 17 and on Netflix November 7
Starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Christoph Waltz.
|
[08/18/25 - 07:00 AM]
First Performers and Honorees Revealed for 2025 MTV VMAs, Airing Sept. 7 on CBS
Alex Warren, Busta Rhymes, J Balvin ft. DJ Snake, Ricky Martin, Sabrina Carpenter and sombr are the first round of superstar performers.
|
[08/18/25 - 06:09 AM]
ABC News Announces "Search for the Truth: The Amanda Knox Story," Airing Friday, Aug. 22
The timely special features an exclusive primetime interview with Amanda Knox, who discusses the yearslong battle to prove her innocence after being wrongfully convicted of her roommate's 2007 murder.
|
[08/18/25 - 06:02 AM]
Prime Video's "Fallout" Ups The Ante: Season Two Journeys to the Vibrant City of New Vegas
Season two will premiere this December exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
|
[08/18/25 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "The Diplomat" Season 3 - Date Announcement - Netflix
Keri Russell. Rufus Sewell. Allison Janney. Bradley Whitford. "The Diplomat" returns October 16, only on Netflix.
|
[08/18/25 - 02:02 AM]
"Old Dog, New Tricks" Premieres on Netflix October 3
The comedy tells the story of Antón (Luis Zahera), a rural Galician veterinarian who, amid the ongoing crisis in the farming world, finds himself without clients because his neighbors can no longer afford to pay him.
|
[08/18/25 - 02:01 AM]
Netflix Releases the First Look Images, Key Art and Premiere Date for "House of Guinness"
The series, due on September 25, explores an epic story inspired by one of Europe's most famous and enduring dynasties - the Guinness Family.
|
[08/17/25 - 05:01 PM]
High-Stakes Deception Takes Flight in "Good News," Landing on October 17
Directed by Byun Sung-hyun, "Good News" takes us back to 1970, where an unexpected alliance forms to land a hijacked plane against all odds.
|
[08/16/25 - 10:31 PM]
Video: Aryan Khan Has an Announcement for You - First Look - "The Ba***ds of Bollywood" - Netflix
In this high-stakes drama, an ambitious outsider and his friends navigate the chaotic, larger-than-life, yet uncertain world of Bollywood.
|
[08/15/25 - 09:33 AM]
Disney Branded Television Greenlights "Coven Academy" for Disney+ and Disney Channel
Set against the moody backdrop of New Orleans, "Coven Academy" follows a trio of teenage witches-in-training who are bound by destiny to guard their city against dangerous, ancient forces.
|
[08/15/25 - 09:30 AM]
"Dance Moms: A New Era" Premieres on Lifetime Monday, September 8th
The reboot of Lifetime's pop culture phenomenon "Dance Moms" introduces beloved dance coach, Glo Hampton, who wants to take her students and prestigious dance school Studio Bleu to the next level, competing nationally every week.
|
[08/15/25 - 07:01 AM]
Netflix Celebrates Mexican Cinema Day by Announcing the Production of More National Films
This Mexican Cinema Day, Netflix celebrates those who make it possible for our stories to reach the screen and announces a new selection of national films that will premiere soon, only on Netflix.
|
[08/14/25 - 04:19 PM]
"The Traitors" Comes to NBC with All-New Civilian-Led Version of the Emmy Award-Winning Peacock Series Hosted by Alan Cumming
Instead of the guest list of celebrities and socialites, this time Emmy-winning host Alan Cumming is opening the doors to his now infamous castle in the Scottish Highlands to everyday people.
|
|
|
|
