or


[01/26/09 - 06:14 PM]
Development Update: Monday, January 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!


DR. OZ (Syndication) - "Today" alum Amy Chiaro has been tapped as a co-executive producer on the upcoming talk show, which features Dr. Mehmet Oz, the resident medical expert on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Chiaro's hiring likely indicates the series will feature morning show-style informational and feature segments. Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures Television are behind the Rockefeller Center-based hour, which rolls out this September. Mindy Moore-Borman is the executive producer.


LEGEND OF THE SEEKER (Syndication) - Disney-ABC Domestic Television has cleared a second season of the drama on the Tribune Broadcasting stations. The series has averaged a solid 2.0 household rating to date after opening to an impressive 2.9 household rating in November. The show's most recent installment during the week of January 11 drew a 1.6 household rating. The aforementioned Tribune stations cover 35% of the country, including seven of the nation's top 10 markets. "Seeker" typically airs on Saturday nights when there is no CW-supplied programming.


LOST IN THE '80S (NBC) - Feature helmer P.J. Hogan ("Confessions of a Shopaholic") has been tapped to direct the drama pilot, a 1980s set drama dubbed "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" meets "The Ice Storm." Hogan's hiring lifts said contingency off the pilot's production. Bob Brush is behind the Sony Pictures Television-based hour and is executive producing alongside Tantamount's Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum and Mitch Hurwitz.


MISSING YOU (CBS, New!) - The Eye has committed to a pilot presentation for a new reality series in which a team of investigators takes on a different missing-persons case each week. Shaun Cassidy ("Invasion") and Ned Nalle ("The Girls Next Door") created the project, which is being packaged as a "real life" version of the network's crime dramas. Cassidy and Nalle then are executive producing alongside James Bruce and Raquel Productions. Mark Burnett took a similar stab for the network in 2004 with "Recovery," in which former CIA operative Bazzel Baz worked with a team of military and law enforcement veterans to find stolen children and reunite them with their parents.


NITE TALES (BET) - The newly formed TriStar Media is looking to turn Flavor Flav and Deon Taylor's BET movie "Nite Tales" into a weekly anthology series. Described as "Tales From the Crypt" meets "The Twilight Zone," the half-hour series would feature Flav as a Cryptkeeper-esque host to each terrifying tale. The film, produced by BET, Paramount and Deon Taylor Enterprises, aired on Halloween on the cable channel and is set to be released on DVD next month. TriStar and DTE reportedly hope to find a cable partner for the show's initial run with Trifecta Entertainment & Media handling its syndication window. It's also understood to have a web presence, including an online contest in which fans can name Flav's character. Taylor and Flav then are set to executive produce "Tales" alongside DTE's Roxanne Avent and Mitch Richmond. "Tales" will also continue as a film franchise, with a new installment released each Halloween. The latest, "Terminated," written by Thomas H. Fenton and Diana Erwin, is due later this year.


TOM AND SAM ARE STUCK (Starz, New!) - Tom Saunders and Sam Laybourne's web series is being developed as a single-camera comedy by the pay channel. The project stars the pair as time travelers who get stuck in present when their time machine goes missing and must try to adapt to their new life while looking for a way back to their own time. Avalon Television is behind the half-hour, which Saunders and Laybourne will write and executive produce alongside David Martin, Jon Thoday and Richard Allen-Turner with Dan Lubetkin co-executive producing.


V (ABC) - The Alphabet is moving forward with its revival of the famed 1980s mini-series by Scott Peters. The network has ordered a pilot for the Warner Bros. Television-based project, which Peters wrote and will executive produce alongside HDFilms principal Jason Hall. The updated take will focus on Erica Evans, a Homeland Security agent with an aimless son who gloms onto the Visitors.


Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters





  [january 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DR. OZ (SYNDICATION)
· GIRLS NEXT DOOR, THE (E)
· INVASION (ABC)
· LEGEND OF THE SEEKER (SYNDICATION)
· LOST IN THE '80S (NBC)
· MISSING YOU (CBS)
· NITE TALES (SYNDICATION)
· OPRAH WINFREY SHOW, THE (SYNDICATION)
· RECOVERY (CBS)
· TOM & SAM ARE STUCK (STARZ)
· TWILIGHT ZONE, THE (UPN)
· V (ABC)





[12/10/25 - 01:06 PM]
Paramount Sends Letter to Warner Bros. Discovery Shareholders
The letter "reiterates why Paramount's offer will deliver WBD shareholders with superior value and a faster, more certain path to completion than the Netflix transaction."

