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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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[03/16/26 - 03:05 PM]
College Basketball Crown Reveals Full Field and Bracket for Premier Postseason Tournament
With an NIL prize pool of $500,000 raising the stakes for every game, the College Basketball Crown provides fans with more elite competition and compelling storylines during the most exciting time of the year.
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[03/16/26 - 01:35 PM]
FOX Sports' Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen to Call Inaugural Fanatics Flag Football Classic
As previously announced, actor and comedian Kevin Hart will serve as the event's host alongside actor and comedian Druski.
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[03/16/26 - 11:12 AM]
Starz to Premiere "The Housemaid" on April 1 in Its Exclusive Streaming Debut Following Blockbuster Theatrical Run
Directed by Paul Feig, "The Housemaid" is a gripping psychological thriller set in a world where perfection is an illusion, and nothing is as it seems.
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[03/16/26 - 11:06 AM]
TNT Sports to Debut "4.7 Seconds: For the Championship" on March 16, Reliving Greatest Finish in NCAA Tournament History
The special will also be available on demand on HBO Max throughout the duration of the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, and will also re-air on Saturday, March 28 on TBS after the conclusion of TNT Sports and CBS Sports' NCAA Men's Elite 8 coverage that night.
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[03/16/26 - 11:01 AM]
Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan and Riz Ahmed Announced as First Three Hosts of "Saturday Night Live UK"
Wet Leg, Wolf Alice, and Kasabian will be their respective musical guests.
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[03/16/26 - 10:56 AM]
"CNBC Cures: Defying Rare Disease" with Becky Quick to Premiere on Thursday, March 19 at 7PM ET
The special spotlights the families dealing with rare diseases and the scientists, advocates, and innovators fighting to change their futures.
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[03/16/26 - 10:31 AM]
"Free Bert" Renewed for Season 2 on Netflix
Bert Kreischer will appear at Netflix is a Joke Festival 2026, performing the "Bert and Shaq's Crowd Work Show" at The Comedy Store on May 8 and hosting "2 Bears 5K" with Tom Segura and Jelly Roll at The Rose Bowl on May 9.
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[03/16/26 - 10:31 AM]
Things Are About to Get Wild When "Primate" Streams on Paramount+ March 25
The film follows a group of friends' fight for survival after their pet chimpanzee, Ben, goes on a violent rampage, turning a tropical homecoming into a primal tale of horror and survival.
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[03/16/26 - 10:01 AM]
CBS Presents "The Neighborhood: A Farewell Special," An Entertainment Tonight Production, Monday, April 6 on CBS
The special celebrates the acclaimed CBS comedy's final season, honoring eight seasons, 156 episodes, and eight unforgettable years of laughter, heart and community, leading up to the series finale on May 11.
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[03/16/26 - 09:31 AM]
Haley Baylee to Host "Win the Mall" - A High-Stakes New Reality Competition Show Coming to Netflix Fall 2026
Part shopping spree, part social strategy, this high-gloss reality competition drops players into a living mall where they'll fight to outshop, outsmart, and outlast one another - and only one will walk away with the keys to the ultimate prize.
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[03/16/26 - 09:01 AM]
Nate Diaz Vs. Mike Perry Join Most Valuable Promotions' Massive Triple-Headliner Professional MMA Event on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California, Live Globally Only on Netflix
The bout joins the recently announced heavyweight clash between lineal heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou vs. Brazil's Philippe Lins and the historic women's main event between former UFC champion and Olympic medalist Ronda Rousey vs. combat sports trailblazer Gina Carano.
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[03/16/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord" - Official Trailer - Streaming April 6 on Disney+
Let us have our revenge.
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[03/16/26 - 06:00 AM]
ESPN Announces Commentator Pairings for Exclusive Coverage of NCAA March Madness Women's Basketball
For the first time ever, all four ABC sites in the first and second rounds will feature a reporter, with Holly Rowe, Alyssa Lang, Molly McGrath and Jess Sims joining the calls.
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[03/16/26 - 05:31 AM]
Netflix's "Assassin's Creed" Casts New Recurring Roles
Noomi Rapace, Ramzy Bedia, Sean Harris, and Corrado Invernizzi are among the latest additions.
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[03/16/26 - 05:01 AM]
Great American Media Announces "One More Christmas," Starring Candace Cameron Bure and Jonathan Scarfe, New Original Film for Great American Christmas 2026
Bure will headline two original films for Great American Christmas 2026 and will also serve as executive producer on an additional holiday feature to be announced soon.
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