or


[01/16/09 - 06:09 PM]
Development Update: Friday, January 16
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!


ABC AT THE TCA - Alphabet chief Steve McPherson has confirmed the network won't be picking up "King of the Hill" after it completes its run on FOX. ABC flirted with the idea back in November, opening talks with producer 20th Century Fox Television to order addition scripts of the series. Meanwhile, Mike Judge's new animated comedy "The Goode Family" may not roll out until May while "In the Motherhood" is expected to bow in March, potentially as a lead out to "Dancing With the Stars." On the development side, McPherson said he hopes to shoot 10 comedy and drama pilots for next season with pick-ups set to begin as early as next week. And finally, fans looking for the remaining produced installments of axed dramas "Eli Stone," "Dirty Sexy Money" and "Pushing Daisies" will have to wait a bit longer - they could be burned off over the summer or streamed online at some point in the future.


LEGALLY MAD (NBC) - Hugh Bonneville ("Five Days") has booked the male lead in the drama pilot, about Brady Hamm (Charity Wakefield), a twentysomething woman who takes a job at her father's law firm. He'll play her father, Gordon Hamm, whom the casting notice details 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." Jon Seda and Kristin Chenoweth also star in the hour, which comes from Warner Bros. Television and creator David E. Kelley.


LEVERAGE (TNT) - The cable channel has quietly asked for six additional scripts of the series, which opened to 5.6 million viewers last month. The drama wraps its inaugural 13-episode run in February.


MAD MEN (AMC) - After months of negotiations, Matthew Weiner has finally closed a two-year, seven-figure overall deal with producer Lionsgate Television. The pact puts the writer/producer back at the helm of the Emmy-winning drama. He'll also develop new series projects for the studio, including a potential feature. It's understood AMC is helping fund Weiner's deal as is typical on the cable side. Production on the new season then is set to begin in time for a summer premiere.


PHIL ROSENTHAL PROJECTS (HBO, New!) - Emmy-winner Phil Rosenthal ("Everybody Loves Raymond") has lined up three projects at the pay channel - a comedy, a drama and a original movie. First up is "The Jeannie Tate Show," a comedy based on TheWB.com digital series created by Liz Cackowski and Maggie Carey about a neurotic soccer mom (Cackowski) who hosts a talk show from her minivan. Cackowski and Carey are penning the pilot and co-executive producing under Rosenthal's supervision with TheWB.com's Rich Rosenthal, Phil's brother, producing. Warner Bros. Television originally developed the project and remains a passive partner. Next is "Random Family," a drama based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc and revolves around a multigenerational family in the South Bronx. LeBlanc and Chris Terrio likewise are writing the script and co-executive producing with Rosenthal and Neal Gabler serving as executive producers. And finally there's an original movie based on portions of Raymond Arsenault's book "Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice." Wayne Kramer is in talks to write and direct the film, which "chronicles civil rights activists' harrowing ride on buses through the South that escalated to a point where segregationists threw Molotov cocktails at them." Rosenthal and Gabler are executive producing.

Separately, Rosenthal is now editing the feature-length documentary "Exporting Raymond," about his outrageous experiences while remaking his own show in Russia. The series, "Vse Lubyat Kostya" (Everybody Loves Kostya), was ordered to pilot by Russian broadcaster CTC using Rosenthal's original "Raymond" script and produced by local production company Lean-M. Sony Pictures Television International, Worldwide Pants and HBO Independent Productions are behind the export, with Rosenthal's film chronicling the casting, the prep and the shooting of the pilot in December and ending with CTC's decision on whether or not to move forward with the show. No distributor has been set for the film, although Sony is widely expecting to.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [january 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· DANCING WITH THE STARS (ABC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DIRTY SEXY MONEY (ABC)
· ELI STONE (ABC)
· EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND (CBS)
· FIVE DAYS (HBO)
· FREEDOM RIDERS (HBO)
· GOODE FAMILY, THE (ABC)
· IN THE MOTHERHOOD (ABC)
· JEANNIE TATE SHOW, THE (HBO)
· KING OF THE HILL (HULU)
· LEGALLY MAD (NBC)
· LEVERAGE (TNT)
· MAD MEN (AMC)
· PUSHING DAISIES (ABC)
· RANDOM FAMILY (HBO)





[03/23/26 - 01:17 PM]
Sky Katz and Case Walker to Headline New Tubi Original YA Romantic Comedy Film "Game On"
The film will be a highlighted topic at Tubi's IAB Newfronts presentation on Tuesday, March 24 alongside other breaking news.