[12/10/25 - 12:08 PM]
NBCU's November to Remember Showcases the Power of Company's Programming
"All Her Fault" became the most-watched original series launch in Peacock history with 46 million hours.

[12/10/25 - 11:06 AM]
"LA Firestorm" Presents the Harrowing Heartbreaks and Heroics From Battles Against the Blazes that Burned Through Los Angeles Like a Blowtorch
The series premieres Sunday, February 1, 2026 at 8pm ET/5pm PT with all three parts airing back-to-back.

[12/10/25 - 11:01 AM]
Introducing - For the First Time in "The Masked Singer" History - America's Insider!
Singer, actress, dancer and social media personality Kylie Cantrall is unmasking pre-premiere and bringing fans along for the insane ride behind-the-scenes on the all-new season.

[12/10/25 - 10:03 AM]
All-New Season of "Moonshiners" Premieres Tuesday, January 6, 2026 at 8PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel
This season, history repeats itself as liquor prices skyrocket and trade wars cripple the legal market.

[12/10/25 - 10:01 AM]
"The Lincoln Lawyer" Season 4 - First Look & Date Announcement
Netflix's hit drama series returns for its fourth season on Thursday, February 5, 2026.

[12/10/25 - 10:01 AM]
Revisit the Beloved Classic Films from Academy Award-Winning Writer/Director/Producer James L. Brooks, Ahead of 20th Century Studios' Release of "Ella McCay," Coming to Theaters Friday
"Broadcast News," "Big," "Say Anything," "The War of the Roses," and "How Do You Know" are all available on Hulu.

[12/10/25 - 10:00 AM]
HBO Original Documentary "Music Box: Happy and You Know It" Debuts December 25
The film explores the underestimated and wildly popular genre, delving behind the scenes to tell the origin stories of some of the top names in the field.

[12/10/25 - 10:00 AM]
Celebrate Christmas Morning with "Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade," Thursday, Dec. 25, on ABC, Disney+ and Hulu
This year's special features performances by Gwen Stefani, Lady A, Bebe Rexha, Nicole Scherzinger, and more.

[12/10/25 - 09:54 AM]
ABC Unwraps Holiday Presentations of Fan Favorite Shows
"Dancing with the Holidays" was the top-performing holiday-themed special across the broadcast networks among Adults 18-49 in two years.

[12/10/25 - 09:07 AM]
Candace Cameron Bure, Aaron Ashmore, and Robin Dunne Star in, "Ainsley McGregor Mysteries: A Case for the Watchmaker," Streaming Exclusively on Great American Pure Flix, January 1
In the latest installment, Ainsley McGregor thought craft markets and book clubs, not corpses, would define her new life back home in Sweet River.

[12/10/25 - 09:02 AM]
Video: "Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Boxing disruptor Jake Paul challenges heavyweight powerhouse Anthony Joshua live in a career-defining super fight from Most Valuable Promotions.

[12/10/25 - 09:01 AM]
A New Doc Series About Natalee Holloway Recounts the Teen's Infamous Disappearance
For the first time, Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway, tells the full, definitive story of the case that's haunted her for the past 20 years - from the day of Natalee's disappearance to the dramatic confession two decades later.

[12/10/25 - 09:01 AM]
Prime Video Announces "The CEO Club," Sets Premiere Date and Debuts Key Art
Serena Williams, Thalia, Dee Hilfiger, Loren Ridinger, Winnie Harlow, Hannah Bronfman, and Isabela Grutman will star in this highly anticipated docu-series, premiering February 23.

[12/10/25 - 09:00 AM]
25 Years Later, ID Uncovers the Cult Influence Behind Andrea Yates' Shocking Act in New Docuseries
"The Cult Behind the Killer: The Andrea Yates Story" will premiere Tuesday, January 6 from 8-11PM ET/PT on ID.