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[12/26/08 - 06:43 PM]
Development Update: Week of December 22-26
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!
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
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[03/03/26 - 03:30 PM]
ABC's Beloved Comedy "Scrubs" Returns with Over 11 Million Total Audience to Date
On linear over three days, "Scrubs" was the top comedy telecast among Adults 18-49 (0.74 rating) on any network (excluding post-NFL telecasts) in over a year.
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[03/03/26 - 03:00 PM]
"Marshals" Premiere on CBS Is the Most-Watched New Scripted Debut Without a Football Lead-In Since 2018, with 9.5 Million Viewers
"Marshals," "Tracker" and "60 Minutes" are the top three series on television for the week.
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[03/03/26 - 02:04 PM]
FOX's "Doc" and American Red Cross Rally Fans to Give Blood During Red Cross Month
FOX is kicking off the campaign with a $20,000 donation to the Red Cross and encouraging fans across the country to help give others a second chance at life by giving blood and engaging on social media to further amplify the campaign and support critical blood collection efforts nationwide.
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[03/03/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of February 23 - "Bridgerton" Season 4 Lives Happily Ever After at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Coming in at No. 2 on the English TV list is Season 3 of "The Night Agent" with 9.9 million views.
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[03/03/26 - 11:01 AM]
Here Come the VIPs: Celebrities Are Entering the World of "Squid Game"
With more on the line than ever before, players and celebrity VIPs enter the "Squid Game: The VIP Challenge" for the chance at winning it all.
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[03/03/26 - 11:01 AM]
Lacey Chabert and Scott Michael Foster Star in "Paris Is Always a Good Idea" A New, Limited Series Premiering Later This Year Exclusively on Hallmark+
Based on the bestselling romance novel of the same name by Jenn McKinlay, the six-episode limited series is shooting on location in Paris and Spain.
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[03/03/26 - 10:42 AM]
"Foul Play with Anthony Davis" Star Studded Lineup Including LeBron James, Jordan Chiles, Tara Lipinski, Howie Mandel, Cooper Flagg, Puka Nacua and More Ignite the Ultimate Prank Wars
Hosted by 10-time NBA All-Star and Washington Wizards' Anthony Davis, the series will premiere on Monday, April 6 following the NCAA Championship Game and will simulcast across TBS,?TNT?and truTV.
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[03/03/26 - 10:16 AM]
NBC Renews Innovative Reality Travel Competition Series "Destination X" for Season Two
Produced by Twofour and Universal Television Alternative Studio, a division of Universal Studio Group, production on "Destination X" will begin later this year.
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[03/03/26 - 10:02 AM]
HBO Original Documentary Series "Born to Bowl" Debuts March 16
The series takes viewers inside the colorful world of professional bowling, chronicling five stars of the sport - Kyle Troup, Anthony Simonsen, EJ Tackett, Cameron Crowe, and Jason Belmonte - as they chase glory, respect, and much-needed prize money on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour.
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[03/03/26 - 10:01 AM]
"Little House on the Prairie" Renewed for Season 2 Ahead of Series Premiere
Netflix's upcoming adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's enduring, almost 100-year-old book series about growing up in the American West in the 1800s, will premiere on July 9, 2026 - and it's already coming back for more.
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[03/03/26 - 09:43 AM]
OWN Celebrates Women's History Month with a Special OWN Spotlight Honoring the Life and Legacy of Roberta Flack
"OWN Spotlight: Roberta" airs Thursday, March 12 at 9pm ET/PT on OWN.
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[03/03/26 - 09:09 AM]
TNT Sports Announces Multi-Year Extensions with Jimmy Rollins and Jeff Francoeur
MLB Tuesday on TBS will open its 2026 regular season coverage on Tuesday, March 31, with a matchup of baseball's home run leaders from the past two seasons: 2025 Home Run Champion Cal Raleigh and the Seattle Mariners will host 2024 Home Run Champion Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees at 9:30 p.m. ET.
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[03/03/26 - 09:06 AM]
Meet Your Max and Chloe in the Upcoming "Life Is Strange" Series on Prime Video
Tatum Grace Hopkins and Maisy Stella have been cast as Max Caulfield and Chloe Price, respectively.
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[03/03/26 - 09:01 AM]
The History Channel Announces Global Rollout of Landmark Series "World War II with Tom Hanks" Launching This Memorial Day
The landmark 20-episode documentary series reexamines World War II through the lens of a new century, offering a deeply human portrait of how the modern world was forged in the fires of global conflict.
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[03/03/26 - 08:54 AM]
Intense, Action-Packed Ukrainian Series "Double Stakes" Makes Exclusive U.S. Debut Thursday, March 19, 2026 on European Streamer Viaplay
Arriving at a cultural moment when American audiences are hungry for authentic stories from Ukraine, this eight-part series blends the moody atmospherics of Nordic Noir with the gritty realism of a modern Ukraine.
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