[03/23/26 - 01:16 PM]
Mahershala Ali Joins "Task" Season 2
Welcome to Delco.

[03/23/26 - 01:04 PM]
Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery Will Return for Marvel Television's "Wonder Man" Season 2
Co-created by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, the new season is coming to Disney+.

[03/23/26 - 11:16 AM]
Emmy Award-Winning "Baby Reindeer" Creator Richard Gadd Stars Alongside Jamie Bell in the New Limited Series "Half Man," Premiering April 23 on HBO Max
Some bonds may break you.

[03/23/26 - 11:08 AM]
ESPN Announces MLB Game of the Day Schedule Through May
The Game of the Day schedule is an out of market offering and is subject to local blackout restrictions.

[03/23/26 - 11:00 AM]
Survival Icon Bear Grylls Takes Eight Celebrities on the Journey of a Lifetime on "Bear Grylls Is Running Wild"
Elizabeth Banks, Rhys Darby, Colman Domingo, Tiffany Haddish, Matthew McConaughey, MGK, Michelle Monaghan, and Uma Thurman are featured in the series, due April 21 on FOX.

[03/23/26 - 10:01 AM]
Love Returns to the Lake: Prime Video's "Every Year After" Reveals First Look at a Story of Second Chances
The series will debut all episodes on June 10 with an eight-episode season and will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories around the world.

[03/23/26 - 09:30 AM]
CBS Renews "CIA" for Second Season
The series premiere on February 23 was seen by 8.4 million multiplatform viewers within seven days.

[03/23/26 - 09:30 AM]
Prime Video Announces April 16 Premiere Date and Releases Key Art for "Jerry West: The Logo"
The feature-length documentary, from Propagate and Khalabo Ink Society, traces the life and career of NBA icon Jerry West, whose lifelong pursuit of winning was paved in sacrifice and loss.

[03/23/26 - 09:04 AM]
AMC Networks' April Highlights Include "The Audacity," "The Brokenwood Mysteries," Shudder's "Halfway to Halloween" and HIDIVE's Exclusive Simulcasts
Other premieres include IFC's "SisterS"; Shudder's "Night Patrol"; and Sundance Now's "Original Gangsters with Sean Bean."

[03/23/26 - 09:01 AM]
"Hacks" Returns for Its Fifth and Final Season April 9 on HBO Max
The 10-episode season will debut new episodes weekly, with two new episodes on April 30 and May 7, leading up to the series finale on Thursday, May 28.

[03/23/26 - 08:16 AM]
Tubi Serves Up Scares with the First Look at "Hive," A New Thriller Starring Xochitl Gomez and Aaron Dominguez, Premiering Friday April 17th
The horror-thriller is about a strict, anxious teenager (Xochitl Gomez) who loses the child she's babysitting and must brave a sinister force hiding in plain sight among the children in the playground.

[03/23/26 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Dutton Ranch" Premieres May 15 on Paramount+ - Your First Look Is Here
As Beth and Rip fight to build a future together - far from the ghosts of Yellowstone - they collide with brutal new realities and a ruthless rival ranch that will stop at nothing to protect its empire.

[03/23/26 - 08:00 AM]
New Season of "America Says" Hosted by John Michael Higgins - Premieres Monday April 13 at 6 PM EST on Game Show Network
The fast-paced studio game show features two teams of friends and family facing off to guess America's responses to fill-in-the-blank survey questions covering every topic under the sun.

[03/23/26 - 07:30 AM]
Madelyn Burke Joins ESPN as a "SportsCenter" Anchor
For nearly a decade, Burke has been a multi-platform host and on-air talent covering the New York Giants, most recently with MSG Network and Giants.com, while also hosting for CBS Sports HQ.